In which we see very little.
Trying to do several short posts for China instead of saving it all up, because we're here for a while and you'd probably get very bored reading about it in one go. What do you mean you're bored already?
Once out of the city, we made good time on the excellent toll roads. I'd like to tell you about the wonderful things we saw on the way, but the fact is, it was so misty, we saw very little, to the point that I actually picked up a book and read. Got quite a long way through it too, as the kilometres clicked by.
Lunch was from an excellent buffet at a motorway service station. Really good food – and as much as you wanted – for the equivalent of £3.50. Tasty and value for money. Eat your heart out, Little Chef.
Still a long way to go after lunch and, with the sun going down, no obvious place to stop for the night. Eventually, nearing nine o'clock, we pulled into a another service station and George asked inside if it would be okay for us to camp there the night. Not ideal, but sometimes needs must. Everyone mucked in to get dinner cooked as quickly as possible, followed almost immediately by bedtime, either inside the truck or on the roof or, for those with self-supporting tents, pitched on the forecourt. I opted for the roof, which, although a bit chilly, was at least flat. However, I regretted it the next morning when I woke up with a covering of dew. Juli didn't fair much better inside. Half sitting up across two coach seats when you're nearly six foot tall is not especially conducive to a good night's sleep.
Juli and I have seen them before, but 10 years ago. Then, there was just a couple of aircraft hanger sized sheds and a small museum, and we'd heard that the site had been developed extensively since then. In fact, apart from one additional and much smaller pit, the archaeological aspects of the place are more or less the same as they were. What has grown, however, is the commercial operation. Where as before we walked from the bus to the site via one state run shopping opportunity, now there's a small town of shops and restaurants to negotiate before you get a sniff of the warriors. In fact, there's such a distance to walk, you can opt to pay for an additional ticket to ride a small electric buggies instead. We walked, but it might have been worth the extra expense to avoid running the gauntlet of all the stall holders selling near identical tat, vying with each other for your business. I'd have to say that the experience was somewhat disappointing.
Back at the hostel, we spent the evening sitting in the courtyard, chatting with Adam and Corinne about their adventures, drinking beer and eating pizza: by far the most pleasant part of the day. Tomorrow, we head off towards Chengdu: home of the Giant Panda Research and Breading Centre. Again, we went last time, but we understand it's been completely rebuilt following major earthquake damage. I do hope we're not heading for another disappointment.
TTFN - N
Trying to do several short posts for China instead of saving it all up, because we're here for a while and you'd probably get very bored reading about it in one go. What do you mean you're bored already?
Days 98 & 99 (drive from Beijing to Xian)
Okay, I'll make this quick, unlike our drive out of Beijing, which was very slow in the traffic, made slower still because we kept being stopped by traffic police. There are no trucks allowed in Beijing, but we're allowed because, technically, we're a bus and we have a special certificate to prove it, which George, our Chinese guide/minder, had to keep showing to bemused officers.Once out of the city, we made good time on the excellent toll roads. I'd like to tell you about the wonderful things we saw on the way, but the fact is, it was so misty, we saw very little, to the point that I actually picked up a book and read. Got quite a long way through it too, as the kilometres clicked by.
Lunch was from an excellent buffet at a motorway service station. Really good food – and as much as you wanted – for the equivalent of £3.50. Tasty and value for money. Eat your heart out, Little Chef.
Still a long way to go after lunch and, with the sun going down, no obvious place to stop for the night. Eventually, nearing nine o'clock, we pulled into a another service station and George asked inside if it would be okay for us to camp there the night. Not ideal, but sometimes needs must. Everyone mucked in to get dinner cooked as quickly as possible, followed almost immediately by bedtime, either inside the truck or on the roof or, for those with self-supporting tents, pitched on the forecourt. I opted for the roof, which, although a bit chilly, was at least flat. However, I regretted it the next morning when I woke up with a covering of dew. Juli didn't fair much better inside. Half sitting up across two coach seats when you're nearly six foot tall is not especially conducive to a good night's sleep.
***
The next morning – the start of week 15 – I took the first of my weekly Lariam anti-malaria tablets. They have a reputation for giving people bad dreams, but when I took them 10 years ago in Africa, I only had really vivid dreams and was looking forward to more of the same, but so far, nothing. Perhaps after a few more weeks.
Still very misty today, which was a shame, because the few glimpses of scenery the weather afforded us looked very picturesque: all hills and terraces. In other countries we've driven through, we'd be twisting and turning along endless switchbacks, following the contours of the land. This being China, the road keeps on dead straight through tunnels and over via ducts so long, we couldn't see the end of them.
Lots more Kilometres to kill today, which meant managing to get through several more chapters of my book. It's called Skippy Dies. It's set in and around an independent school for boys in Dublin and has nothing to do with kangaroos. I'm really enjoying the way it's written.
We got to the outskirts of Xian by about tea time. I'd say it was rush hour but it was a Sunday. It seems it's just that there's always a lot of traffic in Xian. Eventually we got to the neighbourhood of our hostel, which was just inside the old city wall, which is actually one of the major features of Xian and remarkable, not only for the size of it – about fourteen miles round and wide enough on the top for two chariots to pass side by side – but also because it's largely intact.
We'd opted to upgrade to a private room with en suite and spent the rest of the evening showering, washing clothes and sleeping, trying to make up for the night before.
Day 100 (Xian)
After breakfast on another hazy day, we walked a little way into the centre of the city in search of a bank to change some more money. Xian isn't Beijing. Beijing was smart and tidy and clean. Xian is scruffy, a bit raggedy and just plain dirty. After the bank, we made our way to the bus station to catch a bus to the Terracotta Warriors. The Warriors are about 30Kms out of town and bus number 306 gets you there in about an hour for 7 Yuan. That's about 70p or just over a Dollar.Juli and I have seen them before, but 10 years ago. Then, there was just a couple of aircraft hanger sized sheds and a small museum, and we'd heard that the site had been developed extensively since then. In fact, apart from one additional and much smaller pit, the archaeological aspects of the place are more or less the same as they were. What has grown, however, is the commercial operation. Where as before we walked from the bus to the site via one state run shopping opportunity, now there's a small town of shops and restaurants to negotiate before you get a sniff of the warriors. In fact, there's such a distance to walk, you can opt to pay for an additional ticket to ride a small electric buggies instead. We walked, but it might have been worth the extra expense to avoid running the gauntlet of all the stall holders selling near identical tat, vying with each other for your business. I'd have to say that the experience was somewhat disappointing.
Back at the hostel, we spent the evening sitting in the courtyard, chatting with Adam and Corinne about their adventures, drinking beer and eating pizza: by far the most pleasant part of the day. Tomorrow, we head off towards Chengdu: home of the Giant Panda Research and Breading Centre. Again, we went last time, but we understand it's been completely rebuilt following major earthquake damage. I do hope we're not heading for another disappointment.
TTFN - N
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