Oriental Hipster

Day Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen: Xian

Yet again I have been a little lazy updating my blog, though to be honest not a lot has happened. Probably the most exciting days were Thursday and Friday. Waking up early I booked a tour to the terra-cotta warriors. It was a day trip that started at 9:30 and the first stop was the only “licensed” terra-cotta warrior replica factory in China. I’m not really sure what exactly that means but obviously the ploy worked as I quite willingly bought a replica after seeing how well they were made. We were then back in the van to see the warriors themselves. It was a pretty amazing sight. First we saw a 360 degree movie, which meant you didn’t know where to look, that explained the history before seeing the actual man himself who discovered the ancient ruins. He is like a celebrity, signing books for everyone with a sign at the front of the desk that says no photos, not that anyone obeys the rules. He was paid by the Chinese Government 10 Yuan for the discovery, which equates to roughly $2 NZ, and now he even gets a job at the museum. There were three pits with the first being the largest. There were some warriors that still had paint on them, though these were kept in special cases otherwise the colour would disappear in a matter of minutes. After a good look through the three pits and understanding the different objectives each warrior was to achieve if ever there were to be a tomb raid, we headed to the museum for a very brief look then got some lunch. After lunch we headed home. Thursday night we went for a wander through the city to see the Bell Tower and stumbled upon weird underground markets.

On Friday we checked out from out hostel anticipating that we would be staying in Hancheng a couple of nights. With our packs on our backs we headed to the long-distance bus station near the train station, however, upon arrival we were soon greeted with a phrase that had become all too familiar, “No bus.” After trying a few different lines and getting the same response we were told by the locals to try the East Bus Station as there may still be buses leaving from there. With instructions to catch the 105 bus, we literally headed for the hills. With no idea where the East Bus Station was, or what it looked like, or anything vaguely around it we eventually got off the bus with the driver giving us a cheeky grin, he obviously knew we were lost. At this point we had given up on getting to Hancheng so decided to turn this excursion into a cultural experience. Pretending not to be lost, we walked purposefully into a local restaurant, welcomed enthusiastically with questions of what exactly we were doing there. With everybody’s head in the restaurant turn towards the ‘foreigners’ with roughly 11 staff surrounding their table, it is suffice to say it was a little embarrassing trying to communicate we wanted a ‘picture-book’ menu. After it was established firstly that we wanted to eat there, and secondly what we wanted to eat, we were soon writing down emails addresses for one of the door girls so that she could practice her English with us. After a filling lunch and carrying our packs around with us all day we were getting tired so caught the bus back to the city walls after being taken to the bus stop and told which bus to take by our new friend Li Rong. Again we had bus issues, not knowing where exactly to get off, however this time we recognised the area so decided it best to alight before we ended up on the otherside of town. Unfortunately it turned out that the bus would have taken us directly to the hostel door instead of us getting off early and walking about half an hour with a packs. Keen to have a bit of a rest we asked the hostel we had been staying at if there was any room, however, as to always expect the first time in China, we were told ‘no room’. I made a quick dart around the corner to another hostel which proved successful, even if we did have to sleep in the basement. We checked in and took the rest of the day off, before heading to the basement bar for complimentary drinks! Unfortunately after a great night, I woke up early Saturday morning feeling pretty ill, and throughout the following hours vomited five times. In the morning I woke up Khan and we moved back to the hostel we had been staying so that we had a private room and private bathroom, a luxury move in unfortunate circumstances. On Saturday I pretty much slept all day and all night waking up Sunday feeling much better. I decided to go for a little walk through the city but all the sound, people, and traffic soon became a bit too much so again retired to the Bedroom only to arise for dinner. Having medication from home was a blessing and today I feel almost 100%. Today we woke up, had breakfast then headed to the train station to finally catch our train to Beijing! After waiting in a packed adults-sleeping-on-newspaper, children-pissing-everywhere-on-the-floor waiting hall we boarded the train!

Oh, and anyone considering going to Xian, beware of the lack of transport. They have no metro, “no buses”, “no trains”, and taxi drivers just wave and drive by as you try to flag them down. Aside from that, get ready for an adventure that will take an many turns as you do sleeping on the hardest beds in the world.

But seriously,

I LIKE XIAN!