Week 12 - Deeper into the Land of Peking Duck
Day 78 5.19 Beijing, China
Ate lunch, organized stuff for my trip, and then headed out to Beijing West Rail Station to catch my overnight train to Xian.
I had a soft sleeper as all the other beds had been sold out. There were three other beds in my berth. I had the top bunk and there was ample room for me to move around. There was a door to the hall and my roommates closed it very early and shut off the lights. Second earliest night of my trip.
Day 79 5.20 Xian, China
My roommates got up around 6.30 and so I looked out the window and dozed. The scenery was very beautiful. Arrived at the station. My hostel was suppose to pick me up but they were not there when I arrived. I waited for twenty minutes and they showed up. Another girl from my train was suppose to get a ride but she was not there. We waited for her for awhile but I figured she'd given up and walked to the hostel.
Dropped off my bags and then headed back to the rail station to catch the bus out to the Terracotta Warriors. There are three pits that have been dug. The neatest thing about the warriors is that they are not in the historical record. Some farmers were digging a well and just found them. Each warriors has a different face and was painted but once exposed to air the paint disintegrates.
The warriors were AMAZING! The guidebook had said that if you'd seen a lot of pictures you might be disappointed but I wasn't.
Bused back into the city and walked FOREVER to the subway to the Wild Goose Pagoda. Took me awhile to get orientated (Xian better street signage on intersections, please) and walked ten minutes to the park.
Entered the temple. The temple is dedicated to Xuanzang, you know that monk I got excited over way back on day 10. There were copies of the Tripitika and giant carving telling of his journey to India. TEMPLE HEAVEN!!!!
I paid money to climb the pagoda then wandered around the park grounds. There was some beautiful landscaping and nice Buddhist statues.
At night Xian lights up its buildings so I walked to the Bell and Drum towers. I went up the Drum Tower where there were many giant drums. Explored a night market and got a bracelet and then headed back to the hostel.
Day 80 5.21 Xian, China
Had French toast and the walked to the stone stele museum which was slightly disappointing. Walked around an outdoor street market and then climbed up to the wall at the South Gate with the plan to walk to the East Gate. Got off the wall and something horrible happened. I guess I got off on the wrong side, and there were no street signs so I started to walk in completely wrong direction! Got orientated and backtracked. I was trying to find this temple but the map was unclear. After some backtracking and asking for directions I made it to the Temple of Eight Immortals.
I wandered around and got to see a Taoist ceremony. Headed back into the city and realized that I hasn't visited The Great Mosque. I had just enough time to do a brisk walk around but it was worth it to see the Chinese mosque architecture (the temple is so representative of the architectural style the I saw a model of it in the Islamic Art Museum in Kuala Lumpur).
Then I quickly walked back to my hostel to grab my stuff and caught the bus to the train station. This time I was in a six person hard sleeper with no door and lights that stayed on until 11PM. I was lucky to have a middle bunk as you couldn't even move in the top bunk. The people who had those beds spent there time sitting on the bottom bunk beds whether the knew the occupant or not. I walked most of the train on 'operation Western toilet' and discovered that my car was definitely the party car. Watched a guy struggle into the top bunk and headed to bed.
Day 81 5.22 Beijing, China
Was so exhausted from the 15 hr horrible train ride that I wasted the day doing not a lot. Met Misty and Tiff for dinner.
Day 82 5.23 Beijing, China
Headed out to the Anti-Japanese Aggression Museum which was a lot less biased than I thought it would be. It was also the nicest museum I'd been to and had clean bathrooms and was free. However, it is not in Lonely Planet and there were no other foreigners there. Who visits it? Where do they get the money to maintain it?!?
Walked to Lugou (Marco Polo) bridge which is famous because it is one of the largest arched bridges and Marco Polo REALLY liked it.
Day 83 5.24 Beijing, China
Had brunch with Tiff and her boyfriend. Then I went back to the apartment to pack. Met Tiff at Sanlutin for coffee and shopping. Watched tv and then headed out to the airport for my 2am flight.
Day 84 5.25 Ubud, Indonesia
After an uneventful layover in KL I arrived in Bali, Indonesia. My driver was not there when arrived which was stressful only because the only reason I had hired a driver was to avoid all the people offering their taxi services. My driver showed up. Everyone talks about how friendly their drivers are and how people book them for more trips....mine was not friendly.
Arrived in Ubud two hours later. My private room was on the second floor and had a terrace that overlooked the family temple. The island of Bali is primarily Hindu and it's people are extremely religious. Offerings are left to the gods daily and there are shrines and temples in the home.
I wandered down Monkey Forest Rd. Decided to try Crispy Duck for dinner as it is a famous dish in Ubud.
Ate lunch, organized stuff for my trip, and then headed out to Beijing West Rail Station to catch my overnight train to Xian.
I had a soft sleeper as all the other beds had been sold out. There were three other beds in my berth. I had the top bunk and there was ample room for me to move around. There was a door to the hall and my roommates closed it very early and shut off the lights. Second earliest night of my trip.
Day 79 5.20 Xian, China
My roommates got up around 6.30 and so I looked out the window and dozed. The scenery was very beautiful. Arrived at the station. My hostel was suppose to pick me up but they were not there when I arrived. I waited for twenty minutes and they showed up. Another girl from my train was suppose to get a ride but she was not there. We waited for her for awhile but I figured she'd given up and walked to the hostel.
Dropped off my bags and then headed back to the rail station to catch the bus out to the Terracotta Warriors. There are three pits that have been dug. The neatest thing about the warriors is that they are not in the historical record. Some farmers were digging a well and just found them. Each warriors has a different face and was painted but once exposed to air the paint disintegrates.
The warriors were AMAZING! The guidebook had said that if you'd seen a lot of pictures you might be disappointed but I wasn't.
Bused back into the city and walked FOREVER to the subway to the Wild Goose Pagoda. Took me awhile to get orientated (Xian better street signage on intersections, please) and walked ten minutes to the park.
Entered the temple. The temple is dedicated to Xuanzang, you know that monk I got excited over way back on day 10. There were copies of the Tripitika and giant carving telling of his journey to India. TEMPLE HEAVEN!!!!
I paid money to climb the pagoda then wandered around the park grounds. There was some beautiful landscaping and nice Buddhist statues.
At night Xian lights up its buildings so I walked to the Bell and Drum towers. I went up the Drum Tower where there were many giant drums. Explored a night market and got a bracelet and then headed back to the hostel.
Day 80 5.21 Xian, China
Had French toast and the walked to the stone stele museum which was slightly disappointing. Walked around an outdoor street market and then climbed up to the wall at the South Gate with the plan to walk to the East Gate. Got off the wall and something horrible happened. I guess I got off on the wrong side, and there were no street signs so I started to walk in completely wrong direction! Got orientated and backtracked. I was trying to find this temple but the map was unclear. After some backtracking and asking for directions I made it to the Temple of Eight Immortals.
I wandered around and got to see a Taoist ceremony. Headed back into the city and realized that I hasn't visited The Great Mosque. I had just enough time to do a brisk walk around but it was worth it to see the Chinese mosque architecture (the temple is so representative of the architectural style the I saw a model of it in the Islamic Art Museum in Kuala Lumpur).
Then I quickly walked back to my hostel to grab my stuff and caught the bus to the train station. This time I was in a six person hard sleeper with no door and lights that stayed on until 11PM. I was lucky to have a middle bunk as you couldn't even move in the top bunk. The people who had those beds spent there time sitting on the bottom bunk beds whether the knew the occupant or not. I walked most of the train on 'operation Western toilet' and discovered that my car was definitely the party car. Watched a guy struggle into the top bunk and headed to bed.
Day 81 5.22 Beijing, China
Was so exhausted from the 15 hr horrible train ride that I wasted the day doing not a lot. Met Misty and Tiff for dinner.
Day 82 5.23 Beijing, China
Headed out to the Anti-Japanese Aggression Museum which was a lot less biased than I thought it would be. It was also the nicest museum I'd been to and had clean bathrooms and was free. However, it is not in Lonely Planet and there were no other foreigners there. Who visits it? Where do they get the money to maintain it?!?
Walked to Lugou (Marco Polo) bridge which is famous because it is one of the largest arched bridges and Marco Polo REALLY liked it.
Day 83 5.24 Beijing, China
Had brunch with Tiff and her boyfriend. Then I went back to the apartment to pack. Met Tiff at Sanlutin for coffee and shopping. Watched tv and then headed out to the airport for my 2am flight.
Day 84 5.25 Ubud, Indonesia
After an uneventful layover in KL I arrived in Bali, Indonesia. My driver was not there when arrived which was stressful only because the only reason I had hired a driver was to avoid all the people offering their taxi services. My driver showed up. Everyone talks about how friendly their drivers are and how people book them for more trips....mine was not friendly.
Arrived in Ubud two hours later. My private room was on the second floor and had a terrace that overlooked the family temple. The island of Bali is primarily Hindu and it's people are extremely religious. Offerings are left to the gods daily and there are shrines and temples in the home.
I wandered down Monkey Forest Rd. Decided to try Crispy Duck for dinner as it is a famous dish in Ubud.