XI AN

We had a terrific trip to Xi An, China. Xi An is located Northwest of Suzhou. We departed Suzhou Sat morning and traveled with about 150 employees from Jim's company via tour bus to the Pudong airport in Shanghai. It took three different groups on three different airplanes to get us all to our destination. Upon arrival in Xi An we loaded three tour buses and began our journey to the city of Xi An.

Once we arrived we found our way to the hotel. It was on a very overcrowded street that I didn't think the buses could manage. I was WRONG! The bus drivers were experts and could maneuver the buses with great ease and precision. I was completely amazed. I would not want the job of a bus driver here in China. The cars, bikes, pedicabs and pedestrians simply ignore the buses! Imagine a HUGE bus coming down the street right at you and not moving! Yep -- the bus stops or blast the horn which sounds like a tug boat horn! Then maybe the pedestrian will move or the bike will slightly move over to allow the bus to pass through the street. AYE!!!!!! Our driver never flinched, cussed or even rolled his eyes.

We stayed at a bargain hotel that proved to be shelter and warm showers! You can't ask for much more than that on a trip with so many people! I was thankful to have hot showers and a toilet! It was another adventure with hand signals to explain to the housekeeper that we needed toilet paper. T.P. is another convenience that you appreciate even more when traveling. The housekeeper returned smiling with the smallest roll of TP I have ever seen! I expressed my sincere appreciation and told Jim we must find a convenience store. Ha ha!

We opened the window to allow fresh air to enter the stale stuffy room and were greeted with the sounds of traditional Chinese music. Our fabulous view was a bit obscured by the burglar bars and the wall of the building next door. When the screen was open we could actually touch the building next door. Despite our view, the room gave us a place to shower and rest until the next event on the schedule.

The afternoon had slipped away and dinner was arranged for all of us in the hotel restaurant. Dinner was SPICY! The food was traditional and I enjoyed it! The fish here is usually served with bones, head, etc. Jim will not eat the fish because of the bones - but I was so hungry I didn't care. I was happy to enjoy a familiar taste less the extra hot peppers. The group quickly completed the arranged dinner and we all hit the streets. We walked about 10 minutes and found the Bell and Drum Towers. The towers were glowing with lights in the night sky. They were beautiful. It is unfortunate that we didn't have the opportunity to actually tour the towers on this trip. We will make certain that we tour the towers on the next trip to Xi An.

The city had a local street which was called "Muslim Street." The local Muslims were dressed in warm clothing complete with traditional head coverings for both men and women. The street was filled with local patrons selling everything from puppy dogs, shoes, handbags, jade bracelets, bracelets made from cow bones, blankets, nuts, fruit and hot food! The smells were intense! The food was actually appealing and we tried a local treat. I can not remember the name of this dish, but it was prepared by a street vendor and was something like dough steamed and rolled in a peanut - nutty spice. You could select a filling for your treat on a stick of you wanted it. The choices were lemon, apple, fruit, berry and meat. So, I think I requested the apple filling, but I didn't taste anything close to apples.

We continued our journey down the street and encountered beggars and stalkers. The beggars openly wanted money and the stalkers wanted our camera, wallets etc. The tour guides came up to us and said, "Be careful with your personals!" So, we guarded our bags. I had the camera around my neck and sure enough we had a group of 2 then 3 then 4 men carefully walking behind us and around us for our time on the street. The street had alley ways that were filled with more sales and local people. We found a few souvenirs and continued around the towers.

While on our city tour, we stumbled upon not one, not two but three Starbucks! YUMMY! The air was cold and the warm familiar taste of a "Carmel Machiotto" hit the spot! Time to recline and take a rest until day 2! We turned out the lights and prepared to sleep only to hear the continued sounds of the street through the window. The room was equipped with heat but not a/c or fan. It was still stuffy and closing the window wasn't an option. I could only laugh out loud as we attempted to actually sleep.

Day Two: Morning came very early and my puffy eyes were proof of no sleep! The warm shower was wonderful. Thankfully, I had brought a couple of instant coffee packets with us and we made some warm coffee to get us going. The trip planned for today is to the Terra Cot ta Warriors and History Museum of Shanxi. We drove for approximately 2 hours. The weather is cold and we are all layered in warm clothes. Upon our arrival at the museum, we were greeted by a very large statue and KFC! Yep -- you just can't imagine China w/out KFC -right? The museum is located in the countryside. The terra cotta warriors were discovered when local farmers attempted to drill a well and came across bronze statues. The discovery has been claimed as the 8th Wonder of the World. I can agree. We entered the first building approximately the size of three football fields to find rows and rows of soldiers that had been unearthed. The mounds of dirt were still in the process of being excavated. I have seen photographs on the Internet prior to our visit, but I wasn't prepared for the reality. Two additional large buildings housed more of the artifacts and actual excavation is ongoing. One of the tour guides said that the warriors were reappearing to conquer the earth once more! Hmmmmm....interesting statement. The warriors have certainly gained world wide attention!

We continued to tour the museums and I wanted to remain and take more pictures. The walk to the museum was beautiful and I was hoping the sun would appear. The mountains surrounding the open land were shrouded with dense clouds. The photographs barely reveal the outline of the mountains. Hopefully, when we return next Spring or Summer the skies will allow the view to be photographed.

We gathered again and loaded the buses to enjoy another traditional Chinese dinner together and then back to our hotel. We all struck out to enjoy another stroll through the city. While we were out we followed some of the colleagues to a local dinner spot. One of the men who works with Jim ordered the food for our tables. The dishes included: duck, roasted chicken, ox tail, squid, jellyfish, lamb, fish, and other mystery dishes I can't recall. After dinner, we stumbled upon WAL-MART! Oh joy -- but we found TP, contact solution and gum. Back to the room to enjoy another night of horn serenades!

Day Three: We

Today we are off to see the Imperial Tomb of Tang Dynasty. The buses drove for about 2 hours from the hotel and we found ourselves in the country hillside again. We visited the the Imperial Tomb of Tang Dynasty. The actual location of the tomb is unknown and the location we were taken to visit is the tourist spot of the monuments dedicated to the Emperor and Empress.
As we approached the monuments the local villagers came out begging for us to purchase their wares. I strolled over to the edge of the mountain to get a photo and discovered the village where they lived. A sweet little lady came over to me and wanted me to go to her house with her for 50 yuan. Of course I had to decline because we were with a tour group. We were also offered rides on horses around the village. I wanted to go so badly, but Jim was completely in objection. We will not leave the group! OK -- OK. The villagers saw us arguing and it was funny to see their reaction to our verbal disagreement. They continued to approach me but when Jim would turn around and say NO!, they would look at me and say, OK OK -- as if they had sympathy for the woman whose husband didn't want to adventure into the countryside ....and get left in Xi An!

After we completed our walk up and down the famous "sacred hallway" we visited another museum. This one was filled with wax figures dressed in period clothing. The hallways steadily descended to a room much lower than the entrance. It was dark and musty. The final room was located behind a shrine and altar. This room had a replication of the Emperor Gaozong and his wife in a glass coffin. It is said that the Empress had her two only sons killed so she could inherit the throne of power in Wu Zetian. OK -- not a very nice lady. Following our tour of the museum, we had a meal. The meals also continued a steady decline in appeal and taste. The best part of this meal was the noodles. We ate a couple bites of noodles and then devoured the granola bars I had in our backpacks!


Back to the city of Xi An to see the City Wall! It was built to protect the city of Xi An from battle attacks. Interestingly, the city gate would allow attackers to enter the wall and then they would be surrounded by another wall which held archers. Jim likened it to "fish in a barrel" -- great strategy!

We completed our trip to Xi An with a return to Suzhou via overnight Train! The train station was so very crowded! We waited for about 1 hour until our train was available. The train trip in itself was an experience I will not soon forget. We slept in the "hard-sleeper" cars. The bunks were three high and each "compartment" held a total of six bunks. The bathroom was community shared and located at the end of the car. Each car slept 60 people. It was not a toilet as we are familiar with in the US. It was a squatty. About every two hours an attendant would take a bucket of water and clear the bathroom.

We played Uno and laughed for a couple hours. Jim's co-workers are a lot of fun and they were so gracious and even attempted to teach me a few new words! The train announced "Lights Out at 10PM" in Mandarin of course -- and they were not joking. It was dark on the train! Jim was kind and gave me the bottom bunk and he took the middle bunk. He was so kind! When morning came, we still had about 6 more hours to ride the train to Suzhou. The bathrooms were busy!

We finally reached Suzhou and made it back to our little apartment. Fresh linens, clean shower and toilet! I could not ask for more at that moment. We had taken in a lot of sights, sounds, tastes, smells and were ready for a rest. Unfortunately, we also brought back with us head / chest colds. Jim had not been feeling great before we left and by the time we returned he was completely sick. He went to the Dr. on Thursday and now I am struggling with the same sore throat, cough, and body aches. We are both taking meds and hope to be on the mend before we journey home for the holidays. I don't regret our trip to Xi An one little bit. I am eager to return to Xi An and take in more of the sights.

I am placing a few of our pics from this trip --- hope you can enjoy.