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We got to Xi'an in the early morning. Fortunately for us, someone who worked at our previous guesthouse in Pingyao was on our train so we shared a taxi with him to the Bell Tower Hostel where we were staying. While the hostel was not terrible, it won't go down as one of our favorites of the trip. After resting a bit, we went out to explore the town.
Side rant about Rough Guide
At this point, I (Mike) just want to point out how much I hate the Rough Guide guide book we are using for China. Once again, the map was not helpful in getting to a restaurant we were trying to find. I have been a devoted Lonely Planet follower for years. We decided on Rough guide as it was published in November 2005 compared with May 2005 for Lonely Planet. Normally, such a difference would not strike be as being material. However, with the great changes China is undergoing, I figured the newer the better. Unfortunately, I failed to consider a new proverb I just came up with "New feces smells worse than old feces". Rough Guide likes to label maybe 5%!o(MISSING)f the streets, provide
recommendations on restaurants that often no longer exist and convey its information in a much less user friendly manner than LP. To be fair, I'm sure LP China has inaccuracies and Rough Guide does indeed have some useful information. However, for those planning a trip to China, I suggest going with LP.
Rant over.
Xi'an day 1
We set out to find a sushi restaurant mentioned in the guide book. After walking considerably farther than we believed necessary based on the map, we found it. The food was a nice change of pace, but Mike was a bit broken that they did not have tuna. After sushi, we headed to the Muslim Quarter. On our walk, we noticed that Xi'an appeared to have more homeless people than we saw in Beijing or Pingyao.
Upon arriving in the Muslim Quarter, we walked around the area where merchants had their little stores. This reminded Mike and Laura a little of the souqs in Morocco. After going through a couple of the streets, we arrived at the Great Mosque. This was a pretty cool structure. While there we noticed a number of people apparently gathering in prayer. After several minutes, they
began streaming out. It was then that we noticed a group carrying out a dead body on a stretcher draped with a cloth! And a lady wailing in tow. Evidently, a funeral had just ended. Fortunately, there were other tourists there and it didn't seem to be a big deal that we were there. But, neither of us are accustomed to bodies being so visible.
Later in the afternoon we walked outside the city walls to a pagoda. The pagoda was in a park area and was pretty cool to visit.
On our walk back we discovered the closest thing we have seen to a western super market. We stocked up on snacks, water and even got a bottle of wine. Total amount: $8. Very nice.
Dinner of broken dreams
After leaving the super market, we tried to figure out where to go for dinner. Unfortunately, a lot of the restaurants were quite a walk and we had already done a lot of walking. Laura offered up Pizza Hut, which was just across the street. Mike is a big fan of Pizza Hut, so expectations were running high.
Pizza Hut in China is quite a bit
Small Goose Pagoda
This park around the Small Goose Pagoda was a pleasant surprise! different than those in the US. There are several people greeting you at the door, the restaurant decor is much nicer, the prices relatively high for China and the menu is different. The menu is different. Ahhhh, and so the problems began. The pizzas on the menu were not very appealing. And the idea of customizing your pizza does not exist. So, we left.
We then walked through a food court that unfortunately also did not offer anything very appealing. So, it was onto McDonald's. While Mike appreciated his meal, Laura appeared to have reached the painful rationalization that she does not like chicken McNuggets as much as she thought.
So, we headed back to the hostel for some sleep.
Day 2...a fresh start
We woke up early to get ready for a busy day. Yesterday we had decided that our next stop would be Chengdu in the Sichuan province, southwest of Xi'an. We had thought we'd spend two nights in Xi'an and then take the overnight train to Chengdu, but no luck. The nice sleeper cars were all booked and I (Laura) wasn't about to sign up for a 16hr. train ride in the cheaper, open
to the world berths. So we ended up just spending one night in Xi'an and were to be leaving that evening on a 10pm train.
We decided that we going to attempt to do the Terra Cotta Warriors on our own, via public transit, instead of opting for a more expensive hostel-run tour. The bus system was actually easier than we expected and we were able to complete the transfer and everything with no problem.
The grounds for the Terra Cotta Warriors are impressive. The museum and pits with the warriors are set back quite a ways from the parking lot and they are beautiful new buildings. After first wondering in the museum portion which wasn't all that exciting, we next went into Pit 1, the first and largest of the warrior pits. It was an amazing site which hopefully our pictures capture a bit of. Crazy to think of the work that went into creating the warriors over 1,000 years ago. After Pit 1, #2 & 3 weren't as exciting, but all in all an enjoyable excursion. Also the crowd here was the most international we'd seen with far fewer Chinese tour groups.
We headed back to Xi'an and wandered around the rest of the day before boarding the train to Chengdu. Ben, we did some souvenir shopping in Xi'an and did much better than in Beijing - thanks for the tips!
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kate
non-member comment
mike proverbs
i pray you are keeping a quote book for the end of this escapade.