Koi at the Master of Nets Garden, watercolor and ink Erin Lau © 2009
Our first day in Suzhou began early, after disembarking the overnight train from Huangshan, near Yellow Mt. Our guide, Leo, greeted us and we soon set foot on the city’s first bridge and original entrance gate. Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East, because it is crisscrossed by canals, and one large moat surrounds the old city. We visited the traditional Chinese gardens, I remember studying them in school. As I painted these koi fish, a Chinese man invaded my Western space bubble, and watched me paint, breathing onto my sketchbook. He made me lose my concentration. From then on I sought out more private vantage points. But people are always interested in how other people see things, so in a way, I am used to it.
Travel Drawn 
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