Back in Beijing and Xi'an
06/12/2007
My days resting in Beijing were great, but I reverted back to my lazy comfortable self, as i tend to do when I get to places that I am comfortable with. As I had no where to go, and nothing pressing to do I spent Thursday in my room sleeping until noon, and then lounging around. I purchased the entire first season of "Heroes" and watched it all by Thursday night.
On Friday I was marginally more productive. I awoke early and went over to Chaoyang to get my blood drawn. Then I walked over to Yaxiu to pick up the clothing that had been missing the last time I went to Yaxiu, but my corduroy pants were still too big. I ended up delaying my departure to Xi'am one day for the tailor and a second by my family's request.
After my disappointment at the tailor's I walked back up to where the SOS clinic is and had lunch at Athena's, Beijing's one and only Greek Restaurant. The food was quite good and I felt the acute pleasure of eating things slathered in tadziki on a sweltering day, but it really didn't hold a candle to Niko-Niko's.
On Saturday I returned to Yaxiu, got my pants and purchased a fake "LeSportSac" bag that is a bit more pink and happy than I really wanted. It's okay though, I think the bag will work tolerably well as a day bag for my trip and that is really all it needs to do. Later I went down to the Beijing Train Station (北京站) and purchased my train ticket for Sunday night.
I took my Fudao to Grandma's Kitchen for dinner on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and the expense was well worth it, but it was a little sad because it is almost certainly the last time that I will see my fudao.
Sunday I spent sleeping, packing, sleeping, and hanging out with my little sister. I have been told in no uncertain terms that I must call before I come back, stay with my family, and let them take me to the airport (飞机场).
At 4 I left home for the IES building, gathering ice as a went. Then I bought some cheap(ish) English books that i will not regret leaving across the country when they have finally been read, packed myself up, and got a cab to the Beijing West Train Station (北京西).
I arrived in Xi'an (西安) around 6:30 the next morning, checked into the IHA Hostel nearest the train station, bought a ticket to Xiamen, and got myself situated. Around 10 I finally set out to explore the city.
Xi'an gave me a feeling unlike any other Chinese city that I have been to. In some ways it is similar to Beijing, but in many ways it is not. Even though Xi'an is famous as an ancient Chinese city I felt that it lacked even a touristy old feel, but at the same time it lacked the sense of modernity that you find in Beijing and Shanghai. It was dirty, noisy, crowded, and at some points over run with tourists.
I saw the city walls, gates, the drum and bell towers, and the Forest of Steeles. It was all pretty interesting, but in no way spectacular. It was all interesting, but not spectacular. I paid the 20元 to go up the Drum and Bell Towers, which was a waste of money. The smog was so bad that you could barely make out the Drum tower from the Bell tower. All the 20元 really achieved was to give me a good view of the terrible traffic.
I proceeded to amble around the Muslim quarter while i searched for the "Great Mosque." Patti and certainly Laura would be glad that they missed this party of the city. One street that I found was lined with butcher shops. You could see sheep, I assume, skinned and hanging from their feet as the last of their blood drained out. There were animals being systematically broken into pieces. There were tables piled with cuts of meat, assorted intestines, and other organs on display; some of the tables had only an old lady with a fan to keep the flies at bay. It may have put Patti off meat for life, but at the very least it would have strengthened her convictions that Chinese meat is all untrustworthy).
I finally found a mosque in the traditional Chinese style, and as I assumed that it was the Great Mosque I was delighted when some guy told me to go in and have a look around. It could have been a Buddhist temple except for the Arabic carved on pillars and doorways.
I left after a short while, content that I had seen the Great Mosque only to see a sign for the Great Mosque pointing in the opposite direction. I found the real Great Mosque (清真大寺), but I was disinclined to pay the 25元 entrance fee when I had already seen something very similar.
I left and got some street food for lunch instead. I had a "Chinese Sandwich" called "roujiamo" that is chopped beef inside a flat bread that is kind of like a pita. Then I got an "Eight Treasures Rice Pudding" which is a sweet rice cake that has several toppings and sauces on it. All I am really certain of was that one side was coated with a mixture of small black seeds and sugar while the other side was covered with a ground nut.
Upon returning to the hostel I took a nap, only to awake when a new girl entered my room. Until then I had been the sole resident in an eight person dorm.
My new roomy was a French girl who had been studying in India for the past year, and now found herself in China. Thus introduced we decided to go to dinner together. We went to Laosunjia, a restaurant that was recommended by the LP and has apparently been around for more than a century. We had one of the local specialties, yangrou paomo. What happens is that you get a loaf of the flat pita-like bread and rip it up into little chunks, afterwards they add a lamb and noodle soup to your bowl. The bread absorbs some of the broth and gives your meal a little more substance. Overall it was quite delicious.
Today we got up at 10, ate western breakfast in the hostel's restaurant, and took a bus out to see the terracotta warriors. They were cool. I was, in a way, more impressed by the unfinished excavation pits than I was by the complete formation laid out in Pit One. There is so much history in China, staring me in the face, that I can't help but wonder is I should have chosen History of Archeology instead of Econ. Too late now.
After that we ate lunch and went back to the Great Mosque, because Beryl wanted to see it. This time I did pay the entry fee. It was worth the entrance fee since it was a lot bigger and more ornate than the other mosque was.
We walked down to the drum and bell towers before returning to the hostel and parting ways.
My days resting in Beijing were great, but I reverted back to my lazy comfortable self, as i tend to do when I get to places that I am comfortable with. As I had no where to go, and nothing pressing to do I spent Thursday in my room sleeping until noon, and then lounging around. I purchased the entire first season of "Heroes" and watched it all by Thursday night.
On Friday I was marginally more productive. I awoke early and went over to Chaoyang to get my blood drawn. Then I walked over to Yaxiu to pick up the clothing that had been missing the last time I went to Yaxiu, but my corduroy pants were still too big. I ended up delaying my departure to Xi'am one day for the tailor and a second by my family's request.
After my disappointment at the tailor's I walked back up to where the SOS clinic is and had lunch at Athena's, Beijing's one and only Greek Restaurant. The food was quite good and I felt the acute pleasure of eating things slathered in tadziki on a sweltering day, but it really didn't hold a candle to Niko-Niko's.
On Saturday I returned to Yaxiu, got my pants and purchased a fake "LeSportSac" bag that is a bit more pink and happy than I really wanted. It's okay though, I think the bag will work tolerably well as a day bag for my trip and that is really all it needs to do. Later I went down to the Beijing Train Station (北京站) and purchased my train ticket for Sunday night.
I took my Fudao to Grandma's Kitchen for dinner on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and the expense was well worth it, but it was a little sad because it is almost certainly the last time that I will see my fudao.
Sunday I spent sleeping, packing, sleeping, and hanging out with my little sister. I have been told in no uncertain terms that I must call before I come back, stay with my family, and let them take me to the airport (飞机场).
At 4 I left home for the IES building, gathering ice as a went. Then I bought some cheap(ish) English books that i will not regret leaving across the country when they have finally been read, packed myself up, and got a cab to the Beijing West Train Station (北京西).
I arrived in Xi'an (西安) around 6:30 the next morning, checked into the IHA Hostel nearest the train station, bought a ticket to Xiamen, and got myself situated. Around 10 I finally set out to explore the city.
Xi'an gave me a feeling unlike any other Chinese city that I have been to. In some ways it is similar to Beijing, but in many ways it is not. Even though Xi'an is famous as an ancient Chinese city I felt that it lacked even a touristy old feel, but at the same time it lacked the sense of modernity that you find in Beijing and Shanghai. It was dirty, noisy, crowded, and at some points over run with tourists.
I saw the city walls, gates, the drum and bell towers, and the Forest of Steeles. It was all pretty interesting, but in no way spectacular. It was all interesting, but not spectacular. I paid the 20元 to go up the Drum and Bell Towers, which was a waste of money. The smog was so bad that you could barely make out the Drum tower from the Bell tower. All the 20元 really achieved was to give me a good view of the terrible traffic.
I proceeded to amble around the Muslim quarter while i searched for the "Great Mosque." Patti and certainly Laura would be glad that they missed this party of the city. One street that I found was lined with butcher shops. You could see sheep, I assume, skinned and hanging from their feet as the last of their blood drained out. There were animals being systematically broken into pieces. There were tables piled with cuts of meat, assorted intestines, and other organs on display; some of the tables had only an old lady with a fan to keep the flies at bay. It may have put Patti off meat for life, but at the very least it would have strengthened her convictions that Chinese meat is all untrustworthy).
I finally found a mosque in the traditional Chinese style, and as I assumed that it was the Great Mosque I was delighted when some guy told me to go in and have a look around. It could have been a Buddhist temple except for the Arabic carved on pillars and doorways.
I left after a short while, content that I had seen the Great Mosque only to see a sign for the Great Mosque pointing in the opposite direction. I found the real Great Mosque (清真大寺), but I was disinclined to pay the 25元 entrance fee when I had already seen something very similar.
I left and got some street food for lunch instead. I had a "Chinese Sandwich" called "roujiamo" that is chopped beef inside a flat bread that is kind of like a pita. Then I got an "Eight Treasures Rice Pudding" which is a sweet rice cake that has several toppings and sauces on it. All I am really certain of was that one side was coated with a mixture of small black seeds and sugar while the other side was covered with a ground nut.
Upon returning to the hostel I took a nap, only to awake when a new girl entered my room. Until then I had been the sole resident in an eight person dorm.
My new roomy was a French girl who had been studying in India for the past year, and now found herself in China. Thus introduced we decided to go to dinner together. We went to Laosunjia, a restaurant that was recommended by the LP and has apparently been around for more than a century. We had one of the local specialties, yangrou paomo. What happens is that you get a loaf of the flat pita-like bread and rip it up into little chunks, afterwards they add a lamb and noodle soup to your bowl. The bread absorbs some of the broth and gives your meal a little more substance. Overall it was quite delicious.
Today we got up at 10, ate western breakfast in the hostel's restaurant, and took a bus out to see the terracotta warriors. They were cool. I was, in a way, more impressed by the unfinished excavation pits than I was by the complete formation laid out in Pit One. There is so much history in China, staring me in the face, that I can't help but wonder is I should have chosen History of Archeology instead of Econ. Too late now.
After that we ate lunch and went back to the Great Mosque, because Beryl wanted to see it. This time I did pay the entry fee. It was worth the entrance fee since it was a lot bigger and more ornate than the other mosque was.
We walked down to the drum and bell towers before returning to the hostel and parting ways.