Tue 15th
In and out of sleep. The open window lets air flow in and also voices from outside early in the morning. Along with a faint clock bell/chime. The Spanish guy and Red head were up and out early. It was then I discovered there was a bloke in the bed adjacent to mine and his girlfriend in the bed opposite to me. Must have been very quite getting in. They were up before us too, couldn't quite catch their accents. Chinese? American? European? The ear plugs work ok in blocking out higher frequencies - anything bass sounding seems to be enhanced. No such thing as a quiet lie in in a dorm! It was time to get up anyway.
A walk to Bird Market, but we changed our minds and walked to Xing Qing Park. We spent a few hours there, it was a long walk in the very hot sun - ice lollies helped. It has a big lake where you can go paddle boating, watch the fish jump out and birds skim the water for insects, lots of little carnival type amusements, most were closed as the children were in school. The park was quiet with glimpses of skyscrapers, it felt like you could be anywhere really. A refreshing break from the madness. (Unfortunately it is home to the worst toilet in China! The first loo we used was bad, the second was a horror film!)
Quick march back to the hostel and a shower.
Dinner in the hostel - Chicken Curry and baked vegetables with mozzarella.
Goose Pagoda fountain show was our entertainment for the night. Got the metro (only 3 lines in Xi'an). People were gathering at the front of the Pagoda where there were banks of fountains. It was 7:30, the show starts at 8:30 Lele at the hostel told us, so a little exploring around the area - it was buzzing with activity, lots of ladies dancing beautifully along to speakers blaring Chinese music, lots of neon flashing toys for kids, bats flying, a wall backlit red which people were posing infront of. The walkway was lined with trees and lit bunting. At the back of the Pagoda we could hear drumming it was coming from musicians in a square where many older people, dressed in their regular clothes, were performing with elaborate bright pink fans and Chinese yellow umbrellas - all in formation. They would walk in time, bouncing - almost skipping to the beat, in big circles, criss crossing, making human tunnels for others to dance down, all whilst whafting their props. It was a very jolly affair. I got some photos of Frank in front of a statue ... so did many others - he he. One guy kept sidling next to Frank, holding up his child and then smiled at his wife taking the photo. Sureal and funny. At 8:20 we swiftly marched back to the front for the show - to discover the show starts at 9pm.  The fountain and light show kicked off with a musical introduction, it sounded like it was a love story and was a spectacle to behold, the show lasted 30 minutes. Afterwards we walked a little more but the dancers had finished, so we too, headed back.
For a change we popped into the Han Tang Inn, the sister hostel, for drinks and a different atmosphere. As chance would have it we did indeed meet Yan (the Dutch guy from Beijing). We joined him and Trevor from Florida, and a Canadian couple who were going to Japan. Trevor was telling us how he'd had been to China before, so when he had an opportunity to go on holiday either $1000 to Belgium and back or $400 to China - no contest. We all shared stories and had a good time making sense of China.