In Xi'an, and diatribe

The next day after the great wall, we had the afternoon back in town, where I visited the Llama Temple -- which houses the largest Buddha (Guinness Book certified!) in the world.


Tallest Buddha in the world.

Then I took a venture over to the Silk Market, which is like a giant counterfeit-goods swap meet. You can buy rip-offs of every designer label-- clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, and more. I bartered down a Polo brand polo shirt from ¥250 to ¥50 ($7.50) ... looks real! We'll see if it lasts more than a couple washes :)

In the evening, we headed over to the train station to take our first overnight train (11 hours) to Xi'an. The experience was not pleasant. Lots of Chinese school children (age about 14-15) in our car, and the 'hard sleeper' sleeps six to a compartment. Very cramped and pretty uncomfortable. We have a 16 hour one to Shanghai and a 26 hour one after that! -- dreading the thought.

Once we arrived in the city, we went to a history museum and saw a 500 ft. pagoda called 'The Big Wild Goose Pagoda.' We didn't go in, as our guide said there wasn't much to see. But at the museum we had an interesting experience-- us white people were discriminated against! Who woulda thunk that was possible in this Universe? ...we had small day packs and purses that they said we couldn't bring in and that we needed to check at rental lockers a bit away. However they were letting Chinese nationals in with massive bags. I held mine up to one, to show it was considerably smaller, and he waved his hand and said 'Not same.' lol. so we checked our bags. O, the adversity us white people must face.


Me and a statue, in the park surrounding The Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

When I mentioned this to Emma (our guide, real name pronounced San-Wee) later that night, she assured us it must've been a misunderstanding because the Chinese 'don't do that.' And our day tour guide (also named Emma) today also said the same, very dismissively. In fact, all sensitive racial and political stuff is pretty much not talked about here, or done so very pensively. I asked our Emma how the communistic components of govt. inter-operated with the (very aggressive, and thriving) free market I see all around me. She said she didn't know... nobody really knows what's going on in gov't or how it works, other than the fundamental structure of it. And they don't seem to concern themselves with it. They validate the policy as necessary to keep the dissidents in the large population from manipulating the media, or from the media inducing people to over-react to events and destabilize the country. I love the culture and people's general attitude and outlook in China -- it's just them not being informed about (what I view as) basic political information that doesn't sit right with me. It's not that I disapprove, it's just I worry about the prospects of their long-term ability to maintain stability with such a policy always looming in the backdrop.

...

Today we went and saw the Terracotta Warriors, the proposed 'Eighth Wonder of the World.' Discovered by a farmer digging a well in the seventies, the govt. later uncovered (and is still uncovering) a massive memorial site to the First Emperor, Qin (pronounced Ching, who ruled around 200 b.c.), that houses over 8,000 life-sized terracotta soldiers. The soldiers were to protect him in the afterlife.


I like this pic. Inside one of the Terracotta Warrior pits.

Then tonight we had a banquet dumpling dinner followed by a stage show depicting music and dance from the Tang Dynasty (around 600-900 a.d.). However it was very gimmicky and camp, a tourist attraction unfortunately. The music was not authentic. It used Western classical music as a foundation and glazed over the top with oriental scales. I explained this to Lori, and she was like, "Aaron, you are the only one that cares about this sort of thing." lol, so i've just given the short version in my blog :)

Taking a bike trip along the city walls tomorrow morning, then off on an overnight train to Shanghai!

From the Great Wall to Xi'an

Dinner -- Our 2nd night in Beijing

I just arrived at our hostel in Xi'an (shee-an) and much to my amazement there is WiFi in the room! ...so I can kinda continue my hermit-ness :) Nah, I'm due back out to meet the group in 45 minutes or so.


A lot has happened the last few days. On Sunday, I went to the Panjiayuan Markets, which is a vast sprawling open market, probably a couple football fields big. Merchants come to the stalls and lay down blankets on the weekends to sell their wares -- trinkets, artwork, books, pottery, beads, you name it. I bought some canvas oriental paintings and a few 60's era anti-American, pro-Vietnam propaganda posters. All in all, I spent about ¥300 (yuan) or about $45. Our guide book says they often set the price 10 times higher for Westerners, so you have to bargen down. On the most beutiful and largest original piece I bought (a landscape featuring a Chinese Elm) he started the price off at ¥580 and we ended up at ¥150. But it cost me ¥125 to mail these works back to myself :(

The next day we hit up the Great Wall and hiked 12.8 Kilometers on it. And this is no walk on the treadmill. We were climbing up and down fragmented, steap steps the whole way. My legs were shaking at the end and I slept like a baby that night at the hostel next to the wall.



I will have to finish this entry later as I have to make a few calls and leave soon!

Beijing: wrapping up the 2nd day

Yesterday we got quite a bit done-- really hit the tourist spots! We started out the day taking the subway to Tienanmen Square and went through the gates to the Forbidden City. That place is huge! Like a labyrinth of temples, pagodas, i don't know. Well we spent about 3 hours there and went on to Jingshan Park immediately behind it. From there, we ascended to an ancient tower atop a hill, where we had a panoramic view of the whole city--incredible how long skyscrapers stretch for.


Me and our guide Emma. Real name? ...I'm gonna get to the bottom of it.

Then, famished, we found the perfect spot to satisfy our hunger. McDonald's. Where I had a much appreciated BigMac and Coke. After that we walked a few blocks west and happened upon Bei Lake and the bar district-- a very picturesque lake, surrounded by bars and restaurants that come alive at night (more about this later!).

Went back to the hostel, had a little rest, and then about 6 of us fared a Chinese Banquet Dinner on our own (where the table orders several large plates and picks from them with chopsticks, onto a little tea cup-sized saucer to eat from). Then we had the bright idea of heading back to the bar district and going for drinks. Man, was it alive on a Saturday night-- almost every place had a Chinese rock band, with fog, lights and the whole setup. I was used to about 10 Yuan beers (about $1.50), but they were 40-50 Yuan here. We each bought a round at several places. At this one place, the piss-drunk owner came over and sat with us. He hated Americans, so after he pressured me into being German, I asceeded, and he PROCEEDED to send us two rounds of beer on the house. Apparently I made the mistake of mentioning Thailand, and he became quite upset and smashed a bottle of beer on the ground beside us. That's when we got up and rushed out of there, as he screamed Chinese obscenities behind us. Finally, we hit up a hookah bar, and then headed back for the night around 2 a.m. Fell asleep to a Chinese soccer match, though we hovered for a bit on Jackie Chan hair restoration infomercial.

In Beijing! -- lots to update.

So I have had a very long and eventful last couple of days. I stayed at the airport xfer hotel in Taipei, for my 11 hour layover. They quoted $2,300, and my jaw dropped... but only $70 American ;)


Me in the airport

In Beijing, I got a taxi to the hotel, which was about 45 minutes and only cost about $10. He dropped me off in front of an ally with a giant trash trash pile in it, and after being bewildered for a few minutes I realized my hotel was down it! -- workers in the back of a restaurant were tossing meat carvings and hot oil on the heap. I got past it and it connected to more of a normal walkway, with a Chinese school on it. I found the hostel, and checked in. In the evening, our group met up for our first 'briefing'.

Our tour guide is a Chinese national named Emma, and she has been guiding various western tours throughout China for a few years. There's a group of about 9 of us, and I'm the only American! -- the rest are European, Australian, and even two Chilean brothers. I'm sharing a room with a nice 'bloke' from London named James.

We had a nice Peking Duck dinner at a local restaurant and then settled down for the night. Today, we are gonna head out and tackle the city. Gotta remember to take pictures!

2:45 a.m. -- day of departure

Why does preperation alwyas take longer than you plan? Always, even if you *think* you are making good time. Gotta get some sleep, then rush to do last minute things in the morning. Off to the airport about 12:45pm, then flight at 3:15. Then 11 layover in Taipei, then I touch base in Beijing at about11:30 am local time FRIDAY (!). They are 15 hours ahead of Los Angeles. Festivities officially begin at 6:00pm! ... 'til later -Aaron

edit: as I was going to sleep I was thinking of Lori... I cut my toenails. I know, gross :)