So we caught the train from Luyoung to Xian. We arrived in the evening then headed to the Muslim quarter where Brett took us for some Hot Pot. If you`re unfamiliar with hot pot it is basically a large metal pot which is divided in two sections. One is filled with a spicy mixture and the other a more mild one. The pot is placed on a gas heater in the middle of the table and then you simply pop skewers of meat/veg/whatever?@into it and let them cook. It was a good meal but I just knew I`d be singing some Johnny Cash on the toilet the next day.
The next day was Terracotta Warrior time. We headed out to the pits with our guide, Tina. Who gave us a fairly rapid tour of the place. It was interesting and also, when I got thinking about it, a little overwhelming. SO many of the warriors were made and buried and the fact it took several years also made it hard to comprehend the scale of the construction of a burial chamber of this size.
After we returned to Xian, I took a wander down culture street and then headed down east street.
I should mention the layout of Xian here. The city has four main streets: north, south, east and west all converging on the bell tower which is a massive pagoda style building holding a bell. Down south street a little is the drum tower which houses... (go on,?@guess!) drums. The city is surrounded by a 14km long wall that was for keeping invaders out back in the day.
That evening we sampled a brazilian place which is basically meat, a buffet style salad/meat/sweets/soup bar, more meat and some meat to finish (fans of Jimmy Chungs/thai buffer raise your hands!) The meat was served by guys wandering round with skewers of meat and they cut pieces off for you to enjoy. They even wheeled round a full roasted pig!
The next day I got up early to go down the park to see the tai chi being practiced in the park. There were women doing fan dancing, guys practicing with sabres and people doing froms on all sides.
I headed to the Mosque in the muslim?@quarter after that to see what it was like. It was pretty and had an open layout that was good to wander through, but I really liked some of the displays they had in the little enclaves at the side of the place. Simple things like ornate mirrors or desk just seemed to stand out.
I then decided it was time to walk the wall. I hit out with my pack on my back and started trudging. I stopped at each of the main gates to take pictures and occasionally had a look over the wall while I was walking. It was good to get out into the air and take in the sights from a different perspective.
Then it was simply back to the hotel to catch a train to Lanjo.
