May 7, 2011
Although the Xi’an hostel was fun and picturesque, it did not provide the best sleeping conditions. The adorable courtyards were adorable – so adorable that they were where everyone wanted to hang out drinking beers late into the night, and hang out drinking coffee early in the morning. The window in our room opened into one of these courtyards and it wouldn’t close all the way, so all the chitchat noise came right in. Even if the window had closed all the way, however, we probably would have left it open since our air conditioning was not working. So it seemed the hours of sleep in the hostel would be from about 2am until about 7am. I woke up tired and still feeling feverish.
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| Adorable courtyard at the Shuyuan International Youth Hostel |
We boarded a tour bus for the hour-long ride for the day’s adventure. It was very, very, very hot when we got off the bus and found our way to the ticket office of the
Terracotta Soldiers. The entrance to buy tickets was very far from the actual entrance to see the soldiers. We considering riding the available golf cart shuttles to the entrance, but the price seemed too steep (something like 10Y, which is less than $2 – funny how that seemed expensive!) and after all, we were able-bodied young people. Even if I was in the early stages of dying from the Chinese Exotic Bird Influenza Plague Pox.
It was also very sunny, so we were happy to see the soldiers were housed in buildings. These buildings, in effect, turned out to be like moderately climate-controlled airplane hangars. They were not as hot as outside, but they were not a cool and comfortable 78 degrees, either. I’d guess the temperature was somewhere in the mid 80’s and quite stuffy. But at least we were out of the sun.
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| Hey you, with the flu! Walk a bajillion miles this way to the entrance. |
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| Sunny and smoggy |
There are three pits of excavated soldiers at the site. We opted to see them in “reverse” order, saving the biggest and best for last. The pits were literally pits, with viewing platforms set up all along the perimeter. Some areas had gangways that let you go out closer to the middle of the pits. It was very crowded and there were lots of tour groups pushing and shoving. I walked around in a cold sweat, looking pale and feeling faint. I think I would not have made it without my little fan. Still, everything was so amazing that even the flu couldn’t stop me from enjoying the day.
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| Some statues were separated and encased in glass so we could get close up views |
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| Still in the process of being excavated |
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| Life-saving fan |
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| Megan and Ashley point out the World Heritage Site sign |
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| There were a lot of tourist groups. We were nearly crushed by this one. |
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| The largest and most impressive pit. |
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| Statues being cleaned up before being placed back in the pits |
We took the tour bus back to the Xi’an station and then hailed a taxi to take us to a restaurant we had picked out for dinner. Our taxi driver seemed to be taking us the wrong way. And sure enough, he dropped us at a place that was
not the place we requested. It turned out to be another location of the restaurant we asked for. We checked out the restaurant and just didn’t like the feel of the place, so we left. And then we walked for what felt like ages. It is very difficult/impossible to get a taxi in Xi’an unless you are at a taxi stand. We didn’t know this and were frustrated that no taxis were stopping for us. After a full day of sightseeing feeling cold, clammy, and feverish, I was just not up for a wander-around-Xi’an adventure. What a relief when we finally got back to the hostel! We sat in one of the pretty courtyards, drinking beers, gorging ourselves on delicious street food, and writing postcards to friends and family. Later in the evening, an interesting British ex-pat joined us to chat. He, Megan, and Ashley eventually got into a very deep and intellectual discussion/debate, which everyone knows is not my cup of tea. I was tired anyway, so I took my feverish self to bed while they stayed up to the wee hours of the morning discussing serious stuff like the Chinese economy.
