We caught the 12.30pm train up to Suzhou - 85 miles in 20 minutes on the bullet train - what a trip, top speed 325 kmph within 5 minutes, held it for several minutes and then started to slow down for the stop, no noise, no bumps and better than an aeroplane.
Decided to wait until we got to Suzhou to buy train tickets to Beijing as there were such long queues at the Shanghai Station and we we ended up being in a different part of the station to where we were the previous day and we were in the right area for our train to Suzhou. Once settled in to the hostel we headed off to the middle of the city where we were told to buy our train ticket from here to Beijing on 25th - what a circus - we supposedly had it written down in Chinese but people had us going backwards and forwards all afternoon so in the end decided we would try the station again. We tried when we arrived but they said we had to go somewhere else but did not get where. From the station we caught the NO. 5 bus to close by where we are staying so thought that that bus would take us back to the station to try again. Well thought thought wrong and we got put off after about ¾ hr and told to hop on another bus to the station. Of course by then it was well and truly dark so had no idea where we were but the lighting effects in this city are beautiful, other than the Bund the best we have seen. Finally got off at the right stop near the station but still no ticket - come back on 24th to buy for 25th. . So caught the No. 5 bus back and then stopped up our street for dinner where we had a lovely Chinese meal. All in all spent 20CNY on bus fares!!
So this morning with better directions we headed off to the supposed ticket office in the city, finally found it and joined the queue, one more person in front of us and the guy closed the office, supposedly closed from 11am -12 noon. He pointed down to KFC but we took it he meant for us to go and eat there and come back at 12. We went off for a bit of window shopping and a cup of tea and got back there just before 12 to find it completely closed up but fortunately for us a guy came along who could speak a bit of English and he found out there was another ticket office around the corner from KFC so we went with him. Just as well he was with us, but a girl ended up behind us who could speak a bit of English so between them they managed to get us sorted, which was just as well as the train we wanted to go on no longer existed and all sleepers were booked out until 29th October so have had to take a hard seat on a train that leaves at 20.20pm on Monday night. After the trip to Chengdu on a hard seat we had vowed we would not do that again but we have no choice.
We had intended to do some sightseeing here today but it is very wet - only our third wet day since we have been in China. Fortunately we have missed being in all the flood areas.