Hangin Tough

We are still hanging tough in China. They love New Kids on the Block here!!

So here we are in Xi`an. We braved some more communal living action on yet another overnight train and arrived unscathed and even managed to get some kip along the way. Heaven!! Before this trip I imagined long distance train travel in sleepers to be so relaxing and romantic. I now have a very different opinion and view the fast approaching Trans Siberian leg with some trepidation.

Xi`an is another big city, lots of shops, lots of people, lots of people staring at us. We even stare at other Laowais now. What has become of us?

We went out to the Terracotta Warriors yesterday which was amazing. The local bus cost only $4 return for both of us AND we found all of the other Laowais!! It was stare heaven for us - we couldn`t work out where they had all materialised from. Too exciting!! Anyway, back to the lifesize clay dudes. . .There were over 6000 of them, all intricately designed with individual facial expressions. They were only discovered 30 years ago, equipped with real swords that were still sharp. Not all of them have survived but the subsequent preservation and restoration work that is being done is immaculate. The experience wasn't even spoilt by dumb locals and Laowais using flash photography (underneath signs requesting that you don`t) or the fact that it was about 2 degrees. Fabulous, amazing, brilliant. We thanked Buddha that an Emperor died and his minions decided to recreate his Army in terracotta to bury with him. I asked Adam what he would build when I died and he said a Batchelor Pad!!

There is a heavy Muslim influence here in Xi`an. Our staple food has been a weird kind of Asian kebab. It is basically random meat with capsicum and spices stuffed in pita. The other day we had one with the normal meat and capsicum as well as what we suspected might have been seafood extender. Oh well, down the hatch. . . .

We wandered through an interesting market in the Muslim quarter which sold pretty much everything. We saw a little Chinese girl feeding a box full of ducklings with bok choy - it was so cute. Then right next to her, there was another little girl carrying two unhappy ducklings in a plastic shopping bag. It was pretty tough to look at but at least the little tackers know where their food comes from.

All of the Chinese people we have met have both Chinese and English names. We think that they just get to choose their English name which is very cool. A Chinese rockstar had an advertsing poster in a record store - his English name was Gary Superman. How good is that? Lucky our parents didn`t let us pick our own names because we would be called Beverley Barry and John Wayne Evans. Not so cool!!!

Despite the amazing places we have seen and the brilliant people we have met, we have had many moments of complete boredom. We have had to fill these moments by making up witty slogans for Laowai t-shirts, playing cards, waving to locals staring at us, singing out loud in crowded places and staring at other Laowais. And (I can`t believe I am going to write this but . . ) thank God for Starbucks! It has ok coffee (because we buy the cheap stuff), comfy couches, heating and free wireless internet. If you stay long enough, they even bring around free samples of coffee to taste. The one we are currently in even has a western toilet and toilet paper. If the food vendors were allowed to home deliver, we would never leave!!

We are catching a train to Beijing tonight. It is a T class train which means fast - good facilities. As the eternal optimist, I am getting all excited thinking that it may have heating and that the guards will enforce the No Smoking signs. Adam just gives me that look that translates into `Hello . . . . Fantasyland`. Not disimiliar to the time that I got all excited by a free breakfast in a hotel and after picking through the cigarette ash, all they served was cold carrots in various forms and cream cake. Lucky I like cake. . . .Anyway, all that aside, the train only takes 12 hours (how bad can it be - haha) and we are very much looking forward to spending 10 days in and around the capital.

Hope everyone is well back home. We would both kill for a good bottle of Australian red right now!!!