Sleeping train to Xian

I finally managed to get some sleep on the train!  12 hours later and I’m in Xi’an, happy days, all for the bargain price of less than a tenner.   Train Z19 Beijing to Xian…

Xi’an is a cool city, home to the 8th wonder of the world, smaller than Beijing and way bigger than Pingyao, with a very energetic atmosphere not unlike Beijing.The hostel was right in the centre of the city, with a brilliant view from the balcony of the Bell Tower.

Me, Julian and his friend Tilo had a wander around the Muslim Quarter of the city, and, after a lot of pointing and grunting, we managed to get a feed on some noodles. We then grabbed a taxi to the Big Goose Pagoda and climbed to the top to check out the view (like true tourists).

We booked on to a tour to the famous Terracotta Warriors the next day, not cheap but unmissable!

They were stunning! Life size Terracotta warriors all standing to attention in precise lines, hundreds of them! It is estimated that there are 6000 buried there, yet you only see a fraction of that! I think everyone was in awe of them, really spectacular!

That night we went out to check the night life in Xi’an. We ended up in a club called MGM which Julian and Tilo had scoped out the previous day. After some warm up beers in the hostel we headed on down there, and what a night it turned out to be. I didn’t spend one penny all night long! All the Chinese were buying me drinks and I was happily drinking them all. Then I had girls dragging me the dance floor, then more beers, then more dancing, followed by more beer, then I lost everyone! I made it back to the hostel in one piece though!

Sleeper train to Chengdu, the adventure continues…