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Published: September 18th 2008
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Do you have a dry throat?
Yes, I am feeling a little horse The train was really comfortable, although the Chinese people seem to go to bed very early and consequently get up very early, starting the day with a pot noodle (as you do)
Making lay ins and not also wanting to eat pot noodles very difficult!
After our previous success with following a hostel tout to a hostel we thought we’d repeated it, unfortunately, with a lesser degree of success on this occasion (possibly the least helpful people outside of Russia on reception). It was in the right part of town though and we managed to negotiate a discount on the room so it was not all bad.
A quick wander up to the Muslim quarter via the drum tower found us in the heart of a bustling market full of tourist tat and knock off designer gear, nick knacks and curios as well as some fine kebabs. There were also lots of stalls selling cicadas in small bamboo cages which Claire particularly enjoyed, until she realized they were actually real live ones!
As increasingly independent travellers we decided to eschew the organize tours to the terracotta warriors and took the local bus instead and arranged our own guide
when we got there. On this occasion it worked out about the same price although it meant we got to spend as much time as we liked there rather than being rushed through which was cool. The warriors themselves were pretty impressive, again, something far better in real life than in pictures We’d write more about them but what can you say really? They are made of terracotta, they are warriors (and horses) and they are pretty old.
Back to town and Dan was buying more random street food when there was the familiar sound of “hello!” from across the street. We were approached by an English teacher from the local university, whose English name is Peter (most Chinese people have an English name as well as their given names). We chatted for a bit and he told us he also taught art and had his own studio just around the corner. Well, we had heard about ‘art studios’ where they lure tourists in to buy hugely over-priced amateur pieces of artwork, so were a bit sceptical, but he seemed genuine, so we decided to go with him to take a look. We were met at the studio by his
A bicycle made for..
people with more coordination than us friend and fellow art teacher who made us very welcome. We chatted for a while in the comfort of the air-conditioning, before being shown the artwork and their collection of classic Chinese sculpture. We showed some attention to a particular piece to be polite and it was promptly wrapped up in newspaper and given to us, despite our protestations! Peter’s friend then knocked up a quick painting of cats for us (not our choice of subject, but he liked to paint cats!) and offered us a watercolour lesson, but we didn’t want to embarrass ourselves - Dan’s watercolour technique is particularly bad! We decided to buy a couple of small pictures anyway, although the chaps weren’t pushy at all and they just asked us to make a donation to their school. By this time the local bars had opened and when they found out we liked beer they took us for a few drinks and snacks. We ended up paying the bill, but they negotiated the price with the staff and even that was a bargain! We left there feeling happy to have met some really nice people and pleased to have got a good bargain too.
We met
up at the hostel with the guys we had travelled from Pingyao with and after a couple more cheeky beers; Dan joined them to sample the Xi’an nightlife whilst Claire took a break from Dan and got some peace and quiet!!
Clubbing in Xi’an was a fairly crazy affair, the first club was a hugely expensive place where the designer had gone mad in the 80’s disco lighting shop so we moved swiftly on up the street where I was dragged into a club (physically) by a crazy Chinese man and forced fed neat brandy! Fortunately the others came and found (rescued?!) me and we extended the beery hand of friendship to our new hosts. After much dancing to very, very bad music (worse than the roadhouse, no really!) including some top podium work from one or two of us we moved on to a third, even cheesier venue. Around something early o’clock we realise there were actually more staff than punters and as other people had left the dance floor all the staff had joined us so we didn’t feel lonely and leave! (They also brought out rounds of free drinks which kinda helped) When home time finally arrived they turned the music off and the lights out as we were walking out the door. It would appear that closing time is when you want to go home not when they want to close! A refreshing change, although one I would like to have known about in advance!
The following day was slightly longer for me than it was for Claire; however, we managed to get to some beautiful Pagodas and gardens, along with the Shanxi Province Museum which was well worth the visit. The only thing we had not appreciated was the distance between the sights and unfortunately ended up walking for what seemed like miles in the heat.
Our final day in the city took us shopping for souvenirs and a trip to the Taoist temple (good, but not as pretty and colourful as Buddhist temples) and, before we departed for Shanghai, we visited the city walls. You can rent bicycles on top of the wall - the wall is about 10 metres wide and paved, so easy terrain for cycling so we decided to put our teamwork skills to the test and chose a tandem! It was interesting to say the least, never mind the uncomfortable saddles and the half-flat tyres, but we soon got the hang of it (well, just about!) and sped around the walls taking in the city vistas. A fun end to the day!
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sarra
non-member comment
Wow
You two really are like buses. Your making my afternoon far more interesting. Clairey I can assure you Dilaps is still dull dull dull if you have forgotten with the excitement of your travels :o) xxxxxxx