Ugh - up early again. Jet lag is such a drag but it is what it is. Instead of typo-ridden blog posts, I just surfed the web, read some Twitter and played games. It was another hour or so before Julie woke and we started to get ready for a day of sightseeing. We both enjoyed a cup of the Nescafe instant coffee in the room and I was reminded of something I saw in another hotel. "Sometimes you need a cup of coffee to go downstairs and get a cup of coffee." So true! Breakfast was in the hotel and not to brag, but my chopstick skills are getting pretty impressive (ha!) and I gave the noddle soup another go. One of the chefs behind the counter spoke English and gave me some suggestions. I took the noodles, covered them in chicken broth, added onions, cilantro a bit of soy sauce, a small bit of hot sauce and - boom it was good eats. Next time, I'll add more heat for sure. I also learned that the "broth" I put on my first bowl was pork something. Based on the amount of it vs the chicken broth in the serving container, pork isn't a popular topping around here. Anyways, we ate breakfast and I even got a wave from Blaize as I left the table to go get some coffee for Julie and me. He plowed through watermelon, banana, congee, and fried rice. He was a hungry boy!
We had about and hour before we were to meet in the lobby to go to see the Terracotta Warriors so I cranked on the blog and got the previous day's adventures posted and emailed to the family back home. It takes quite a bit of time to write these posts and while I hope you find them informative, they are also meant to be a nice journal for Blaize when he gets older. This is why you get to read about our meals and some of the stuff you probably think is boring. Julie and Blaize played around a bit and got the backpack ready for the day. We had snagged some pancakes and various rolls from breakfast as we knew we'd be in bus and out at the museum much of the day. Snacks are important, especially when you are almost 2 years old.
We loaded into the bus for the almost 1 hour drive out to the site of the Terracotta Warriors. It was raining again and very overcast, which is a nice change from the scorching heat and humidity we had on Saturday and Sunday. Our guide gave us a bit of a history lesson on the ride out and we also discussed Chinese healthcare and orphans. It was interesting to hear a local's perspective and it matched up with what we thought as well. This isn't the time or place to pontificate about it now and could be an interesting post in the future. As we got closer to the site, I could tell how much had changed in the 8 years since we visited. There are tall hotels, apartments and much wider roads on the way into the area. It's pretty obvious that the Chinese middle class has become much more mobile and like to travel and see one of their key historical treasures.
Our driver dropped us off and we walked though a complex of buildings with restaurants, souvenir stands and other "touristy" things before we got to the main ticket area. This was all new and massive from a scale perspective. Our guide got our tickets and we went through some pretty lax security and then walked almost a mile to the entrance of the site. It was a pretty walk and they made quite an effort to make it enjoyable but I'm not sure why they had the ticket entrance so far from the buildings where the relics are. The fact that there are two entrances also caused some issues as one of the families in our group didn't get their ticket stubs back after the first check at security and didn't realize it until they got to the 2nd gate. We all waited for them inside while they sorted this out with the help of our guide. It was a good opportunity to feed some kids, change diapers and socialize with each other more. It wasn't too long and we were all together and our guide gave us some more history and then we went in to see Pit 1. I remember as a child reading about the Terracotta Warriors, found by farmers in 1974 and imagining what it would be like to see them. Here I am walking into see them a 2nd time and it was just as cool as it was the first time. So stinking impressive! All of the statues were broken by an army who was raiding the area so every statue there has been put back together by hand. It takes about 6 months to put one together so you can imagine the number of hours required for this. Mind boggling! Also, these statues were made in 200BC, truly a wonder of the ancient world. We took plenty of pictures and toured the other pits where they found the horse statues, the kneeling archer and high ranking officials. The detail and hierarchy of the army is staggering.
After seeing the three main pits, the kids were all about at the end of their ropes for the day so we made our way out of the museum area. I figured we were walking back to the bus but imagine my surprise when we entered the marketplace area we passed through earlier. We came into the market from a different direction and there were dozens of different restaurants including many Western ones, like McDonald's, Subway, Starbucks, Haggen Daaz and more. All of us were pretty hungry and most of us went to the back home king of fast food, McDonald's. The menu was a bit different, but my Big Mac and fries tasted just like it does stateside. Afterwards Julie, Blaize and I tried some black sesame ice cream, which was pretty good. It has a bit of a nuttier taste and less sweet than normal ice cream. The face Blaize made was hilarious and was a combination of scrunched up from the cold but loving the ice cream. Our last stop was Starbucks for some coffee and our journey back to the Western way of life was complete - haha. We walked back to the bus and drove back to the hotel. Blaize was watching Julie and I drink our coffee and Julie put it up to his mouth but not where the hole the coffee comes out of is located. He would put his lips on it and then when she would take it away, he'd lick them like he actually had some. It was pretty funny to watch and we may have another coffee addict joining the family.
Other than dinner, today is more or less done and we are going to try the Chinese restaurant in the hotel so wish us luck. Tomorrow, Julie will be going to the orphanage Blaize came from while he and I kick around the hotel. When they get back we'll go see the Xi'an city wall and Drum Tower so it should be a short day.
Operation Gotcha - Day 13
Operation Gotcha - Day 13
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