Exhausted from a day of extreme tourism! After an orientation meeting reminding us about i-to-i's aims of meaningful travel and reassuring us that our money does go somewhere (I love how even the company director anticipates that every volunteer is going to be sceptical about its economic efficiency) and another yummy Chinese lunch (already getting a bit bored of rice though), we had the bright idea of walking to the centre of Xi'An. We were advised to get the bus or a taxi, since our apartment is a considerable distance from the city walls, but I somehow allowed myself to be persuaded that walking was a great idea.

Two and a half hours later, we did eventually reach the walls that surround Xi'An's supposedly ancient centre (in reality it's a lot of utilitarian blocks, shopping malls and multiple Starbucks outlets), having acrued a Chinese stalker. He definitely didn't speak English and he'd followed us pretty much the whole way, without us being able to discern whether he was trying to help us or just had nothing better to do all day than ogle some British tourists. We somehow managed to shake him off amongst the clusters of old people on the streets playing a game that looked like Mahjong tiles (but maybe I've spent too long playing games on Windows 7?).

Map-reading not being one of my, nor any of the other volunteers', proficiencies, it took some considerable effort to find the most famous landmarks of Xi'An, the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower. They didn't look quite how they do in the pictures - a lot less colourful and slightly dull against the backdrop of Xi'An's polluted skies. We then headed to the Muslim quarter by way of a psychadelic arcade with some crazy games (we spent a lot of time watching a Chinese guy play a form of Rock Band with a full size drum kit, he was incredible). The Muslim Quarter featured some amazing road-side food stalls, making it a real effort to stick to one of the main tenets of travelling, not to eat anything from a street vendor, and a lot of stalls selling fake designer goods, where paying anything above the third of a price is a definite no-no. I found myself very tempted to buy a kimono (or Chinese equivalent) but have held back until I locate a suitable space in my rucksack.

Sapped from our epic walk to and around the city, we attempted to find somewhere to have dinner - a surprisingly difficult task! After a fatigued wander around the main streets, we settled for Papa John's pizza, which was at least a welcome change from all the rice. And pizza in China is even better and cheaper than pizza at home! After dinner and many hours in the city centre we were definitely ready to come home, but the walk no longer seemed a tempting proposition as the skies began to darken, though Xi'An looks much more beautiful at night. With all the trees, the Bell and Drum towers and the city gates lit up, Xi'An takes on a glamour that certainly evades it during the day. However, even the newfound sheen of the city could not long distract from the crazily long time it took for us to try to hail a taxi. Many empty cabs drove straight past us, despite our frantic waving, apparently unwilling to take foreigners. Some officials (well they were wearing reflective jackets anyhow) attempted to help us and albeit reassuring that the locals found it an impossible task as well, after half an hour we were more than a little frustrated! In the end Ruth literally had to jump into a taxi when it stopped to force him to take us home. Still, the journey only cost about £1.20 which made it sort of worthwhile!

Back home we visited a Chinese supermarket for a few vital provisions (read, Oreos) and then relaxed for a few super-competitive games of cards and even some magic tricks, whilst a strange Chinese version of Prison Break provided some background entertainment in the form of some scantily clad male prisoners getting angry about something I obviously couldn't understand. It's now gone midnight and I'm more than ready to sleep. Thanks very much to anyone who has bothered to read this long entry and hope everyone is well at home!