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Hello from Xian!
Travelled here by sleeper train which took 12 hours overnight from Beijing. The train station was massive and sooo busy, there were so many people pushing and shoving to get in. We got on the train and were in cabins of 6 beds. The cabins were tiny! I was in the middle bunk. Had pot noodles for dinner then it was lights out at 10.30pm. Slept ok surprisingly but woke early to the sound of Chinese folk hocking up on the way to the washroom. The washroom was a moving squat toilet with a handrail and water bucket for rinsing - I decided fairly early on to restrict water intake so that I didnt have to use it! Arrived in Xian and again so many people - all staring!
One of the first things I noticed about Xian was the clear sky. In Beijing there is a constant haze from the smog so it was nice to see blue sky for a change. Our hotel in Xian is ok but not the best, its standard but smells of stale smoke, hard bed and lumpy pillow but I suppose in comparison with the sleeper its a little better. We had a laugh at the mini bar - usual selection of Chinese snacks then on the other side a display consisting of condoms, condoms fo rthe extendable man (?), ladies panties, mens panties (pink), lady oil, gentleman oil etc so we were thinking what kind of hotel establishment have they put us in here?! We had an hour to get showered then back on the bus to travel to the terracotta warriors and horses museum - claimed to be the 8th wonder of the world. The journey took just over an hour and was in the middle of nowhere but I had to laugh when we got there as it had subway, KFc and McDonalds - seems to be the case in China with all the attractions.
The museum was good. The teracotta army is in 3 pits; pit 1 has been excavated and resoration work being carried out to complete it. The work will take years as they are found in pieces and it takes the archaeologists about a month to restore just one. They have stopped work on the other pits as when they are found they are painted in bright colours and are fading within 3 days of them being unearthed so apparently they will wait until they develop a way to retain the colour. They have since found another pit and it will be excavated along with the others sometime in the future. I found it all really interesting.
Back on the bus and half an hour in hotel then back out again for dinner - its non stop. We all got on tuk tuks for a dumpling banquet which was amazing. 20 different kinds of dumpling - totally stuffed!
Tomorrow we get up at 5am for morning flight to Hangzhou - arrrghhh! Feels like I have not stopped for days and Im knackered! Its hard work all this!
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