Xian

Five hours later we arrived in Xi’an which already has a nicer feel to it. We caught the subway and walked a bit to our hotel. It’s a nice hotel but no English TV... We did some research and since we are craving Western food, we went to a place called the Cyclist Restaurant. It was all bike themed and was really cool...oh my goodness the staff spoke some English which was so nice! Kyle had pizza and I had stuffed potatoes...very original and authentic. It was a really good but expensive meal.
This morning we had a private guide booked and driver. They took us to the Terracotta Warriors which Kyle loved and it was so nice to see him enjoying it. It was still great to be back but didn’t have the wow factor like the first time. Then we went to the 6000 year old village which was all excavated and very interesting. It is bloody hot here though! High 30s which is a lot more than in Beijing, plus the humidity factor. We also went to the Muslim Street which is street food and a market which was bustling but in a good way – we really enjoyed it. Burger King for lunch (another authentic Chinese meal) and then hand washing back at the hotel. Now for some rest before dinner – still trying to catch up on sleep! Thank goodness the bed is not rock hard here. (all of our home-stays had rice in the pillows, and

plank beds - it was so hard to get comfortable).
The next day we got up early and cycled on the city wall. It was already pretty warm but luckily not so crowded. We had an interesting experience with a pushy Chinese man while hiring a bike! The city wall was 13km in total and had amazing views. It was so cool to be doing it again after all this time, then after that we went back to the Muslim Street where we had some more yoghurt ice cream and walked around. We chilled back at the hotel and went to the Bicycle Restaurant for a third and final time! We really enjoyed our time in Xian but we were also very ready to get to Europe.
- Danielle