Today it really rained. I'm very wet.
Apologies for the limited information on the last post. News is we're in Xi'an and I'm nursing a hangover having guzzled one too many Tsing Taos last night. Otherwise feeling exceptional!
A few of us rode bicycles aroound the top of the city walls this morning which I found rather a bumpy and painlful experience but also very interesting as we got to see a lot of the city. There are so many people living in such extreme poverty over here. I knew that's what I'd find but it's pretty shocking to actually see it. The beggars have small children that I'm told they buy and use to approach people for money. We're not meant to give them anything but they're so cute and they follow you for ages trying to hold your hand. It's really heartbreaking.
On a more positive note the people are so friendly. I haven't been asked to pose for a photo since I left Beijing but we get about 10-20 loud "HELLO"s and "WELCOME TO CHINA"s every day. The markets are pretty interesting places too! You get a constant barrage of "Cheaper for you" from all directions and if you stop anywhere they all try to dress you up in their clothes and say how fantastic you look. There are a couple of girls on the tour who have been travelling for 6 months and have got the haggle down to an art form. I've learnt a couple of tricks from them too. Yesterday I bought something (I won't say what it was as it's a present) and got the price down from 250 yuan to 65.
The foot massage yesterday was hilarious. For 60 yuan (about 4 pounds) we got beaten up for 100 minutes. I can't tell you how brutal it was but my feet feel great for it. I think there may have to be a few more of those happening in the not so distant future!
Lunch yesterday was the first time I ate something and had no idea what it was. They really don't see a lot of westerners around here so nothing's written in English and you can only guess so much about a dish from a picture. One of the things we got were these strips of white jellyish stuff in slimey sauce. I had 3 or 4 bits of it before I gave up but none of us could identify it or even tell whether it was animal vegetable or mineral. I think I may have eaten my first snake! The retaurant lastnight had several pages of entrails from various animals cooked in a number of ways. Amongst the dishes that seem more popular I've found chicken tendon kebabs, a plate of minced fish heads and a lot of tripe. And I'm going to have to tuck into a thousand year old egg at some point (they're actually only a few months old I'm told but I suppose after several weeks in a warm room they might as well be 1000 years old.
Well I'm off to see the terracota warriors tomorrow and then onto an overnight train to Shanghai so I'll catch up with you again there in a couple of days!
Bye for now!
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