After an orientation walk this morning, as I dragged my feet like a zombie, and a quick nanna-nap, we went to the Terracotta Warriors. They were interesting, from a historical point of view, but not as impressive as I'd imagined. Even so, I was pretty intrigued by the emporers determination to have such an extravagent mausoleum. It took 40 years to build that afterlife army, and the guy wasn't even emporer for that long! It always amuses me how we all try to guarantee a happy, successful life after life, and to leave somehting behind. I guess its an unsettling thought that this is it, and that most of us will be forgotton (that is, unless we leave behind an army of 8000 statues!)

Even though the site was a couple of hours away, on two buses, the air was still thick with smog. Being the most industrial city in China means that Xi'an is shrouded in a cloud of yellow smog, which means that, like Beijing, everyone walks around hocking fat globs of saliva and phlegm to the ground with disgusting noises that make me cringe. Euurgh! The dry heat in Xi'an feels dirty, and I feel like dust is caked on my lips, up my nose, even in my eyes!

We ate dinner in the Muslim quarters of Xi'an, where boys carried trays of meat around the tables and everyone shouted. Waiters slopped bowls of handmade noodles in front of us which, though they didnt look like much, tasted delicious! Something in there set my lips and mouth tingling, like pins and needles. I was a bit worried they'd poisoned me at first (not entirely an unreasonable thought in that restaurant) but others at the table had the same sensation and no one died lol. We walked through the street market, packed with dried fruit, the paper arts famous in this area (beautiful images cut entirely with scissors), rickshaws, meat skewers and tangles of jewellery. I love night markets, so much energy and life, all the different smells making our stomachs growl even though we'd only just eaten! We bought a small bag of tangy dried kiwi fruit to munch as we made our way through the crowd.