Great trip, super people, amazing sights! We are kept very busy.
June 15 Train Xian to Dunhuang
Went to the dining car for lunch. We were almost the only ones in there that were not train staff. No English spoken, but were able to figure out beer! That is the only word I have worked out so far, that is food related. Small menu but nice variety. The food was really good. About 40 yuan, about Cdn$8.
Spent the afternoon sitting around, talking, reading writing. Then happy hour about 5 pm. Everyone brought out all the booze they had found at the train station. About 4 different types of hard alcohol ranging from 32% to 52%. All not too bad tasting. Of course there was beer as well! Also sharing all the snack food. Crackers, nuts, spiced and not, cookies, popcorn... the list goes on. There are 7 of us on the tour, each finding different things! Great the try different food and drink!
Back to the dining car for dinner. Same menu, but this time it was a bit busier. Food same but still good. Some other passengers had fish whole, head on. It looked really good.
Sat there until we got kicked out, about 9. Talked a bit more and then lights out at 10pm.
June 14, 2015 Xian
Wow what a change from the last time I was here. I will have to look at my old pictures just to compare. I do not remember having to walk so far to get the the Pits. And the walk went through lots of vendors selling lots of tourist stuff! All the same as usual!
There are many more buildings on the grounds now. There is a super display of warriors and of 2 bronze chariots. There are 4 pits open to see, although Pit 4 is only a glass observation cover over a pit. Pit 3 and 2 are not as dug out as Pit 1. Pit 1 being the original pit where the farmer digging a well discovered the warriors. All 3 pits are covered by huge warehouse like building.
Even the second time the place is still amazing! I did resist to have my face imprinted onto a warrior or etched into a paper weight!
Then a short walk to a farmer's house for lunch. The house was really in the small town near the warriors.
Back in the van for 2 hours drive back to hotel. But took a detour to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. But on arrival in the huge park behind the pagoda was a musical water fountain display. Lots of people watching and was really a bonus find!
Spent 1 hour on a guided tour around the pagoda grounds. We were not able to walk up the pagoda but did get to all the other buildings on the grounds. I thought that we had been doing great as we had not be any place where you had to exit through the shop, but not here! Great guide but also a pretty high pressure salesperson - all sales to benefit the pagoda and residing monks. Some nice paintings and jade, but a little expensive.
Then a couple of public bus rides and we were in the Muslin section of the city. 2 or 3 blocks of foods stalls along a narrow street. Narrow yet the bikes were going by steadily, and leaning on the horns. They seem to have the right of way. Interesting as initially it just looked Chinese but there were some people that did have different facial features.
Then off to a banquet hall where we had a dumpling banquet. Another big feast of food that was all very good! Probably a dozen different types of dumplings, both flavours and shapes. The shapes were chickens, boats, monks and
just normal dumplings.
June 13, 2015 Beijing to Xian
Out of hotel by 8.30 am and lots of traffic. Overcast with showers in area. Lots of smog as well. Spoiled after the clear blue skies of Beijing.
We had the option of walking up for 30 minutes to the Great Wall or catching a chair lift up. Looked like an old ski lift! We are at a different location that before. Ended up at Tower 6 from the chair. Wow, amazing.... never sure just how to describe it! It is huge!
Walked to Tower 23, which took about 1 1/2 hours. Part were a tough climb up some stairs. Get there and a few vendors are selling you stuff or will help you with pictures. But found out later that they know a short cut up the hill! Walk back much easier, only about 1 hour. Mostly down hill. Once at Tower 6 took the toboggan back down. Similar to a luge run, single set on slides that runs on a half pipe. Slow as too many people going slow ahead of me. But still a good way to get down.
Stopped at a fruit stand on way back to Xian. They had cherries and apricots. Cherries were small and no where near as good as the Valley ones!
Grabbed suitcases from hotel and off to train station. The west one, not the busy Central station. But this one was busy enough. KFC, Starbucks, and McD's all present!
Onto train about 7.30. We are in the hard sleepers. And it really means hard. 6 bunks to a berth and all open, no curtains no doors. At least the beds are long enough and my feet did not stick out the end!
Busy place for most of the next few hours but lights out at 10 pm and all quiet.
June 12, 2015 Beijing
Breakfast and off by 8.30 am. Weather is hot, clear skies and windy.
Thousands of people everywhere. So much so there was traffic control police for the pedestrians.
Then to Emperor's Palace, the Forbidden City. Spent 3 or 4 hours wandering around. Amazing place, even with the thousands of people today. Apparently a quiet day! I can not imagine what it would be like if busy!
Then on bus to Hutong shopping areas. Pedestrian streets with many shops where you can buy just about anything. Some touristy type stuff but lots of others. Lots of food stalls.
Then to a very nice lake. Surprising to see such a nice place in the middle of the city. Signs everywhere saying NO SWIMMING, NO FISHING, but that did not seem to stop some!
Long day of walking in heat. But still super. Lunch was special noodles cooked in high heat water, with quail eggs, chicken slices, some vegetables. It was great. Of course beer as well. Need to keep the liquid levels up.
In evening, to a performance about the history of Kungfu. Very good. Super was at a street restaurant of BBQ vegetables, chicken and eggs. And beer.
June 11, 2015 Beijing
Night food stalls. Some things you could buy to eat - deep fried scorpion, centipede, bee, earthworm, snake, but also had deep fried ice cream.
June 9/10, 2015 Kelowna to Beijing
Well off again on another adventure.
Left Kelowna at noon on June 9 and arrived Beijing at 2 pm the next day. 15 hour time change and an 11 hour flight from Vancouver. Got to hotel and off to have a look around. Very humid, but I guess it had rained all morning. Nice to get out and walk around. First China experience - coffee from Starbucks! Desperate need for coffee if going to adjust to time change quickly
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