Going South

From Pingyao we moved on to Xi'an, it's another big city famed for it's 'army' of terracotta warriors, built some 2000 years ago, apparently to guard the tomb of a dead emperor. So we went to check that out, it was a very impressive sight. Like with the Great Wall in Beijing, I'm fascinated by the scale on which the Chinese build things and the great effort involved, and I often find myself asking what was the point, and was it ever really worth the huge effort?! But they are really spectacular sights, so I'm not complaining, and we're definitely enjoying!!



Besides the warriors, Xi'an has some nice old city walls that you can hike or bike around, and a picturesque muslim quarter; it was nice to browse the shops and eateries there. There are also plenty of temples but we skipped most of them, having had a bit of an overdose of temples in the past week. Oh, we also got another massage! No scars or bruises this time; our faith in Chinese medicine has been restored :-)



Then on from Xi'an we faced a 27 hour train journey to Guilin. Due to the long time we would be spending in the train, we tried to get soft sleeper tickets (equivalent of 1st class) but they had sold out, so we went for the next best thing and they had sold out too. So, we had to settle for a simple seat reservation. At 220 yuan (about 20 euros) for a 27 hour ride we figured we had a bargain and we could put up with anything that 3rd class travel had to throw at us. Well, it was certainly an experience, I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat it but it was far more interesting and entertaining than travelling in 1st or 2nd class. The train was jam-packed full of people, we were the only tall white ones so of course we caused quite a stir! Some people had reserved seats (like us), but some didn't, so they either squeezed themselves onto the side of someone else's seat, or they slept on the filthy floor, or in one case, in the sink! (I wish I'd taken a picture, but it was 3a.m. and I wasn't exactly thinking straight...)



I've developed a huge admiration for the way the Chinese behave; everyone in the train seemed more than willing to sqeeze themselves into the tiniest spaces so that a complete stranger could have a bit of their seat. I didn't give up mine but I had one sleeping baby after another dumped on my lap so that they could get a bit of rest! Another thing I really admire is that they are always happy and smiling, and never seem to complain about anything. At one point I was getting really annoyed by one girl sitting opposite to me who never stopped talking and laughing, it was 6 a.m. and the whole carriage could hear her. But rather then coming and telling her to shut up, the other passengers were coming over to our seats to listen to her stories, we had a huge crowd and everyone (well, everyone except the two grumpy white tourists!) joined in the conversation. I really admire their positivity, and I made a mental note to myself to try and be more tolerant of people in the future... let's see how long that lasts!

Throughout the day, as we travelled further south, the scenery outside became more hilly and interesting, and kept us entertained. Still, when we pulled into Guilin I think we were more than happy to get out and stretch our legs, get some fresh air and have a good wash! :-)

The next day we explored Guilin. It's really nice and warm here (about 26 degrees) and it's much less hectic and more scenic than the previous cities. We climbed one of the karst peaks in the city centre for some nice views of the city, had a walk along the Li River and visited the Reed Flute Cave, Guilin's main attraction. It's the biggest cave I've ever seen, with some really impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations all lit up with eerie fluorescent lights.





Then it was time to leave Guilin and move on to Yangshuo. It's an hour and a half bus ride away, and it's supposed to be even more beautiful. We'll keep you posted!

By the way, we added some more pictures in the Mongolia Gobi desert blog. Thanks to Scott Appleby for taking and sending us the pics. It's probably a blessing that we had no camera in Mongolia because these photos are better than anything we could have taken!

Also, I'm a few days late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my Grandma, Barbara Porter, who's an avid reader of our travel diary. She's just turned 85 years old. Congratulations, Grandma! xxx

From Beijing to Pingyao

All good things must come to an end, it was time for us to leave Beijing. The fact that our next stop was Datong, one of China's ugliest and most polluted cities, didn't make us too excited about leaving. But we were not going to stay in Datong longer than was absolutely necessary.

We took a night train from Beijing to Datong, which was quite an experience. We got "hard sleeper" tickets, which meant three storey bunk-beds in an open carriage (as opposed to "soft sleepers" where you get a cabin with four sharing. Luckily we had the bottom bunks, and didn't have to climb to the hat-shelf-like top bunks. The fact that the Chinese smoke everywhere (and constantly) made breathing a bit hard, but otherwise we managed a decent night's sleep.

We arrived in Datong at dawn, and were immediately caught by the tour organisers. This fit nicely into our plan because we wanted to visit the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Caves, and then take the night train to Pingyao, without staying in Datong for the night.

After a booking our tour and train tickets (and a nice breakfast in a nearby hotel) we were on our way to the Hanging Monastery. Well, to be honest the monastery doesn't really hang. It is actually propped up on a hillside with wooden poles. But the effect is pretty impressive, though. You can very easily imagine the whole thing collapsing at any minute.



As monasteries go (and by now we've seen a fair few already) this was a good one. It does seem that you find monasteries in the strangest places around here: in the middle of a desert, behind a rock that doesn't quite look like a turtle, or halfway up a steep hill. Having said that, I don't remember seeing any monasteries back home, maybe those ones are even better hidden?

The next stop was the Yungang Caves. These were the first caves we have seen so far, and it was a strong start. There are loads of caves in different shapes and sizes, some with Buddhas still inside, others looted.



After the caves we had to face Datong. As expected, it was not a highpoint of our trip. To be fair we only explored a couple of blocks of the city since Julie's digestive system had been somewhat boosted by spicy Chinese food, and we had to remain within a sprinting distance from the only decent toilets in the city.

After a long day we finally boarded on our train to Pingyao. This time we were in a hard sleeper with a middle and a top bunk, but by now this wasn't too bad; we were tired and beyond caring.

We are now in Pingyao, a lovely little town with an ancient city wall around it. There isn't so much to do, but just walking along the narrow streets and looking at the restaurants and shops is good fun.



We also seem to be heading deeper into the country and as there are less and less foreigners around we seem to have become tourist attractions ourselves. It is now impossible to go anywhere without the Chinese tourist groups shouting "Hello!" at you and snapping pictures. It's all good fun, though!

Tonight we are heading to Xi'an on another night train. This time we are in a hard sleeper carriage with two top bunk tickets. Oh well...