Xi'an

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Made it to Xi'an and met up with Megan! Very happy, and very excited to start some adventures! Going to try and add some photos this time, so it's not just a boring blog with words!

Got the train from Beijing with no problems - soft seat really wasn't too bad. No overcrowding in the carriage and plenty of air-conditioning, and a person next to me for virtually the whole time. Big seats, only downside was smoking at the end of each carriage was allowed. Didn't brave the toilets!

Arrived in Xi'an and went straight to the hostel, and was able to check in right away, which was ace. Hostel here is much nicer (and cheaper!) than Beijing, but the mozzies here are aggressive as! Going to have to layer some local stuff on top of my DEET, might keep them away better. Had a shower, and met another girl in my dorm, who was heading to the Terracotta Warriors as well, so we went together. Got a local bus (bouncy!) and were there after about an hour. The Warriors themselves were really cool (see attached pictures if I'm able!), especially Pit 1, the biggest pit, but it was also VERY touristy, and there seemed to be about a million Chinese tour groups. Still, it's the done thing when you're in Xi'an, and very cool to have seen them.

Had a delicious mutton 'n' bread stew thing from the Muslim Quarter for tea - so interesting to see people who aren't Han Chinese. Met Megan at the train station without too much difficulty - two Westerners amongst the thousands of Chinese!! Had a great sleep on the much softer beds 😊

Today has been ace so far, got up pretty early and just delved into the back streets of the Muslim Quarter again. So much unusual and lovely architecture, so much going on with the people, so many delicious smells! The highlight was definitely visiting the mosque - probably the most unusual mosque I've ever seen. To all intents and purposes it resembled a Chinese temple but crowned with a crescent moon, and with artwork in arabic all around. Amazing! We also managed to book our tickets to Xining for tomorrow morning! A hard sleeper all day, so can lie down and relax - it's further West so should be more of the same, as Xi'an, but with more Tibetan culture as well. Qinghai Lake looks gorgeous so think we'll be visiting there - planning on spending 2 nights in Xining before heading on to Yinchuan and the desert! Cannot wait.

Right, better go and try and put some snaps up 😊

Jen

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Comments

[kriss]

ooooooooh very nice ! treating yourself! :) xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[holly]

look at that FEAST!!
i hope you didn't eat all that food yourself ;) looks like you're having fun, don't forget to send a postcard!! :D miss you! xxxxxxxx