Landing Back on Planet Earth (Xi’an)

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After spending 13 months inShenyang, the first thing I noticed was my new found ability to breathe. It didn’t smell like rotten fish guts, it wasn't overwhelmingly busy.

Downtown Xi’an: To us, the buildings had shrunk to an adorable normal size. What a breathe of fresh air, I have to say this again. Welcome back lungs. Little two-storey, simple and obvious shops. These bricks were made with a simple purpose of building a small restaurant, you will notice, recognize and be able to work out that you can eat here. You can even see English here and there. This isn't the China we are used to. At last, China had put away it’s obsession with heights and super-bright redundant signs. It wasn’t as harsh, as in your face, as unruly. There were actual old buildings, some clear streets and Western people. Unfortunately, you could still see the spit balls on the floor and hear the hocking, even in McDonalds. People still stare at you, but they don’t drop their mouths, freeze and stand still. It's nice, it's polite, it's refreshingly pleasant.

Getting off the airport transfer is your first test. You are kind of like bait on a hook, without any control. You are faced with around 10 to 20 men trying to get you onto their ‘taxi’, not into. The taxis are motorbikes with seats and walls, not the standard bicycles you might see tourists giggling on. Don’t get one, even if it seems fun and how you should start your trip, walk for around five minutes away from them then make your decision. We got a taxi and this cost us 10 RMB to get to Han Tang Hostel and it took around 7 minutes.

First impressions of the hostel were great, nice atmosphere and lots of Westerners. The room was warm and small, but had everything we needed. In the first sentence
the receptionist said, “How are you getting to the Terracotta Army?” The hostel tour was 238 RMB. It left at 9:20am and got back to the hostel at 17:30pm, but we stuck to our original plan of DIY and told her. The bus station was around 45 minutes walk away and that wasn’t rushing. After you run in between the constant streams of oncoming traffic and manage to stay alive, it is actually quite a nice walk. I will stress this point now, WATCH YOUR BAGS. I have a nice, pretty little rucksack on my back, not the best for securing your worldly possessions, but still. Now I feel like those were the days, when I casually wore my bag on my back and pranced around carefree. Anyway, on this quiet breezy little walk, through the fake terracotta warriors and souvenir shops, Jessica just so happened to look back at me and saw a skinny little scruffy woman holding a
baby in one hand and her other hand inside my bag. She was about to take my wallet, one of two or both phones or my other wallet with my dollars in. I always imagine that in these situations, if I were faced with the responsibility of stopping a thief, I would probably freeze, or be too terrified to say anything, so I would just pull my bag away.

Luckily for me, I wasn’t faced with this dilemma, Jessica was. Who obviously responded to this in the most appropriate way with “What the fuck are you doing you fucking dick head?!” The woman looked at Jessica with hazy eyes and stole nothing. Beware of these types and wear your bag on your front.

The 306 bus leaves literally all of the time. Once one bus is full it leaves, so you get on another. It costs 7 RMB one way. When you get there you are faced with lots
of old Chinese women trying to sell you pomegranates. The comment that I will always remember was ‘You buy, 2 dollars, you buy, how much then, one dollar?’, with no response or reaction required from me, we are already negotiating. ‘You buy 20 pomegranates!’

Tour Guides, they are everywhere and you really don’t need one. Every single one of them will try and convince you otherwise. Walk up to the ticket office and ignore
every single one of them and buy your 120 RMB ticket. A Tour Guide came up to us whilst we were walking to the toilet, we politely said no and they she responded with a sarcastic laugh and snigger, ‘You think about it now yer’, as we approach the toilet door. Don’t get one, everything is in English and you can go at your own pace. The tours we seen spent half their time staring at some random guide and not actually taking in what was around them. Audio tapes are 40 RMB, also not needed. There are five different types of ranks and 5 different sites to see there, that’s all the info you need. The story is told for you as you walk around, you are not left blind.

As I sit on the train, leaving Xi’an behind, tips I might offer? Watch your bags at all times and trust your own instincts. Be your own guide and you will get the best out of a potentially really cheap and relaxing couple of days.

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