Grand New World Hotel Xian Chin Xi'an

Day 5 Thurs 10th May Today I transfer to Xi'an so up at 6 for quick breakfast and then some furious packing. Beijing although being a bit of a culture shock has been a happy experience on the whole in some ways its not nice like the pollution that literally chokes you (and I used to be a smoker) and the dust that is all over the place and the grim tourist traps, but if you don't expect utopia and take the time to look under the surface the you will see a unique charm that I am still trying to...

In Xian now. Took a sleeper train from Lanzhou last night. Slept like a baby.

Tried to get some tea when we woke up but couldn't relay to anyone we needed cups. My translator I bought is useless and I will be returning it when I get home. I stood in the center of the dinking car and yelled in frustration "Does anyone here know any English ?" I got alot of blank stares and giggles.

Note to self: take cups on the train with you.

Good news for my husband. I have figured out the Chinese foot massage and I want him to be my guinea pig when we get back.

Today we will go see the city wall.

More later.

14th March Well, here I am again and boy have I been busy.Since we last spoke Up early, and have found muscles I didn't know I had which is due to my escapades on the great wall. Said goodbye to all the Beijing folk and off to the airport I have flown to Xian.This city is famous for it's city wall and in true style, we went from the airport straight there!! It goes for 14KM around the city and I was amazed at the contrast between the old on one side and the new on the other. We visited the Mo...

Entry containing 3 photos titled: dengan bos-bos, di depan hotel xi'an, xi'an

(Jack) Last night we arrived in Xi'an from Hong Kong. On the one hour drive from the airport, I did my best to listen to our guide, (Joe in English, Guo in Chinese), who had graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic University and was a pretty interesting guy. However, my limited Chinese was my fallback as I slowly dropped out of the conversation. The simple room was a far cry from the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, but the bed was warm and cushy and the breakfast was fine (excluding Katharine getting u...

We spent the day in Xi'an with our new tour guide Carol. Carol's English is much stronger than Do's so that is a relief. However, she can talk without taking a breath for what seems like hours at a time. And she's very well informed about Xi'an and all the sights. It was a lot of work to keep up with her. First stop in Xi'an was the Terracotta Warriors. I've already been to the exhibit at the High Museum in Atlanta, GA - but was very excited to see the whole thing. What I did not realize is t...

Our last day in Xi'an and when we get outside it's snowing! Apparently the rockets the government has been shooting into the sky have been too effective. We visited the Great Mosque - which is the center of Islamic worship in Xi'an. Particularly after all the places we've visited on this trip it's really interesting to see the Muslim elements intermingled with the Asian elements. The Mosque had the typical Chinese architecture, but the Islamic accouterments like ablutions fountain and mihrab,...