Xi'an

30th Aug - 31st Aug (Day 179 -180)

With only a day and a half here we had much to do and see. We arrived in Xi'an airport about 11am. We got the airport bus into the middle of town. Very easy. Straight away I noticed that the atmosphere here is completely different. Smaller than Chengdu and much more organised with a greater mix of ethnicities, especially chinese Muslims.

To get to our hostel we headed south on a pretty cobbled street devoted to bars and cafes, including the Liverpool football bar... not exactly what we had expected. The hostel itself was set in a old Chinese building with a small court yard inside with bags full of character.

During the afternoon on our first day we wandered to the centre of the city which it marked by a huge drum tower, close by was a bell tower.

We walked around the alleyways of the Muslim quarters which sold some interesting things including Sadam Hussain playing cards next to Barack Obama ones, and lots of traditional foods, different kinds of bread, kebabs, sweets. It was interesting to see men wearing skull caps and women in headscarves. We then visited the great mosque which is built using a mixture of Chinese and Muslim architecture.

The next day we made our way to the terracotta army without a tour group. It was very easy. The site wasn't how I expected, it was much bigger and full of wide concrete paths leading up to it. Again you could get dressed up in traditional clothes and have your photo taken. Seeing the warriors was very interesting. They are spread over three pits, there are so many warriors the emperor must have been a very insecure person. The detail on their faces is very impressive, each one having a different expression.

We have already seen some very unusual things here in China, sometimes I can't help but stare. One of the most natural things to do here is to let your child go to the toilet in the middle of the street. Lots of the toddlers have a massive hole in the crotch area of their trousers to enable easy toilet-ing where necessary - sometimes with their parents hold them over a bin.

Another is the style of people's clothing, we've seen lots of girls with glasses that have no lenses, many couples where matching t-shirts - I can't seem to convince Chris to join into this fad. Girls in high heels at the most inappropriate times...

Xxxx