The overnight train and an intro to Xian

As indicated in yesterday's entry we took the overnight train from Chengdu last night and arrived in Xian today at lunchtime. But before I talk about the train I want to talk about what we did yesterday afternoon in Chengdu. We left the hotel at 12 after checking out and started to look around for boots for the kids. On our way out we passed a couple of young Tibetan monks and I asked them if I could take their photo. We'd seen some monks the day before and I know there are Tibetan areas in Sichuan province so we weren't totally surprised to see them.

The shopping centers and department stores are very crowded and it is difficult to figure out how they are organised. In one branch of Parkson, which is a chain we've seen in Nanning at least, we asked about children's shoes and were directed to the 6th floor. If you've been in China you'll know that the department stores here are not like the ones in Western countries in that they are more like collections of individual brand stalls which operate independently of each other. And while some shoe sections are on one floor, other sections are on other floors. Anyway, we found a nice boot for Jade with a fuzzy lining inside. I decided to conserve our Yuan and tried to pay with my credit card. I couldn't pay at two cashiers near where the shoes were and was taken down to the 5th floor to one who had the facility for taking credit payments. This was how we discovered that there was a great selection of hiking boots on that floor! I left Jarrah and Paul trying boots on and returned to the 6th floor to give the sales girl the payment slip and pick up Jade's boots. Jarrah chose a nice pair of hiking boots which we think are waterproof. Both boots were discounted--Jade's at 50%. Hers were only about $A40 and Jarrah's $A65. There's no way we would have gotten boots like these in Australia for those prices.

Then by another fluke we decided to walk around a bit and discovered a fantastic square called Tianfu Square. This square is just incredible! It is beautifully decorated with many fountains and there is a row of them which dance to music which is broadcast. The fountain below is not one of those but is one of a pair of tall elegant fountains in the centre of the square.

At one side of the square there is a large statue of Mao Zedong which I couldn't resist taking a photo of.

After we'd looked at the square we wandered around a bit more then headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags and go to the train station. At the station we were directed to the waiting room for people with tickets in the soft sleeper carriage. We ate a range of our snacks which we'd picked up at a couple of supermarkets as our dinner and waited. About a half hour before our scheduled departure time we were told to board our train.

The train departure board at Chengdu station

The soft sleeper waiting room

Our cabin

The trip to Xian took about 15 hours and was an interesting one. The kids decided they didn't like the jerking of the train. At times this was quite violent and sudden! But they loved more than they didn't like including sleeping in the top bunks. The terrain we went through was quite mountainous. It seems like the train was curving one way or another most of the time and it was also continuously going through tunnels. The temperature got colder too and we saw frozen rivers and waterfalls. Paul and I liked looking at the little villages along the way and seeing parts of rural China that we wouldn't otherwise have seen.

On arrival in Xian we were caught off guard by the agressiveness of the locals. There was a guy on the platform who wanted to do something for us. I think maybe it was carry our bags down the stairs but we're not sure. Then when we got outside there were people all over us selling maps--I bought one forgetting that I had one. And we got waylaid on the way to the taxi rank by a gypsy cab driver. We mistakenly thought that he was from a van we could see and went with him. When he brought us to his car we should have backed out but went ahead and had him take us to the hotel. His spiel didn't stop there as most of the way he was trying to get us to agree to going to the Terracotta Warriors with him. I struggled with my Chinese in the face of his assertiveness but finally I got the message across to him that we already had a tour booked. I then added that we were going to Beijing the following day to end the conversation.

Our hotel--the Bell Tower Hotel and our room

So I'm sad to say that the circumstances of our arrival in Xian have not made a good impression on us. I guess this is what happens when you do things on your own. I'm a bit annoyed with myself as I've travelled enough and lived in Thailand and was familiar with situations such as this. But not having a ready, colloquial grasp of the language or local knowledge sets situations such as this up. We will be more wary in Beijing.

Our hotel as you can see is gorgeous, right in the middle of Xian and immediately adjacent to the Bell Tower--one of the attractions. The Drum Tower is also nearby as is the Muslim quarter--which we discovered this afternoon is mainly a street market filled with all manner of tourist souvenirs. One of the sadder situations of our area is the agressive beggars including a couple of little boys about 4 years old who come right up to people and push their cups up against you. Once again, another sign of the agressiveness here. We haven't had this in either Nanning or Chengdu and don't recall experiencing this in Beijing or Shanghai on our last trip so this is a bit of a shock. Well tomorrow we're off to the Terracotta Warriors--into the centre of the maelstrom!