Xi'an

Xian: the capital of Shaanxi province and the home to the terracotta warriors. I went there with William and Eaaf (my American coworkers) as well as Tim (my Aussie friend) and Tim (Tim's Aussie friend) We were able to distinguish between the two Tims because of their varying hairstyles. This does not need to be explained but will become very evident in the following pictures. The main purpose of going to Xi'an was to check out the warriors and the just visit the town area. This blog post is about going around the town.

this picture of me is take in the gateway of our Hostel in Xi'an. This was my first time staying in a hostel and I was very impressed with the experience. The rooms were separated by courtyards and were not rooms within a bigger building. This hostel also came complete with a bar/cafe and a pool table. The outdoor stone ping-ping tables were also good fun! 

This is a picture of the ceiling in the cafe/bar area of the hostel. it is  a high pointed ceiling with wooden rafters, but it has random artwork suspended from the ceiling that hangs parallel with the floor, making it a much cozier space.

The first night at the hostel, we made friends with a small boy who was not very shy at all. here he is playing the guitar with the two Tims. Guess which one we called Dread-Tim?

The picture on the door of the "western/sitting" toilet

The picture on the other toilet. Thank God I did not have to use this one!

A street near the center of Xi'an

鼓楼 Gu-lou The drum tower in the center of town. All major historic cities in China, and particularly the ancient capitals all had/have a drum tower and a bell tower. The one in Xi'an is well preserved and is particularly famous. Behind this structure is the famed Muslim market full of street vendors selling delicious food and wares.

One of the streets behind the Drum tower in the Muslim market area. this market also had a fair bit of "legitimate" name brand consumer items such as sunglasses, watched, and clothing for sale at discount prices. These types of markets are notorious for attempting to over charge foreigners. Bargaining is a necessity. I was told that the best way to bargain is to take a "0" off of their asking price and then expect to negotiate up to about a quarter or a third of the original asking price. (for example, if the asking price for a shirt is 100 RMB (about 15 USD) I should counter offer at 10 RMB and then we should meet around 25-30) Tim (not dread Tim) was particularly good at bargaining and took this opportunity to stock up his wardrobe as well as to collect some gifts for friends and relatives back home. At this point I realized that due to carelessness, I forgot to pack socks for this trip. So unless I wanted to wear the same pair of socks for several days strait, I was going to need to buy some socks. I though, I might as well try my luck at this market, I found some socks and inquired the price (in Chinese). She answers (In English) that "If I buy a lot, I can get a good price!" I Ask "Well how much is 'a lot'?" She says 100 PAIRS!!! I said "I only have two feet! I don't need 100 pairs!" she says "OK how about 50 Pairs?" I reply: "I was thinking more like 5, maybe 10. How much would that be." She thinks for a minute and then says 65 RMB (about 10 USD) per PAIR! I decided that I didn't even want to try to negotiate and told her that I didn't want them. I couldn't walk away, however, because I was waiting for Tim to finish his business inside. Even though I had stopped trying to purchase the socks she continued to drop the price. "How about 50 per pair?" "I don't want them?" "40?" "I seriously don't want them!" "OK, Ok, ok, 25!" "I am not going to pay that much! I don't them" this went on for some time until she finally said " Ok, how about 5 (about 80 cents)?" I said, "that's more like it, I'll take 5 pairs." I was amazed by the fact at how I had bargained her down from 65 to 5 without even trying... I really wonder if she was ever able to sell the socks to anyone for that price!

Dread-Tim enjoying the street market. One of my favorite things to do while traveling with the Tims was to walk a few paces behind Dread-Tim and watch peoples reactions as they walked/drove by. I saw countless double-takes and more than several audible "wow's" Many people (shopkeepers and such) asked if it was real and then how he did and then how he washes it. It was a pretty funny conversation piece.

Tim and I in the Shaanxi Museaum

The city wall of Xi'an. This amazing historical city still has the city wall surrounding the entirety of the old downtown. the wall is several stories high and all stone/brick. it is also beautiful both in the day and at night.

The moon over the Muslim district at night