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Very tired tonight!
Batteries at a serious low ebb so gonna blog as fast as I can and then bugger off to bed.
On our last night in Xian we went out for a night at a spot that does an all you can eat hotpot buffet dinner.
For hotpot don't read that thing that Betty Turpin makes on Coronation street, this is sort of a steaming hot barrel of water on your table which you then add you choice of ingredients to, which included on the buffet bar a container of LIVE EALS!
Yup, just pick them up, drop them in the boiling water and they're ready to eat in no time.
I decided that was one experience I could live without, but Colin and Chris opted for it and reported they were ok, but boney!
The following morning had us all bussing off to the terracotta warriors.
YOU MUST ALL KNOW WHAT THESE ARE RIGHT?
There was a good docu/drama about the first chinese emperor on Channel 4 before I went away which I'm glad I saw as it kind of gave me more of a heads up on what these
are and why they are significant.
Between you and me I was never that arsed about them!
I know that makes me sound terrible and it's not that I don't recognise the enormity of them as far as archialogical discoveries go, it's just that I'm kind of a hands on sort of person.
So when it came to climbing around the temples along the Nile and exploring the tombs in the valley of the Kings in Egypt I was all for it, but roaming round the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and getting a look at king tuts death mask just left me cold, and that was very much my feeling yesterday with the Warriors.
As a 'been there, seen that', it was something to cross off the list, but 8th wonder of the world, (as it's hyped), it just wasnt for me.
The big thing to see, (and it probably wont happen in my lifetime), is when archeologists finally get up the technical knowhow and nerve to investigate the first Emperors tomb which is inside a man made hill just up the road from the warriors.
Reputedly it's massive with rivers of Mercury and
a ceiling of jewels depicting the stars.
Now had that been available I'd have been first in line to give it a look.
Last night was our last sleeper journey and I think most folks were'nt looking forward to it, but as it happened it turned out alright.
We've had varying train conditions on route but this was by far the cleanest and most comfortable.
It even had a restaurant car where a group of us sat into the late hours until the guard finally told us to retire to our bunks.
The restaurnt car made all the difference and made the whole journey seem more civilized and sociable, and even my nights sleep was undisturbed by weird dreams unlike previous journeys.
I was awake for 5am the next morning which was fortunate as we were ahead of schedule getting into Beijing, arriving at 6.20am
This put us in our hotel far too early for rooms, so we dumped our bags there and headed straight out to Tianamen Square which I must admit I found quite a seminal thing.
Just one of those key places in the World where I've always wanted
to stand!
From here we all wandered off on our own and I made my way to the Forbidden city which is simply huge and stunning.
TO ME THIS WAS THE 8TH WONDER!
It was of course absolutely hooching with tourists, but occasionally, (given that it is so large), you could find bits of it that somehow everyone had missed.
I'd been harrased by blokes offering themselves up as tour guides, and one who I refused looked at my map and commented...
'Do you really think you can see all that without a guides help?'
I rather arrogantly said I'd give it a go, (on the basis that I rarely either read or listen in Museums... that touchy feely thing again), and I think I proved myself right, cos at one part of my explorations I came across a series of small restfull gardens that were totally devoid of tourists?
I have no idea why the masses had missed this place but it was nice to have a bit of the forbidden palace to myself for a while.
Walking back across the square proved a bit of a pain as you are
constantly approached by young girls attempting to befriend you with stories about wanting to improve their English and offering to show you around the city in exchange.
It's of course a con and at some point you'd find yourself encouraged to donate money to some such sob story or another.
In the old days of the Peoples Republic when everyone wore green suites, the Chairmans thoughts were blared out of loud speakers and forign tourists were few and far between there was a genuine regular occurance of young people offering their services to visiting westerners, both to get news of the outside world, pass on a view of their lives, and... most importantly... to get a meal bought for them in the newly oppened Mcdonalds, which at the time was beyond their wildest dreams of affording.
These days however all the young and trendy in Beijing eat in Mcdonalds and KFC and in this new strange amalgamation of capitalist aspirations in what still is a communist country the girls claiming to want to learn about the outside world and show you a bit of theirs are in fact driven by the same market forces that drive any
street hawkers and it's more than a Big Mac their hoping to get out of you.
As such I started by humouring a few of them, then getting curt with them, and eventurally, (when my time in the square was really getting interfeared with), offering them a few choice English colloquialisms for 'GO AWAY', that hopefully will broaden their language.
It's been hot and sunny in Beijing today and I opted at lunchtime to meet back up with the group to follow B2 to a little place he knows that does very good Pekin, (or Baijing), duck.
It's gotta be said it was not in the most upmarket area, (in fact most of it is being bulldozed in time for the Olympics and the folk are being turfed out), but it was a place with it's own unique atmosphere as well as added side dish specialities!
I ATE FRIED SCORPIANS!
They arrived on a plate delicately decorating some prawn crackers.
It's certainly another claim to fame, but I would'nt reccomend them as a delicacy.
(Kind of like eating toenails really)!
After lunch I went with the Gap girls and Liza to the
Pearl Market to see if I could pick up some more souvenires and presents.
By now I was getting tired, I had a lot of folk in my face, and I think I did some pretty poor bargening for stuff I could probably have done without.
(Bit peeved about that... decided the SHOPPING STOPS HERE... I'VE GOT ENOUGH)!
Both Liza and I had said we'd go to the acrobats show in town tonight and we were running late so from the market we hired a cycle rickshaw which dropped us at the metro station back in Tianaman Square from where we undergrounded it back to the hotel only to find everyone waiting for us and that we were straight back out again for the show.
(Wished by then I'd never said I'd go, cos feet were sore and the tiredness was getting noticeable).
I've just got back from the show, which was very good, but watching all those performers with so much energy when I could feel mine ebbing away I think meant I did'nt enthuse as much about the spectacular as everyone else did.
I'm off now for an early night.
It's
my last day in China tomorrow and we've got an early start at the Great Wall with a 4 hour hike and picnic along it.
Must be at my best for that, So goodnight!
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