Today we packed for the flight and set out to find some porridge for breakfast. No luck, so we took a walk. Found hutongs in our neighborhood, as well as a hospital. We wandered to a park and watched people. Saw a couple of very cute wicker strollers, as well as a high tech pram.
It took an hour to get to the airport. Cost about twice as much to go there as it did to come in, as our hotel attendant had explained the night before that 'it should'. I guess it's customary.
We checked in for our domestic flight and were given good seats, no problem. The sky was blue - were appreciating that. There has been some blue sky the last 3 days. Then, we were surprised to see a meal served on our 2 hour flight, but, really all the food is tasting the same. Meat or seafood in a very salty gravy served with rice or noodles. Ugh.
We landed in Xi'an and were greeted by our guide. It's the first time we've had one of those people holding signs waiting for us, so it was fun. The terminal we used is large and new, open for one month. There is smog here too, from the coal plants and industry. The driving style here is the same as Beijing, but not as much honking. Our guide seemed to enjoy my comment about conversatnal honking in Beijing. He told us that it is said that the second language in China is honking! Do you know what the national bird is? The construction crane. :-)
BTW, we aked how many taxis in Xi'an. Weve been keeping track. 10K in HK, 300K in Beijing, and 15K in Xi'an. They are even cheaper here.
Our guide was not surprised to here that we were struggling with the salty and greasy food. He explained that this food style is common to north China because of the limited food sources that were available to people in the past. He will help us to find some more agreeable food. We also learned that porridge here means congee. Not what we were thinking of.
Xi'an is steeped in history and was the center of power until the 10th century. We visited the city wall, which is one of the few that remain in China. Ramparts are located 120 meters apart, because arrows could be shot 60 meters. We saw a performance of drums and soldiers.
We are staying in central Xi'an, inside the wall. 35 years ago there were only fields outside the wall, but now everyone wants to come to the cities, and the outside is all built up. The Muslim quarter is near our hotel, on the other side of the drum tower. The Chinese muslims have been here for hundreds of years. There is a lively street scene here. We had dinner at one of the restaurants and were happy to have a more palatable meal. We had two dishes. One was a cold spinach and rice noodle dish, with vinegar and a little bite, like horseradish. The second was a shrimp, cashew and veg stir fry with a light sauce. Ah, what a relief. Vanessa tried to order some bread because the picture in the menu looked interesting. We found out you can order that only if you're getting a stew. :-)
One thing I especially appreciate about traveling with Vanessa is that she has a good sense of direction and space. It is most valuable in finding our way around and back again. She is also good at figuring out mechanical and electronic things. Although I'm better at getting Internet access. :-)
Right now there are not many western tourists, but many Chinese people are visiting with their children because school is out. We'll head out early tomorrow to beat the crowds to the terra cotta warriors!
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