Xian

Once Andy and I had returned from Shanghai, we met up with Anne and she was kind enough to accompany us to Xian (pronounced She-on). She had recently been there to see the Terracotta Warriors and it was quite the ordeal because you have to take overnight trains to get there and back. We almost didn't make it to the train station because we had gone to silk alley (a great little shopping area that has changed TREMENDOUSLY since I was there 8 years ago).

We had "hard sleepers" on our way to Xian--meaning that our bunk beds were out in the open and there were three on each side of the wall. We were fortunate enough to have the "soft sleepers" on our way back which provided us with a door so we could shut out most of the cigarette smoke.

Once we arrived in Xian at our hostel, we inquired about the cost of seeing the Terracotta Warriors (about an hour away). We were so grateful that Anne had recently been there and could advise us to skip some of the side tours that were also available. We also heeded her advice and she was able to get a taxi cab driver who was willing to drive the three of us all the way out to the Terracotta Warriors, wait for us and then take us back to Xian..all for less than about $30 US.

The Terracotta Warriors are truly impressive! Pit #1 contains more than 6,000 soldiers in battle formation. Their purpose was to protect and defend the deceased emperor (the same emperor who built the Great Wall) in the afterlife. When you consider the attention to detail in creating each warrior--their uniforms, facial features, hair styles (indicating their rank), etc. were all unique, it's a very impressive sight. I can't imagine the time it took to make so many warriors or the size of the ego of the one requiring them to be made!!

We then went exploring in Xian. We went to the Big Goose Pagoda which included an amazing water fountain area and surrounding park that was full of people and was a great place to just take it all in.

The next day, we went to the drum and bell towers in Xian and then headed over to the Muslim Quarters for some shopping and snacks. We had a variety of tasty treats including a mochi-like treat and deep-fried sweet potato cakes.

We walked around so much that Andy announced that he wanted to treat us to foot massages. Anne opted for a manicure and Andy and I got foot massages. We couldn't help but laugh about how the young girls who massaged our tired feet had never seen feet as large as Andy's. I must admit that after a week of walking all over China, it sure felt good to relax for a while. Perhaps the funniest part was when Anne, toward the end of her manicure, practically got ambushed by the owner of the "spa". Without any warning whatsoever, she picked up a razor blade and some tweezers and started walking toward Anne with a determined look in her eyes. If Anne hadn't said anything, that lady would have just started plucking Anne's eyebrows and she wouldn't have known what hit her. As it turns out, Anne is very timid (to say the least) when it comes to inflicting pain on herself--which started an interesting conversation about the lady's intentions to pluck till her heart was content and Anne's inability to remain calm throughout the procedure. Ultimately, I think the lady's feelings were hurt as Anne decided not to let her go crazy on her brows, but it was entertaining to watch the whole episode play out.

Before we left Xian, we ate dinner at a well-known dumpling restaurant. It was certainly our most expensive meal of the entire trip, but I thought it was worth it because each round of dumplings (jiaozi) were shaped into the form of whatever filling was inside them. They had a sweet walnut dumpling that was shaped into the form of a walnut as well as several bird-shaped dumplings for the pigeon, chicken etc flavored dumplings. It was a very entertaining meal. We then headed to the train station to return to Beijing via overnight train. We were so grateful to have "soft sleepers" and the additional privacy they provided us.