Night Train to Xi'An

We arrive back in Chengdu and take an express bus to the train station. We catch the first sleeper train we can and say our farewells to Omri.

The sleeper trains are beautiful, bunk-beds stacked 3 high. The train is warm, clean and quiet. We settle in, have some instant noodles for dinner (each train comes with its own hot water heater) and make our beds (sheets provided).












DECEMBER 26TH
XI'AN City Pop: 3,256,000 Shaanxi (Province) Pop: 37.2 Million

Home of Qin Shi Huang: King of Qin 246BC - 221 BC
Famous for the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, unified China and roads.
Also burned books and buried scholars alive.

You wake up on a train arriving at 1215 and begin looking for a place to stay. Your outdated guidebook sends you walking in circles until finally you find an all girls hostel with no windows that will accept you.

You explore the Muslim quarters in your area and try some delicious food. You buy a fake North Face bag after haggling and then being dragged back into a store you're trying to leave.

Good bbq chicken bought on the street.
Try candy-coated strawberries and am impressed.

Cold sesame noodles are good too.









Throw in a kebab sandwich for good measure and you can't go wrong.

Miranda gets sick, I haven't seen a doctor in 4 1/2 years.

I don't like pearls but am served a pearl milk tea and it's warmth against the cold exterior weather warms me to the bone.





DECEMBER 27TH

Miranda is fighting a case of the squirts. I have a local Muslim delicacy in the form of noodles in a delicious broth served with tiny pieces of broken up bread.

We try Baskin-Robbins.


The walls around Xi'An were built in 1370, they are 12meters high and 18meters thick at the base. The total length of the wall as it surrounds the city is 14kilometers.


After searching for a way to climb the wall, we pay are admission and hike up to the top to take a walk. They say you can walk the perimeter in 4 hours. We walk 1 quarter of that, it's really windy.

DECEMBER 28TH

Time to see the Terracotta Warriors: Found in 1974 by some local farmers, there are estimated to be over 8,000 warrior statues also varying in height and appearance. Meant so serve the King in the afterlife.

We walk to the train/bus station to find the bus to the Warriors. A man starts talking to Miranda in Chinese and before we know it we have a deal to see the Warriors and a couple other sights. The deal sounds too good to be true...

It is.

They take us to a bunch of minor attractions, one being a small museum depicting the Wonders of the World, including Hercules...

When we finally get to the Warriors they only give us an hour and then inform us that the price for the attraction isn't included in the fee.Miranda is pissed.
After we get back, bbq chicken, pot o beef.

I find a stall where a guy sells the cheapest/highest percentage beer, 4.3. (Most beer in China is 3.2)

DECEMBER 29TH

Wake. Bus. Supposed to be 4 hours. Breakdown. 5 hours. Finish Dorian Gray.

LUOYANG CITY 1.4 Million in HENAN PROVINCE 9 Million

Windy. Find hotel. No hot water. Eat mediocre food.

DECEMBER 30TH

Take a trip to try and see the Longmen Caves. $110 RMB. We decide for caves that seems a little steep and decide to spend our money on other things.
Walk around.
Coffee at KFC.
Night train to...