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Published: March 2nd 2007
Terracotta Warriors
Just a few of the thousands of warriors We survived our first overnight train ride and even managed to climb up and down to our top bunks without any major accidents. We were glad to get out of the train station and to our hotel and looking forward to eating something other than instant noodles.
After a well needed shower we spent the day checking out the city and in the afternoon hired bikes to ride around the top of the city walls. That night we saw a water/light show and went out for a "hot pot" dinner which is kind of like fondue where you cook your own food but it's water-based not oil.
The next day we took a day trip out to the terracotta warriors which were pretty amazing. An emperor in 200-300BC decided to recreate of his army and bury them in his tomb to protect him in the afterlife (his original plan was to take the real soldiers but then who would protect the empire!). So there are thousands of these statues all with different faces based on real warriors as well as horses, chariots and other items. A local farmer discovered the pit in 1974 and they have spent years
piecing together bits and pieces as not long after the warriors were buried they were destroyed by invaders who smashed everything.
The other highlight in X'ian was Karaoke. I know this sounds really sad but they don't mess about here and we went to this multistory "temple" of karaoke and got a private room where we could sing the night away. We bought beers and snacks from the supermarket on the second floor to keep us going. Two of the English lads started us off with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" without the music and it got worse from there. Mick and I did a terrible rendition of "Afternoon Delight" ala Anchorman and when everyone joined in on "I've had the time of my life" it was definitely time to head home.
I took the opportunity to visit a local school for people with disabilities that is supported by Intrepid and we had lunch and watched some performances by the students. We even joined in for some chicken dance action. It was nice to give something to a worthy cause and a couple of the girls even sponsored students at the school.
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