Grand New World Xian

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 ...

... or a banana. The hotel, like many things in China, appears unsure of its own name. On some signs it claimed to be the Grand New World Hotel, or just the New World Hotel, but on others it appeared as the Grand Dynasty. The hotel in Datong had a similar ...

... on my tour (VIP treatment people!) after a long wet drive through what looked like a deserted mining town I arrived at the Grand New World Hotel now this was like putting the Ritz in Deptford! Inside the hotel was 4/5 star luxury and outside it looked ...

... photos of Tenzin buzzing down a death slide though. Tenzin's photos included a huge host of female acquaintances from all over the world which was amusing - girls must find him a bit of a challenge. 24/9 At local bus station, after receiving bad ...

... gets the aisle seat. He turns out to be an Irishman from the south west, a professional Triathlon athlete, spending time doing world-rated races in difficult places like China where the opposition is not as good, and you can rack up world standing ...

... , stuart, or as he seemed to say it "shhh-spit spit--tuart" we made our way down to the Muslim quarter and the Grand mosque. although we had just been warned to stay away from street food and crowded buses, lest we catch the deadly birdflu, we boarded a ...

... trip's highlights in Xian. I think it was very magical. All the warriors and horses were just like the real things. Our Xian route for your reference: Ancient City Walls - Shaanxi Provincial History Museum - Big Wild Goose Pagoda - Tang Dynasty music and ...

Today, we did get an early start.  We arrived by cab at the South gate of the Xian City Wall before 9:00am. The wall completely surrounds the ancient central part of the city, and is about 11 km around, and about 30 feet across.  There ...

... them for long enough. On from here to one of the highlights of my trip, the Terracotta Army, Names the 8th wonder of the world, it is truly awe inspiring. The sheer scale of all the pits (4 in total) and the endless rows of figures, each one ...

... were there we could find other native speakers of English, and we had Don Peters (the tour arranger) to fall back on.  Going to Xian, we are on our own.  We are a little nervous about that, but excited, too.  We took the first cab in line ...

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 ...

... they input your name and boarding pass info to clear it.  We arrived in the Xi'an airport and we were greeted by our new guide, Linda.  The weather was warmer than Beijing and was actually getting hot. Since we ate on the plane we weren't ...

... on the side and a description of how marvelous it is. Usually the reality is far more grim and you get on a pretty typical third world bus no matter which ticket you purchased, or what sort of lazy boy on wheels you were told your royal highness would be ...

... and decided to spend a great deal of time here. The Great Wall and The Forbidden City in and around Beijing are suitably grand that naturally high hopes were held for this ancient site.  On arriving in town we once again managed to combine fairly ...

... held out just long enough for me to get a couple of pics from the outside before going in. This was the tallest building in the world in 2004, not that long ago really. Well, it's just like most other tall buildings really, you go up to the 88th floor in ...

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 ...

... are just like normal horse with big heads. I have moved form my hotel now to the UB guest house. I met another random guy I new form Xian. The night life in UB is not great but there is a cool English pub playing old school rock which is good. They ...

... the glorious reign of Emperor Qin is another example of a theme repeated at the sites of many of the ancient world's most magnificent relics.  The greatest monuments are typically built by egomaniacs who impose brutal taxation on their subjects to ...

... We want to rent bicycles and ride them around the top of the city wall, and visit the Moslem quarter, the Bell Tower, and The Drum Tower.  Also, we want to plan our last day in Xian tomorrow.  We are having such a great time---Thanks, ...

... , with on 57 figures.  Once inside, it was breath taking.  To imagine no records of its existence, be so grand and discovered by accident.  Excavation work is ongoing today still in the three Pits. Here’s more information on this ...