Suzhou: Stunningly Beautiful. And Then I Met...

[Jeremiah Stamm-Carroll]

Oh my goodness, I went to Suzhou for a trip and encountered an absurd travel agency. That salesperson didn't tell me a word of truth! Later, I had a fight with their manager. I said they, as the service provider (Party B), interrupted me right away and questioned whether I could distinguish who Party A is and who Party B is (in China, Party A refers to the paying customer, while Party B refers to the service or product provider). I was really speechless...

• More alarming is that I ended up exchanging unwelcome comments about each other's parents with a teenage girl (an extremely uncouth way of arguing). My mom was standing right next to me at the time! Sigh, I admit that I lost my head after getting so angry.

• Warning: Be cautious when arriving at a train station!

  • As soon as I got off the high-speed train, they were right there following me. I immediately felt that something wasn't quite right, but my parents were convinced by them.
  • The agent in pink clothing even told me not to make my parents upset (Who does he think he is?).
  • How to avoid it: Many untrustworthy travel agencies tend to fish for clients at stations. They will use honeyed words to trick tourists, especially those accompanied with the elderly relatives. If you feel that everything seems wrong, or if they urge you to make a decision, be cautious! Simply reject or say you need time to consider.

• Later on, I called the mayor hotline twice to report the issues I experienced; but it turned out to be another awful experience.

  • The person on call interrupted me frequently and asked "What exactly do you want?" when I shed tears explaining how this travel agency cheated me.
  • I mentioned they deceived me, but she suggested that I should just call police. And when I explained the fraud value was too small for police attention, she insisted that it was still police’s business.
  • I also complained about the poor tourist sites and she again asked about what I wanted as a demand. I asked if there was any office where I could voice my concern about the local tourism board, but she couldn’t answer.

• Regarding complaints and rights protection:

  • Even though the official complaint hotline (such as mayoral hotline) might not show the empathy you expect, they may focus on procedures, such as repetitively asking about what you want explicitly.
  • They might suggest calling police if involved with fraud. However, small-scale fraud may hard not be regarded highly by police.
  • Keep all evidence, like contracts, payment receipts, chats, etc., just in case.

• Anyway, my Suzhou travel experience was terrible overall! But later on, I visited Nanjing where a nice sales lady asked me if I wanted to get a rubber stamp in a tourist spot/store (A lot of places have this special souvenir stamps), and I was almost moved to tears by her kindness.

• Suzhou thoroughly dashed my "South of the Yangtze" dream - which refers to an ancient name "Gusu" representing a beautiful image of ancient Jiangnans with its riverside sceneries and literary atmospheres. Now it seems like nothing but money-minded frauds wrapped in the guise of culture and willing to hurt tourists for profit.

(Please don't flame me; I really had a rough experience this time.)