New experiences on the way to Xi'an

We did it thought it was quite a thing. We took a night/sleep bus from Zhengzhou to Xi'an. The bus left at nine in the evening and was supposed arrive here at nine in the morning. The bus was full of two storied beds in three rows - on besides and in the middle. We headed to the back of the bus which in the end was bit bad idea. They filled the whole back part with some animal furs (spelling missing again...). Those smelled and we were afraid that those would drop on us during the trip. And what you might not know yet is that Suvi is vegan and she "hates" all animal products, so you can guess she was cursing quite much.

The bus was full of men. Only two ladies and us, but luckily nobody bothered us. Many just saying "Hello" but that's it. The bus stopped only once for toilet and there was no toilet in the bus. The journey went quite quickly and we could sleep though it was the road occasionally was bumpy.

Well, we arrived somewhere at five o'clock in the morning. We tried to ask where we were but nobody could tell properly. Men kept sleeping so we thought we were just having a pit stop. I even went out to stretch a bit but didn't realize we were in Xi'an already, even though I saw the city wall and a man selling maps. I just went back in and we kept on sleeping till 6 o'clock. As we were the last ones in the bus we realized that it was the last stop. Funny situations happen!

For breakfast soup and tofu - I have started to appreciate my normal breakfast very much. Luckily we finally found a real supermarket and I could buy me real instant coffee without sugar and some oatmeal. Where ever I went before it was obvious that I could get my favorite things easily but here I have met my enemy. I really miss fresh green sallad, real strong coffee and proper porridge.

Bob's Guesthouse (our hostel) is great on price. We pay 10 euros per night per room and the service is the best so far. It's the best English speaking staff and very helpful. People are more helpful and speak better English here than in Beijing.

Cannot tell you much about the city yet (only that it's very ancient and the birth place of Chinese civilization). We've been sleeping only after hard night. Tomorrow we'll explore the Terracotta Warriors and then on Friday we want to visit the great mosque and take some nice treatments for body.

On Friday we already leave from Xi'an and head to Shanghai. We'll meet Tiina there and spend at least four nights in that modern city.

Time to go to bed, wake-up at 7 o'clock.

Erika

p.s. I ate frog for the first time of my life. They say it's like chicken and that's true. I had one frog chopped in peaces and cooked in a pot with strong spices (bit like Turkish spices). I really like the food here - as long as I don't need to eat it in the morning.