Thursday, November 3, 2011

Xi'an (West Peace) Day Trip and More...

November 1st started out with my alarm clock going off at an ungodly hour (4 am), but James, Valentina, and I were going to fly to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. We didn't know until a couple of days prior that I would actually have the day off because our boss Miles is out of town, so we literally planned our trip within 24 hours. Valentina, with the help of Yasmin (one of our local teachers), booked our plane tickets and our rooms at the hostel with ease. I would have rather taken the sleeper train, but we go as a group so my vote didn't really matter. I'm okay with that, and plus, I can always find a way to take a sleeper train somewhere else! :)
   After showering and scrambling to pack my backpack (I think I overpacked, but oh well!), I met James at his apartment and walked to meet Valentina at her corner at 5 am. We quickly caught a taxi to take us to the airport and 60 RMB (about $10) later we arrived at Terminal 1. James briefly got carsick upon exiting the cab, but I guess that was just an omen foreboding what was to come next. Because we had our e-tickets, we went to a kiosk to print our boarding passes. Valentina and James had no issues printing theirs; however, through luck of the draw, I chose the one kiosk that was out of paper. We then walked over to a really long line of people checking in to get my boarding pass printed. After about waiting 10-15 minutes, a guy working with Hainan Airlines came over to us and since we weren't checking any luggage (this may be my first flight where I didn't check any luggage!!) escorted us to the Fortune Wing/Gold and Silver Line. After talking to the attendant at the counter and explaining what happened, I had my pass and we were walking to the security line.   That's where our 3rd incident occurred. James and I had no issues going through security; however, Valentina got patted down and her bag searched. It took almost 10 minutes for her to pass security. By the end of our airport experience so far, we were starving so we walked around the terminal to find food (and coffee). We finally decided on a restaurant called PappaRich (we really didn't have much of a selection - only 2 restaurants were open). Valentina and I had baozi (it wasn't really all that exciting - nothing to write home about!) and iced tea while James had water and painkillers.  We departed Beijing around 8:30 as our flight was delayed because of traffic on the tarmac. 
    After arriving in Xi'an, we checked into our hostel and walked around Xi'an. We climbed the city wall (it reminded me a little of Rothelburg, Germany) and also went to the Bell Tower. The stairs in the Xi'an Bell Tower were much easier to climb than the ones at the Beijing Bell Tower. Why does every city I've been to (this marks the 3rd city - Beijing and Tianjin being the other two) have a bell tower? We came back to the hostel around 5:45 and took a short nap before waking up at 7:30 to decide where we were going to eat dinner. Valentina and I decided to eat at the restaurant at the hostel so that we wouldn't have to walk around any more. During dinner we talked with an older gentleman from Florida who is teaching approx. 20 miles southwest of Xi'an. He's only been here a month and works just 2 days a week. I don't know what I would do if I had all that extra time. Anyway, around 11 pm we went to bed. I woke up a couple of times because there was a girl in our bunkroom that sounded like an elephant every time she left the room. Once during the night, I rolled over and stretched out. When I did that I kicked what I thought was the edge of the bed; however, it was a cat that had snuck into our bunkroom and decided that he was going to sleep with me that night. The only way I knew it was a cat was he yelped when I accidentally kicked him. I don't know what it is about China but my cat allergies weren't as bad. 
   Upon waking up in the morning (November 2nd) we packed up our belongings, unmade our beds, and checked out. After check out we ate breakfast at the same restaurant before catching the tour to the Terra Cotta Warriors. We thought that the tour was only for the Terra Cotta warriors (as that was what we paid for); however, we stopped two other places. The Banpo Museum was our first stop. It reminded me of the Sam Noble Museum in Norman because it outlined the actual living and burial places of the Banpo people. Then we stopped at a terra cotta factory. It was a 10 minute tour with a bunch of shopping opportunities. Valentina, James, and I each bought a terra cotta soldier for ourselves with Valentina also buying an embroidered print for a Christmas present for her mom. After that, we had lunch at this restaurant that was literally across the street from the museum of terra cotta soldiers. We ate lunch unenthusiastically because it didn't taste all that great. After lunch, we walked across the street and into the museum. It was 110 kuai for our tickets and we got to see all 3 pits. First stop was pits 2 and 3, as they were smaller and needed less explanation. I wish that the tour guide would have let us just walk around and explore on our own a little bit more. Pit 1 took the longest because that's where you can get the iconic shot! There were thousands of people there trying to fight to get to the rail and take that amazing shot. After we finally did that, we continued walking around the pit until we reached the door we had entered. We walked to the final building (the one that had no terra cotta soldiers in it) in search of a bathroom. We were on our way out of the building when I was stopped by a man who recognized my Oklahoma hoodie I had on. We talked a little bit about why I was in China and I found out that he was from Idabel. Small world. We couldn't talk long as we were going to be late to catch the shuttle back to Xi'an, or so I thought. Little did we know that there was going to be one more stop on our excursion that day. The last stop was the mausoleum of Emperor (or as our tour guide says, Apple) Qin. We couldn't go in because the Chinese restorers have yet to find a way to get rid of the mercury issue. It also had baby (booby) traps to protect it. All we could see was a mountain in the distance or pay 80 kuai ($12.50) to ride the electric tram car up to the hill. We spent probably all of about 10 minutes there before we boarded the shuttle back to Xi'an.   Upon arriving at Xi'an, James, Valentina, and I were dropped off at the train station so that we could catch the airport bus. We briefly stopped at two places, the post office so that Valentina could send some postcards and McDonalds so that we could go to the bathroom and get a snack. I've gotten really good at squatting since many places don't have western toilets. After resting for a little bit, we boarded the shuttle and were on our way to the airport. We were dropped off at Terminal 1 and then walked about 5 minutes to Terminal 2. We checked in (no issues this time! :) ) and went through security. Each of us got patted down this time, and I'm ticklish so I busted out giggling. I really hope that the security people didn't think I was a terrorist just because I laughed while I was getting felt up by the security guard. We found our gate and then found some place to eat. Why is it that it seems like we're always eating? Oh, yeah, we are! :) We ordered sandwiches and drinks and then waited at our gate. James walked around and got some air while Valentina called her mom and I sat at the gate. At 8:15 we started boarding our flight and by 8:55 we were on the runway about to take off. I've realized that Chinese people don't fuss about taking off and landing (not a lot of time between taxiing on the runway and actually taking off.) At 10:30 we arrived home in Beijing and by 10:45 we were on the Airport Express train to Sanyuanqiao subway station. We transferred at Sanyuanqiao and then again at Huixinxijie Nankou before finishing our journey at Lishuiqiao (Standing Water Bridge) South. It was midnight by the time I entered my apartment. I did a load of laundry (because I knew that it would take a while to dry since it's getting colder and colder here in Beijing!) before going to bed at 1:00 this morning.   I slept a really long time last night and woke up this morning wrapped up as a cocoon. I didn't want to leave as it was really warm. Anyway, sorry for the long entry but it's been almost a month since I've last updated.
Before I go, I want to show you what I dressed up as for Halloween. Only in China could I pull this off. Thanks to James for even suggesting that I go as a panda for Halloween. :)