Soldiering On

Even though last night's rest was short, it was good. The beds were comfortable and we were able to get the room temperature set the way we liked it. However, 5:00 am came VERY early!

 

Back into the little bus we went with all of our luggage stuffed in as well. Thankfully, the time in the bus was short. It only took about 20 minutes to get to the train station - which was VERY nice! It looked like it was very new - bright, shiny, lots of glass and clean and modern. We were booked on a high speed train to Xian. The train speed was around 240 km/hour and was very smooth.

 

Upon arrival at Xian, we were met by our guide and loaded into another bus that was too small for us, then we thought we would be taken to lunch. Unfortunately, we ended up having another factory stop first. We went to a place that makes terra cotta warrior replicas. We had the tour and then had another shopping opportunity. It was nice, but we were hungry and ready for lunch. We asked our guide about food and she told us we would eat at the museum. Well, it took us until about 3:00 to finally get to the museum, get tickets, and get to the restaurant. I did not get my wish for a different type of lunch... :(   It might be months before I choose to go to a Chinese restaurant when I get back in the States.

 

When we finished lunch, we started through another huge highlight of the trip - we went to see the Terra Cotta Soldiers. There are over 8,000 warriors and horses that form an army to protect the Emperor's burial site. We spent a lot of time there as many in our group were really looking forward to this part of the trip. It's a very well done museum and the crowds were incredible... If you haven't been around large groups of Chinese people before, you may not realize how much of a challenge it can be. They don't really accept the idea of queuing up or waiting for their turn. If they want to see something or get closer or get to the front, they don't wait, they just push their way to where they want to be. It can be overwhelming and after a full day of that, it can also be exhausting. You kind of have to adopt the same practice if you want to see anything because if you try to sit back and 'wait your turn', you'll never get there. We stayed until closing time at 6 pm.

 

Traffic was heavy and it took us about 2 hours to get to the hotel, so it was another late check in. However, we got checked into our hotel without any of the hassles of yesterday - our room was clean although it did smell somewhat smoky. But the best part is that we actually get to sleep for a FULL night! :)