Warriors

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We arrived in Xian yesterday after a 16hr train trip south from Datong. The journey would have been fairly pleasant if not for the train guide's deciding to amuse themselves by playing random announcements all night at varying levels of loudness so that even if you had managed to tune out the chatter you would suddenly be made aware of it again when they cranked the volume. I found it very annoying but it was particularly painful for Dani who could understand the constant reminders to drink water, look after you skin, wash your hands and my favourite "Welcome new friends lets work together. Traveling friends lets look after each other"....pretty sure someone was taking the piss.

We arrived in the chaos of Xi'an train station and were escorted to the much more atmospheric hostel where we gladly welcomed a shower and change of clothes. Realising we had timed our brief stay in Xi'an with a weekend in the summer holidays we made a B-line for the obligatory Terracotta Warriors. Despite being told numerous times they are overrated it was still an incredible site worth seeing, even if one did have to wait for the masses to part to get a glimpse at the three long halls, culminating in the final museum of the bronze statues that more resembled the moment doors open on boxing day sales than a museum. We did manage to squeeze our way to the front and got some good photos through the glass display in between the flashes of everyone else's cameras.

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