Got to Xi'an (Shee an) about 7.30...all a bit blurry eyed from a few beers on the train and not much sleep due to all the noise. Went to our hotel...posh again then straight out form some breakfast at the best hostel ever!!! Wanted to go on internet and found this dungeon of a plcae on the 4th floor of an electrical shop. It was masses and masses of 20 year old chinese men all smoking and playing video games...I put my head down...didn't breathe in and downloaded my pics. Sorry for my album pic for xi'an being my scabby leg...i couldn't understand the chinese to change it oopss!

Again a very hot day! Xi'an's main city is encased in a huge/high/wide wall, we took about an hour and a half to ride around it all, thank god it was all flat but the heat was a killer. The smart arse boys had a race and nearly died at the end while us girls took it easy. In the evening we went to the hostel for tea and i got speaking to the cafe manager, a chinese girl called helen...we exchanged info about our cultures and she even invited us to see her wedding dvd whcih me and two of the girls did the following day. All very different to our weddings...more lavish but at the same time not as formal.

After a few drinks in a local 'irish type bar me and beka walked back. On coming out of the city wall gates you could hear all this music, laughter and singing. We turned the corner to see one of the city gardens lite up in red and gold. This was about 10,30 and there were people of all ages out and about. Just as the chinese get up early to excercise and take tai chi in the morning here they were dancing, clapping, playing drums and flicking fans. Bek and I joined in the dancing whcih at first looks like a conga with no structure (tho does it ever) but we got the jist and just danced to the beat of the drum...it was so over whelming!!!! There was also simple street games being played and all kinds of stange food being cooked on BBQs. In the morning we found out that every night is like that and that people often don't know each other but can go there for company etc. For a city of a couple of million its so lovely to have such a nice community spirit!!!! Why can't the UK be like that!!!

We had a free day on the second day and went to the 'Wild Goose Pagoda'...we lazed around in the park and had our pics taken with the bronze locals (see inset) I won the sword fight of course...the power of my pink brolly!!!! In the night we went to the Muslim quarter where any food can be found and is cooked on the street BBQ style. I stuck to things I could identify but our leader pete bought fried potatoe that turned out to be fried fat in herbs!!! Paul had seasoned tripe and there was lots of mutton to be had!! We then went bar hopping...to karoke in a karoke centre that looks like the pictures and each group gets there own room....then on to a local night club. It seems women here don't go out and the club was full of chinese men and a few other tour groups. Good laugh all round.

Following day...with our hangovers...we went in the rain to see the Terrecotta Army. OH MY. It is fantastic and unbelievable. I say it again but the chinese emperors really did know how to live it up....a tomb site the size of a large town and this geezer built the great wall under his reign and unified china...amazing!! After a bit of a disagreement with a local taxi driver we headed to the hostel to say bye to our friends there. We then got onother night train to Shanghai where we all slept like babies!!!!