We may be stupid, but we're well travelled (Xi'an trip)

Xi'an is located in the Shaanxi province in China. Going there by train takes 12 hours. We left Beijing on a Friday at around 1830hours. It's nice that the train wasn't late. It was our first time to take the train so we didn't know the difference between a hard sleeper and a soft sleeper. Now we know.

Hard sleeper - cheaper at RMB214 but one cube houses 6 bunks. It sucks if you manage to get the top bunk. We got the middle bunk which was okay save for the fact that I couldn't sit up straight. Expat forums in Beijing recommends that if you're travelling by train, you can just look for the restaurant part of the train and spend the whole trip drinking and playing card.

Soft sleeper - sells for RMB 400+ and houses 4 bunks in one cube. Make sure that you get the bottom bunk when buying a ticket.

First impressions:
- city looks old; old buildings, buses, etc (compared to Beijing)
- only the major intersections in the city has traffic lights (We thought crossing the streets in the Phils is crazy but Xi'an is crazier! You could be roadkill even if you're already inside a car.)
- outside the city, one doesn't have to go to assigned stops to hail a bus (like in the Phils)
- only scenic spots (Terra Cotta warriors) have a hint of being modern and forward. Once you go back to the city proper, it's all old buildings and establishments

Where to go:

*If you don't know an inch of Mandarin and you want to go to Xi'an, it's wise to book a tour before or once you get to Xi'an. For our part, we have one local with us and we can speak bits of the local language so we didn't join any tour.

1. Hua Qing Hot Spring Park

There are a lot of buses going to Hua Qing and Terra Cotta Warriors Museum by the Xi'an Train station. We lined up and chose to board the double-decker bus - RMB 6 (which turned out to be a tourist trap) and managed to get the front seats on the second floor. Halfway to our destination, everyone was asked to go down because they said the bus won't be able to go through some of the streets on the way to the scenic spots. After we got down, there were a couple of women with microphones leading the crowd and advising them that they will help in getting us a ride. When several buses who passed by wouldn't let us in, we realized that it was a tourist trap (these women will go with the crowd and act as a tour guide and ask for a fee), we broke away from them and rode a cab (RMB5).


Hua Qing Hot Spring Park is situated 30 km from the city. This was the former resort of the emperors and their concubines where the imperial couples bathed in the Nine Dragon Hot Spring and Guifei Hot Spring.


2. Terra Cotta Warrior Museum

Sorry to burst your bubble here, but we (my trip partners and I) consider the Terra Cotta Warrior as an overrated scenic spot next to the Forbidden city in Beijing.

We even hired a tour guide (RMB25/person) so we'd somehow appreciate and understand the significance of this attraction. The entrance is RMB70 and you have to walk 1km from the entrance to the main museums. If you're too lazy to walk, you can always ride the cabbie for RMB5.

So, what have I learned from the tour..

Thousands of Terra Cotta Warriors was designed to protect the Emperor of Qin's flank in the afterlife. The tomb was located underground, framed by mountains, river and desert on the other sides. It was believed that these underground warriors also would help the Emperor rule another empire in the after life.

They were discovered in 1974 by a local farmer while digging a well. You can bet this farmer is famous now. We saw him in one of the souvenir shops offering his signature when you buy a book about the Warriors. I didn't buy one though. We even had a debate whether he's the real deal. The verdict was he probably is.

For the souvenirs, I was able to buy a nice replica of the Warriors for RMB100 (original price RMB190) and jade bracelet and 2 rings all for RMB100 (original combined price RMB400).

3. Bei Yuan Men Islamic Street

We consider our trip to the Islamic street refreshing. It was fun trying out different local delicacies and walking through the market. I was able to buy 2 oriental fans for RMB25. Of course that was the final price after I haggled.


We had an early dinner at one of the local Muslim restaurant. You can choose from a wide array of veggies, meat (no pork), mushrooms, etc and have the fuwuyuans grill it for you and wipe/ sprinkle Chinese spices. We were just there for not more than 20 minutes and our bill was for RMB45 for everything we ate. Now that is the life!

4. Big Wild Goose Pagoda

We went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda but just walked around the park. Going inside the temple would entail paying for the entrance. There were a lot of stalls selling trinkets of jades, chinese what-have-you's. I bought 5 small monk figurines for RMB18. We had fun posing with the different bronze statues scattered around the park and watching the other tourists besting our poses.

5. Kang Fu Lu

Now here is the highlight of our trip. I'm more of a gadget person but walking through the endless streets at Kang Fu Lu will suck you into buying their oh-so-cheap-o stuff. We saw and bought shifts and tops for RMB20 and RMB10. Clothes are cheaper than the underground local malls we go to in Beijing. If I'm going back to Xi'an, I'll surely spend one whole day in Kang Fu Lu for some great finds.

Shopping in China, no matter where, one should always be wary that no matter what you buy, you will always get scammed. Going to markets, if you think you've gotten a stuff for a cheaper price (after endless haggling with the vendor), try to walk and check other stalls selling the same thing. Almost always, you'll find a stall selling the same stuff you got for a lower price.

Since getting scammed is unavoidable, the least you can do is to be smart when getting scammed. Haggle to death and do the "I'm walking away" trick. You'll be surprised that 98% of the time, vendors will run after you offering it for the price you want. I've never enjoyed shopping in the Phils. as I'm enjoying it here. *grins

6. Old Temple

So after getting lost in the expanse of the market in Kang Fu Lu, we were low on cash and decided to just walk and go to any interesting spots that doesn't require an entrance fee. We ended up at this old temple - I forgot the name. After going around, we swore not to visit anymore temples while in China. We're sick of seeing temples.

--
After walking several blocks, tiring ourselves trying to look for Xi'an's "traditional market", we ended up at a place where no tourists can be seen and people we asked for directions were looking at us strangely. Turns out we couldn't blame them; at the end of a particular street block, we saw what they call a traditional market..in the Phils. we'd like to call it Wet Market.

We grumbled our way back to our hotel to wait til we have to go to the train station and home. Our last day was spent walking the length of the city. By around 3pm we were already too tired to walk. We never felt so excited to go back to our beloved Beijing.