I would come back to Beijing. Not that there is necessarily
more that I want to see here, but I think it is worth seeing and I would
certainly bring my own kids here someday. I also thing my parents would like to
see it—in less heat of course.
I took the Airport Express to Beijing Airport. This is the
only metro train that costs 25RMB to ride as opposed to 2RMB like every other
line in the city. Beijing Airport is actually laid out a bit different than
most international airports. It has all the same features—big departure board,
islands for checking in, etc—but its more cluttered and not arranged quite the
same way. This flight was actually a first for me. It is the first domestic
flight I have ever taken abroad. Because of that, I was able to check in at a
kiosk before going to find some lunch.
For lunch, I got scammed! I was looking for a starbucks, but
I got talked into a noodle place by the lady passing out menus. The food was
awful. I avoided getting upsold to a more expensive combo meal that I didn’t
want, but luckily they talked me into a side of fries. The beef tendon wasn’t
doing it for me, so the fries became most of my calories for that meal. The
lemon tea wasn’t so bad though.
After I ate, I went through security (where I got stopped
again for my little safe—which while inconvenient does give me more hope about
the Chinese Aviation Security system (for a while no one seemed to be concerned
about this safe which was always causing concern in the US and Europe.)
I was struck by the lack of duty free shops inside the
terminal. That’s when I put together that I wasn’t on an international flight
this time. Nothing was duty free because I was staying inside the country.
At the gate, I took out the book Forbidden City that I have been reading. You probably never read
it, and probably wont be able to find it since it is out of print. Both of
these statements are tragic. It is fantastic. As a historical fiction, it
follows the son of a journalist sent to cover Gorbychovs visit to Beijing in
1989. This is of course when the student demonstrations began, which turned
into a riot, and later a massacre. The book is very simple in its language and
only about 200 pages long, but it vividly describes the events from Tiannamen Square
that summer, as well as some of the political undercurrent that drove the
movement to become so violent.
I read the book during my entire wait at the gate, all
through take off, and up through landing—stopping just briefly to enjoy my
inflight meal. I seriously have never experienced meals on a domestic flight
like this. The food wasn’t the highest of quality, but it was tasty and very
filling. This one included rice and chicken, along with a cup of yogurt, a roll
that I did not eat, and a Chips Ahoy cookie. The yogurt here is really
liquefied and more of a drink than a food item. It tastes good though.
But back to my book…if you can get your hands on a copy you
should. I was just about crying as I read the second to last chapter. I was
even irritated our flight was ontime because I didn’t have time to finish it
yet.
My hostel had emailed me that the airport was too far and
inconvient to get to their location from. They had given me the bus route which
would require three transfers and about 2 hours, or they offered to arrange a
driver for me for about 20USD. I accepted the car offer.
When I came out of the arrivals, I did not see my driver. I
didn’t panic because in terms of bad airport arrival situations, this one
didn’t even rank in the top 5. Okay, actually maybe it did because most of my
arrivals have been seemless, but this was already better than Hong Kong. I
tried to get a Wi-Fi signal to see if the hostel had emailed me anymore
specifics, but my phone wouldn’t connect.
Luckily, as I paced around, I saw a man walk up with a sign
that had my name on it. I approached him, and he took my pack and lead me out
to a car.
In reality, I was glad I took the car. Even by taxi, it took
90 minutes to get from the airport to my hostel. The city however looked amazing.
In a lot of ways, it was the spitting image of Shanghai but with about ¼ as
many people. Sky scrappers were everywhere and little bakeries lined every
corner. I also saw the university in China that my university has a “sister
exchange” with.
But the defining feature that makes Xi’an unique—besides
being about 4000 years old and the original capital of China—is the city wall.
Even though it has been rebuilt and reconstructed several times, it is one of
the only city walls in the world that still stands keeping out “intruders.”
Driving through the gate was really, really cool.
I got to my hostel and got checked in. This is definitely
one of the most atmospheric hostels I’ve stayed at. With three large
courtyards, their signs and my books both boast that this is traditional
housing style from 200 years ago in China. The incense that burns in the public
bathrooms as well as the caged birds hanging amongst the plants in the hallways
really gives it a lot of character.
Depending on interest (they wont do it for just one person)
they offer tours to some of the better known sites around Xian. These include
the Terracotta Warriors, the tomb of Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor of
Qin…the kingdom that became China…4000 years ago), the tomb of Jingdi, a Tang Dynasty
show, a dumpling class, and a Panda sanctuary. My plan is to do all of them,
but they said there needs to be more interest first. Right now, there is only
enough interest to run the Terracotta Warriors and Qin Shi Huang tomb. So I’ll
be seeing those tomorrow.
Around the Hostel, I want to go to the Muslim quarter,
especially the Great Mosque. I’d also like to go to the Wild Goose Pagoda.
But for dinner tonight, the front desk suggested travelers
café, and international restaurant. I have to admit, when i walked in and saw
hamburgers on the menu, I stared salivating. I went for the risotto and I will
say, I think it was the most authentic Italian flavor I’ve had outside of Rome
(although the cuts o meat were a little interesting.) Washing it down with a mango
smoothie was great, although the cheesecake was once again…cheese. I’ve made
the mistake of ordering this 3 times now hoping to find New York style
cheesecake, but every time I get some sort of cheddar based dish. This was the
first time I ate all of it, and it isn’t bad…it’s just not dessert.
Luckily, I have chocolate stashed in my room (something I
picked up at the Beijing airport.)
I’m planning on having an early night tonight because my
tour for the Terracotta Warriors starts at 7:00am tomorrow. Looking forward to
diving even further back in history for another fun adventure!
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