Night Riders

Asia » China » Shaanxi » Xi'an
June 30th 2006

Published: June 30th 2006

So, here we are in Xi'an after enjoying our first experience of Chinese rail travel. We did the 11.5 hour journey (sorry got my times wrong in previous blogs) in first-class - only thr best for Mr & Mrs Harris, you know! Actually, it cost only about £33 each and that got us a soft sleeper compartment with 4 beds of which we had the bottom 2 bunks. It was really comfy, clean and secure and as far as we're concerned - the ONLY way to travel darling! We did have a rude awakening this morning as we didn't think we were due to arrive until 11.30 but actually got there at 8am!! Thankfully it was the end of the line so we had time to get our stuff together and leg it, still half asleep, off the train.

As we wandered out of the train station, I just happened to notice some guy stood in the throng of people before us who was holding up a sign with Glynn's name on it! I had to do a double-take as we weren't expecting to be met by anyone but it turned out this was a free service provided by our hostel - The Bell Tower hostel for those who need to know. The guy then got us to the bus stop, bought our tickets and took us directly to reception where we were even more surprised to find that a room was ready for us. What a great start! We had a couple of problems with the first room but moved in next door to what I would describe as a very swanky pad - huge bed, corner room with blacony overlooking the historic Bell Tower - excelelnt. Will post photographic evidence shortly! Had a small problem with ants but one can of bug spray and a determined husband mean that Jude gets a good night's sleep tonight :-))

So far, after a brief stroll around the local area, Xi'an seems like a different country to Beijing. It's just relaxed, got quite a cosmopolitan feel to it and no-one seems to hassle you on the streets. It's much, much cleaner everywhere (Beijing is incredibly dusty) and oit feels very easy to be here. Result! We're here for 5 nights and will be doing all the obligatory sightseeing including the Terracotta Army at somwe point. Glynn and I are feeling adventurous so we are thinking about making our own way to lots of places instead of booking the more expensive tours. It might be more hassle but we think it will be much more fun and definitiely more rewarding if we can pull it off. So for now I bid you goodnight. Will try and upload the Beijing photos tomorrow :-))

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