We arrived in Xi’an around 7:30am. My last shower had been the previous previous night in Xia’he, about five cities ago. I brushed my teeth, wet-wiped my arms, and changed my shirt, but that was still not enough to rid myself of the gross feeling that comes after a Chinese night train.
Xi’an was the train’s last stop, so we waited 10 minutes or so after stopping to disembark. We dragged our stuff across the station, meeting up outside again, then dragged our stuff across roads with angry cars and motorcycles.
30 minutes later, I sat on the bus, attempting to wake my brain from its Advil haze. The weather outside was foggy and smoggy, reflecting my mental state. Father Eugene introduced the tour guide as being practically one of TBC staff (she’s been a TBC tour guide many times). She proceeded to give us a lot of history on the Terracotta Army. I took one look at the passing sights outside the window, and inadvertently zoned out from her speech.
45 minutes later, we were at the Terracotta Army site. Well, not exactly. It was a mile walk to the entrance, a mile framed by cheap souvenirs and hagglers looking for a juicy foreign wallet. I ignored the siren calls in English (“Come! I have real Terracotta replicas”) and bee-lined straight for the entrance.
We walked, and walked some more. It sure seemed like a lot of walking. Or that was probably the exhaustion speaking. We waited as a group outside the cinema, entered when it was time, and watched a nine screen 360 degree movie in British English that was apparently filmed in the early 80s (seemed like 70s). It was very old, and involved a lot of people yelling, fighting, and dying. Even though it was in English, I couldn’t understand what was going on.
30 minutes later, I finally entered the building, Pit #1, and glimpsed for myself the most famous sight of the Terracotta Army. It was amazing. I found a post uninhabited by tourists and leaned against it, enjoying the sight of all the unique expressions on every soldier’s face. Eventually I moved around, walking around the entire pit and moving on to see Pit #2 and #3. There is still a lot that has yet to be excavated, and some parts they are choosing not to excavate.
It’s kind of amazing that this was all for one guy. I learned that the people making the soldiers used a preserving chemical that was extremely poisonous to those who inhaled it. Reminds me of The Great Wall—those who died building it were built into the Wall. Anything for the emperor, I suppose.
We ate at a Chinese/Western (Westinese!) restaurant for lunch. The chefs made special pulled and shredded noodles. I tried both and they were delicious. By now I’ve gotten a hang of the Lazy Susans, which were at our tables again this meal. On the way out, you could buy a shot of alcohol for ten kuai (less than $1.50). I wasn’t really in the mood for a cheek-warmer at this still-early hour of the day.
We went downstairs, where replicas of soliders were being sold for way-too-inflated a price. The farther we walked from the vendor, the lower the price became. We were given another hour to wander and return to the bus.
Our hotel in Xi’an was the best yet. The beds were better than my dorm room. The bathroom was five stars (for China) at least. So nice. You can tell the quality of the bathroom by the divider between the toilet and the shower: 0 and 1 stars have no divider. 2 stars has a tiny floor divider, but the shower can still spray all over the toilet seat. 3 and 4 stars has a curtain (no matter how shoddy, it’s still a divider). 5 stars has a full on glass door, typical of nice Western hotels.
Oh the things you appreciate… (Note: According to this list, my dorm bathroom is 1 star. Western toilet…no divider)
I took a shower, felt refreshed, and used my computer for three hours. I had felt deprived 🙂
