Canal Boat Ride in Suzhou

This was quite the experience as it almost felt we jumped to the canals of Venice. The boat ride was about an hour long as we tugged along under bridge after bridge that was brilliantly light up. It was quite the site with a very romantic atmosphere. The streets were lined with red lanterns and almost every building was lit up along the river to give it a unique feeling. I only wish the river was not so dirty but at least the air was clean and the skies clear. Among the brilliant lights the architecture proved to add to the atmosphere of our boat ride. As we moved down the river we could see into families' houses. These houses were right on the canal and many had wooden stairs down to provide them with river access. With the exception of docking and undocking the canals were not too bad in reference to other boats. There were a few tour boats like ours we shared the water with but other than that it was a peaceful ride. Our driver didn't have too much to worry about while navigating the canal but in the instance he did he stood at the front with a pole to steer just as they would in Venice.