Xi'an and Xining
Trip Start
Aug 23, 2008
1
7
26
Trip End
Dec 12, 2008
Xining,
Qinghai,
China
Sunday, September 14, 2008
This morning I woke up and packed my bags. Then Elise and I went to get breakfast. It was one of those Chinese people trying to do American breakfast food. It was really surprisingly good.
After breakfast we went to the Xi'an museum of history. Most of it felt like a way over crowded version of the British Museum. I was not able to see very much. Although I did see the plaques with the four ancient guardians / gods. These plaques came from the ancient castle. I also saw the largest lion statue I have ever seen.
After the museum we went to a meal with several dishes native t o the region
Giant Lion
. Most of it was a little weird although I did like the pork sandwiches and the last dish they served. The last dish was like a fried sugar cookie with an egg yolk based filling.After lunch we went to the airport. I had a small problem going through security. This is because the Chinese Government or a visa holding office has my passport because I need to change my visa. The person had a problem when I tried use the receipt like Josie said I could. Liu Laoshi came over and helped me get through security. I was really glad that she was close enough to see that I needed help.
The flight was pretty uneventful until we came in for the landing. It was like a rollercoaster or like the plane was falling down stairs. I regularly felt that the plane was jumping down levels. Then it felt like the plane had just fallen out of the sky when it was touching down. Overall the landing the landing was the most fun I have had on a plane in a long time.
After that we drove over to our hotel. Our guide for the next 3 days name is Tim. He seems really nice and cool.
Tonight we went down a street of small street food restaurants and found one with lamb chuar. It was also really good. The five of use there managed to eat 60 sticks of chuar and 4 plates of noodles.
After dinner we walked over to and around the big square in town. After a really short walk we decided to pile into a cab. Because the cabs are not large enough for 5 people I ended up sitting on Sam's lap. This cab ride was also the cheapest cab I have been on before in China.
