We arrived in Xi'an (pronounced shy-ann in case you were wondering) after a very comfy train journey - we had carpet, slippers and even a tv in our cabin...we're definitely not in India now! Xi'an is another huge city, swarming with people and clogged with traffic. The pollution is therefore choking and you can taste it in your throat after walking for just a short time, it also results in black bogies at the end of the day which is a lovely image for you all! This was our first stay in a travllers hostel since we left the UK and it was fantastic. It was really cosy and we were able to chat to loads of people and get some tips for our onward trip. We headed out to the Big Goose Pagoda (no idea where the goose comes into it as no explanation was offered). It was a big site with lots of temples and monuments - the buddhist monks live and work here so it was really well maintained and the gardens were lovely. We climbed up to the top of the Pagoda which was a bit disappointing in comparison to the rest of the place - there was very little to see inside and I suppose the real selling point was intended to be the view over the city but surprisingly it was too foggy today! We were approached by some giggly Chinese girls on our way out who wanted their photos taken with us - its amazing that some Chinese people are so rude and couldn't give a monkey's about you whilst others are so interested in you. I wonder what they do with the photos....print them out and show them to their families, "look mum here's me with a couple of strange foreigners!"