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Published: October 3rd 2006
Typical side street
oh - but with fire coming out of it!Wednesday September 27, 2006 - We arrived in Xi'an at 7:00 am to be greeted by cold and rain. The kind of rain that doesn't stop. At first we got out of the train station and wandered a bit and then turned back and found a cab stand. We got in live under the shade, luckily, and then it was our turn. Steve handed the address over to the driver and after a few minutes he figured we just wanted to go to the Bell Tower in the center of town. Our hostel was literally just across the street in the post office building. It took a few minutes to get checked in but once we did it was worth it. Steve had booked a double room, and in this hostel, it was actually like a proper hotel. We had a great bathroom with little shampoos and shower caps and a little bench in a proper hotel looking room. We even had a key card to get in! It was crazy! And quite well timed. Because while Steve was just getting over his cold, and therefore no longer hacking and spitting into the street like a good Chinese citizen, I had
Shopping anyone?
(This could have been Beijing too...bad memory) picked up his cold and felt very sick by the time we checked in. I spent some time checking emails while he organized his flight to Shanghai for Saturday in hopes of seeing the Formula 1 the following day. After that I essentially spent the rest of the day in bed. Steve came in and out during the day, walking around town a bit, checking email. Later on he brought me dinner in bed, and we sat on the bed eating our noodles and stir fry and making a proper mess. It was great. Then I went back to sleep, as my head was still foggy.
Thursday - Today was another bummer of a day. Steve had signed up for a tour of the terra cotta warriors but I decided not to go since I was still feeling pretty weak. Plus I could stay in town longer, so I would have the chance to do it later. I ended up spending a total of five hours on the internet updating my blog for the first time in weeks. In the middle I took a break to leave the hotel for a bit. I took a stroll to McDonalds and
Rows and rows
The terra cotta warriors are still in their original homes, just a little more excavated than they were originally. got myself a comfort meal while trying to plan out the rest of my time in China. All of a sudden I didn't know where I should spent my time and in what order - only that Tibet would be last. Plus, October 1 - 7 is a huge holiday week in China and vitually everyone is off. So all the trains will be booked and i might get stuck here. But I just couldn't plan much so I will deal with the results. I walked around town a small bit and saw the Bell Tower and Drum Towers from outside. Came back, finished updating, and talked to a nice Irish couple while waiting for Steve to get back. He arrived around 6:30pm and said that he made dinner plans for us with Michael and Faye, the English couple we met in Datong, and again in Pingyao. So I got ready and we met them downstairs. It was raining as we walked to a place I had picked out but then couldn't find. So instead we ate at a huge Chinese fast food place, and I got noodles and dumplings. Faye ended up with something that looked like potatoes but
jiggled. We think it was actually fat - and we've seen a lot of it around. After dinner we stayed and chatted a bit. Steve went back to check email and when we were done talking, Michael and Faye walked me back to the hostel. Got a good night's sleep.
Friday - Today we got up around 9am and got a slow start. Chatted for a bit with the Irish couple before heading out to the Muslim quarter. First thing we did was get little pink fried doughs with fig inside. They were delicious. Then it started to rain. We darted around trying to get out of the rain and bought a small round, white bread and ate in under a tarp. Then we got an umbrella that we shared as we went about our day. The streets were covered with little shops, mostly butchers, and there were dead animals and bits hanging and laying around everywhere. The rain was splashing up and we were getting wet from all sides. For lunch we ended up inside a small shop where they fed us mutton soup, which turned out to be delicious. There was really a lot of fat/oil in
there though, and I could feel it all over my lips and it congealed on the table when we splashed the soup at all. Nice. Next we went shopping, as there were several things Steve wanted to get, including chop stick sets (he has gotten really good with chop sticks), and several other goodies. He even bought me a shoulder bag so I can carry my camera around without bringing my daypack everywhere. Very sweet. It was a great day.
After shopping we decided we had had enough rain so we walked back to the hostel and hunkered down for the night. Talked some more to Mary and Karl, the Irish couple, for a while in the restaurant downstairs. They went off to have dinner and we decided to stay in and order from the hostel restaurant. It's not that great but easy. There was also a dumplng party where everyone could stand around making dumplings but we chose to just watch since we were eating. But then they gave everyone some dumplings so we tried them, even though we were stuffed. Then Karl and Mary came back and we chatted until about 10:15. That was late enough and Steve and I went up and got to sleep.
Saturday - Today was a down day. Steve and I got up early and had breakfast, and then it was time to say good-bye. He had to leave to catch his flight to Shanghai. We had such a nice time traveling together that it was sad for me to say good bye. But it is always like that for me. I got on the internet then and was surprised by my whole family being on IM. Or rather, my sister was on and they were all there. But this time we each had webcams and could watch each other while we chatted. I could even hear them so they didn't even need to type!It was hilarious. My nephew sang Unbreak My Heart and I thought it was the funniest hting I've seen in a long time. Lifted my spirits. As this was happening I met a fellow American traveler, Josh. He was watching my family too. Funny. We ended up hanging out for the day before his night train left for Chengdu. Got some lunch - we were practically dragged into a tiny restaurant and given a spicy strange noodle soup. Cleared my nose right up and we both ate with drinks for less than $1! I spent the rest of the day stressing about travel plans and not making a decision while eating friend pink round things and other goodies in the Muslim quarter again. Did some evening research about Nepal and Indian visas and settled in to study my travel guide, which Steve very graciously left for me. Made a decision - as much as I'd love to visit the south and see the Guilin area, it will have to wait for another trip. I will head to Chengdu and see the surroundings at a less break-neck speed and then have more time in Tibet. I want to be able to take it all in a bit better at this stage in my trip.
Sunday - Didn't sleep so well in the dorm last night - I am getting soft after so many nice rooms. But it is a good dorm. The bunks are extremely spacious and set up with little lights and shelves. Great really. Got up at 7am to head out to the bus station to try my luck at leaving Xi'an in the next few days and then head off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I was planning to catch a public bus there but a few people from the hostel were heading in the same direction and we ended up sharing a cab. In the cab we realized we had met before - in the hostel in St Petersburg! They were Blake and Stephanie, who were supposed to be on my long train rise as far as Mongolia, but I had never seen them. Turns out they had missed the train and had to get one the following day. They headed off to see the Warriors and I got in line with a bunch of Chinese. The hostel had written down what I wanted in Chinese which helped a lot, but the woman spoke some English also, which is good. I ended up getting a ticket for tomorrow, which is great. But I was hoping for a night bus and this is a 10 hour ride during the day. Oh well - at least I'll be leaving Xi'an.
Next I started looking for the public bus that would take me to the Warriors. Found the 306 bus next to the train station, where it was supposed to be, but was told to get somewhere else nearby, supposedly for a different 306. I was doubtful but it was true. Who knew? The bus took an hour and towards the end I was nervous I would miss the stop, so I ended up asking a woman who had a megaphone in her hand if she spoke English. She said no so I started trying to mime the warriors and she pointed ahead, so I assumed we were still on our way. It was actually rather obvious when we arrived - it was the last stop and very obviously a major tourist attraction. Once I bought my ticket, I had to walk quite a long way to where the buildings are actually located, but it was a pretty walk. The buildings were actually constructed around the sites where the figures were found, and excavations are still continuing. Time for some history. They were created for Emperor Qin, the first Chinese Emperor I believe, about 2200 years ago. They were buried near his grave and were meant never to be seen - yet they are now one of the biggest tourist attractions in China. They were founf by peasants sinking a well in 1974. The Terra Cotta Warriors are really pretty spectacular. They are life size and individual - they each have different faces and are very precisely created, down to the fingernails and fingerprints, in some cases.
I had trouble figuring out which building was what until I entered and could read in English, so I started out with an exhibition that was pretty good. Two bronze chariots with drivers were found and were on display, along with example of warriors and weapons. Each warrior was originally holding a weapon of some sort, appropriate to the type of soldier he was. The weapons were made of metal and some were treated in such a way that they were still sharp and shiney 2000 years later. Most of these are in storage but a few were on display. Next was Pit 2, which is enormous and looks like an airplace hangar. It is very dark and mostly just mounds of dirt still to be excavated. Pit 3 was much smaller and had a few soldiers. Pit 1 is by far the largest and very well lit. It has thousands of soldiers in lines, and they expect to uncover more, for a total of 6000 or so. Quite amazing to see it really.
As I walked around Pit 1 I ran into Blake and Stephanie again, along with a Danish couple from the hostel. We were walking in opposite directions but agreed to meet at the building exit. Afterwards they headed into the exhibition for a few minutes and I waited outside for them. Had a conversation with a Chinese student excited to practice his English. He asked me if it is true that Americans hate China. I said no, not that I know of. Funny. Then my friends came out and we headed out for some lunch. Along the way there was a big celebration for National Day - which lasts all week. There were colorful costumes and drums and dancing. It was great.
Ended up eating noodles before catching an uncomfortable minibus back to Xi'an and then a public bus back to the hostel. Relaxed a while in the afternoon and showered. I met Katie, a Scottish girl teaching English in China, who sleeps next to me. In the evening I booked a room for Chengdu over the internet and then the four of us headed out to celebrate Blake's birthday over dinner. I had originally met them on Stephanie's birthday - strange coincidence. We headed for Pizza Hut - that's right. Blake's mom treated us to pizzas and it was fun and different for here. Almost a fancy restaurant, and expensive by Chinese standards. Came back afterwards and saw the McDonalds girls were also giving a dance outside the 24 hour McDonalds. We watched a bit and then came back and chatted for a while. Headed off to bed around 11pm and wrote in my journal before dozzing off.
Monday - Slept well but woke up to a sick tummy again. Bummer. Chatted with my sister online and caught up on the blog a little. Then I ran to the Bank of China to try to rid myself of my leftover Russian money, but they were having none of it. Came back and checked out of the hostel, said good-bye to my new friends, and headed to the bus. I made a pit stop for some take away food and then caught the public bus to the long distance bus station. It was easy enough and I got there with an hour to spare. With half an hour to go I started searching for my bus - a woman helped me find it. It was already full and smoky - I was in for it. No windows to open and it was already filled with smoke. Instant headache. I had a seat behind the smoking driver. They told me it would be a ten hour ride when I bought the ticket - here's to hoping it goes fast. Here I come Chengdu!
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Tanya
non-member comment
anything fried is good
i've been trying to keep up with all of the reading. I really love living vicariously through friends that are traveling. Remember when "anything fried is good" became our mantra in Ecuador?