DIARY OF A FORTUNE SEEKER IN XI'AN

“小活子。找工作嗎？在酒店當保安。要不要？”

"Young man, are you looking for a job? Interested in being a hotel security guard?"

I must have the look of a young migrant worker who stumbles out of the train station after an excruciating journey from his village thousands of miles away, feeling disoriented and fearful at the same time of what lies ahead in this promised land of infinite opportunities for those who dream big and work hard. A filial son who promised his ailing parents that he would remit money every month so they could rebuild their ancestral home and send his three younger siblings to school. A god-fearing man who vowed in the presence of deities and spirits who bore witness that he would stay true to and marry his high school sweetheart upon his triumphant return... I digress.

That was not the only time I was approached by touts hanging around the train station. What can I say? I am, after all, the international man of mistaken identity.

Xi'an. Capital of ancient China for centuries yet little is left to bear witness to its illustrious past. Those who had not known better would have thought Xi’an as just another run-of-the-mill second-tier Chinese industrial city, except much polluted. Very much so, if I may add.

How are the famed Terracotta Warriors? Are they not the (sole) reason that draws hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions every year from around the world to the otherwise nondescript Xi’an?

Overpriced and underwhelming. My initial outburst sums it all.

“Huh, like that only ah?” (Singlish for “What? Is that all?”)

That day, I learnt pictures, like adults, lie. Santa does not exist, and seeing the Terracotta Warriors up close and personal (not quite actually but you get the drift) do not leave you wide-eyed and breathless.

But hey, I had the best jiaozi in my life at Xi’an. And the Muslim Street night market ranks second to none in China (thus far in my limited travels and very humble opinion). Bustling, dirty and absolutely reeked of mutton, there is no better place to be in for local snacks and produce, and cheap Mao memorabilia. We returned on our second night and made more vendors happy.

Look at the time. I have got to go now. My shift is starting in five minutes.

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