We kept telling ourselves that we'd go to the famed Muslim quarter. I never wanted to venture into the quarter in the dark when Travis wanted to go get dinner, and we somehow never managed to go there during the day...until the day we left Xi'an. Chinese Muslims are called Hui, and although I believe many of them are no different than Han Chines...

Early in the morning of October 3, 2007 I embarked on a trip that I had envisioned for a long time - CHINA!! About 30 hours later I landed in Shenyang and began the adventure. I do not like to take the organized tours so I just go it alone. A lot of risk this way but I do not like to be told where to go, how long to stay, etc. Here I will try to...

It was time to leave this wonderful city for the next stop on my journey Xi'an. To get there I was going to travel by overnight train, this 15 hour journey, would be an experience and a half. The train station is just like an airport, with the departure lounges packed with people and their luggage. The normal traveller may have 2 bags with them,...

So we get on the bus, and they make u take ur shoes off! There were no seats, just 3 rows of metal frame beds running all the way down the bus, with 2bunks. It was such a nuts thing to see, cos no space was wasted, but that didn't mean u had enough space. Lying on the bed i couldn't even nearly stretch my legs and the width was little more than ...

Our first sleeper train experience en route to Xi'an

Just got here today. Walked around saw the city are going to see the worriors tomorrow. Got to practise our chinese since nobody spoke english ... I still don't know the word for sheep, but I thank my mom for teaching me to use sounds as a way of communication. Remember both sheep and cow have horns, so the sound must be very clear. I'm on a hos...

Yep. Thats right. Budda. Perhaps Im getting ahead of myself. Michael and I signed up for a day tour for today. A number of the major sights are 30+ miles out of the city, and a tour seemed easier than hiring a cab for the day. I thought I covered us by asking how many 'factory tours' (ie unexpected stops to shops that are in cahoots w/ the tour ...

Xi'an? Shouldn't I be in Pingyao right about now? Well, yes. And it's down to my own idiocy that I'm not. Episode 1: Escape from Beijing I blame the bad duck. Myself and a few guys from my hostel decided that we would try out the famed Beijing duck, and went to a local restraunt to try it. It turned out that we were handed a 'tourist special' - ...

Just arrived in Xi'an. We have been in China 6 days and starting to figure out the "China" way of doing things. 1. Always argue over a price, even when the price is quoted. The prive never changes, they just like to argue. 2. In the markets, always start at half of posted price. And that is still paying too much. 3. If they tell you a price (say...