Shangri La Hotel Xian Xi'an

... une place de karaoke, a l'air plus fancy qu'un palais de justice. Y'a un garde arme devant, et le lobby a l'air du Ritz ou du Delta. ******n on est pas alle encore! -J'ai vu une vendeuse de fleur se faire pourchasser par un policier, et une vendeuse illegale de livres se faire fermer sa shoppe, mais gentilment. -De l'estomac de je sais pas trop quel animal, c'est rendu dans mon top 10 des aliments les plus delicieux que j'ai mange de ma vie ...

... to stop and pray before heading back to the city/wants to convert us.

-NAILZ needs to use the bathroom?

The real answer is that NAILZ has a deal with a silk factory to bring unwilling whities to the site for a “tour” which is exactly the same “tour” as we had at the factory on the other tour we were a part of in Shanghai. After saying “no thanks” to cheap looking non-silk products we got back in the car and pointed to our hotel’s ...

... from Lhasa. In the past 5 years they have learned from the Chinese that they can use green houses. Now his parents can have green vegetables on a regular basis. Pasang II jokes that he grew up on a farm, but was the youngest and the naughtiest, so he does not know how to farm. Bill thinks it sounds like me and I can not disagree!

People still live quite simply, but are able to grow enough to support themselves and their families. Farmers grow barley ...

... by other chinese standards, compared to England it was nothing) but we didnt stay long and made our way back to the hotel in a fleet of taxis.....the comfy bed was calling. Finally, our last day in Xi'an and it couldnt have come soon enough. I spent the day with Josh, Aisha and Rachel (at this point i should point out that Josh and Aisha are something of an item so shall be referred to as Jaisha) and we walked around the Muslim quarter checking out the sights one last time. We ...

The Xi'an train station was not the crowded mess that the Beijing train station was and we got out in short order. We had contacted the Shuyuan hostel in Xi'an the night before and they were waiting for us with a "Lisa Jankowsk" sign as soon as we got outside. The girls that were waiting for us spoke excellent English and somehow we found out that there were dogs named "Terra" and "Cota" at the hostel. There was also a cat named "Hot Pot"; apparently ...

... the inhabitants of Moslem Street are the descendants of those immigrants. All the Moslems here are the pious and devout followers of Islam so they form a tight knit community, which maintains its own culture and traditions to this day even in such a modern society.People here are very familiar with each other ...

... most magnificent relics. The greatest monuments are typically built by egomaniacs who impose brutal taxation on their subjects to pay for their architectural whimsies, and those exactions are often self-limiting. "Apres moi, le deluge," said Louis XV. Had he anticipated the destruction that would follow his death, Emperor Qin might similarly have said, "Apres moi, la poterie sera casse." (Pardon my execrable French. Perhaps Jack ...

... of them. It was unreal. The granny using my knee as an armrest didn't seem as awed as I was. We were dropped off in town and met by the travel agent who would put us on the boat. We had a little time to wander the town until it was ready. Turns out it would have been cheaper and easier to arrange it ourselves, but oh well. We wandered through the old town to the river and had a wonderful view of peaks ...

... conditions is hopeless. people will try and pick pocket you even more, and then you have to put with even more...... 1. spitting 2. open mouthed gawping 3. 10 times the amount of pushing, shoving, jostling and down right agressiveness as you try to get anywhere. 4. the hostels will be so busy they may not have kept your reservation, or they may turf you out on the street cos they 'forgot' they'd reserved the room they gave you. 5. the normal hostel staff will be on holiday, and ...

The flight from Beijing to Xi'an was very short, and our landing was ideal. It was twilight time, and the white minibus who took us to the hostel was full of tourists from our flight who wanted to go to the centre of the Muslim quarter - actually the centre of the city. The airport is very far from the city, but the roads are good and the ride was definately uncomplainable. The city of Xi'an, one of the old capital cities of China, is a perfect ...