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Trip Start Sep 10, 2008 Previous
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  Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The overnight train was certainly an experience, although perhaps one more luxurious than you would have thought. Our beds were certainly softer than in our previous accommodation, that had basically comprised of a wooden board with futon on top. We didn't have the privacy of a door, and the top bunk was a little bit of a climb and squeeze, being 3 beds up, but we had duvets and the trains were pretty clean. Although that couldn't quite be extended to the on-board toilets. Lights out were pretty early, at 10pm, so we sat with our small wall light and chatted into the night. Some of the group eventually went to sit in between carriages to minimize noise after we had been told off several times, but some of us decided to go to bed as the idea of sitting next to the toilets was not exactly an appealing one!

Arriving early and smelly into Xi'an, we had time to grab a quick breakfast before jumping onto our awaiting bus and heading straight across to see the terracotta warriors. Breakfast unfortunately consisted of MacDonald's (yes, nowhere is safe!) but introduced us to the bizarre phenomenon of the sleeping Chinese people, which seem to feature in every branch. It must be something they put in the food! Every table we passed had one person sitting at it, totally passed out over the table.

I didn't know what to expect from the warriors, which is perhaps a bit of a poor effort on my part considering my degree is in ceramics, but I certainly wasn't expecting what I found. The warriors are bigger than life-size, each one with a different facial expression, and there are literally thousands of them, many still not yet uncovered. I can't even begin to imagine how on earth the archaeologists working on the site have managed to put together the pieces that the warriors were broken into. We all enjoyed the warriors so much that we somehow managed to spend 3 hours in there and not get bored. Of course the fact we had to pose for photos every few seconds kind of helped pass the time. It seems that to have white skin here is to become a celebrity. Everywhere we go, we get asked to pose for photographs with people. Its a bit strange, there have been times when we've literally been mobbed with people trying to take our picture. The funniest are the people who try take a photo slyly, whilst you're walking past, its like being followed around by the paparazzi! Many people just walk right up to you and take it though.

The next day we had some time to cycle along the city walls. It wasn't exactly the most thrilling view it has to be said, but was pretty amusing as the path was incredibly bumpy with added potholes and the bikes were quite clearly not made for that kind of terrain. It sounded like we were riding shopping trolleys down a cobbled road. Heading out for the evening we had a traditional hot pot. Everything from lettuce and mushrooms to squid and meat was skewered onto sticks, ready for you to choose what you wanted and dip into the big vat of water over the heater on your table in front of you. The thing I love about the way the Chinese eat, is how sociable and fun it is, you share your cooking pot and food with everyone on your table, and it can be pretty amusing watching people who've never used chopsticks before try to eat them. I was very thankful to my parents who took me to Chinese restaurants from a young age for this one! To pay, you simply count up how many sticks you've used at the end.

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