As we exited our comfy air conditioned hotel we felt the beams of the sun lick our skin. Arguably the hottest day we have experienced, the sun was high in the sky and the anticipated China heat was upon us. Our tour guides agenda for today was to wear down the tourists so they would be ready for a stupendous six hour road trip to our next city, Longhyou.
Robin, our wonderful local tour guide, brought us to the wall of Xi’an. The wall was surrounded by a deep ominous moat, which protected the city inside from mortal enemies. The only entrance into the city was a massive drawbridge (or at least that we saw). As the drawbridge opened out came guards with plastic armor and fluffy red feathers upon their helmets. They were scary looking! Actually, they danced around, did a ceremonial welcoming and seemed not in character with fumbling moves and snickers from the soldiers. Really though, who can blame them; young guys dressed in Halloween costumes being gawked at by American tourists.
After that event we climbed up a fleet of long gray colored bricks to receive our rickety bikes. We were on top of the wall, able to see the bustling city and see the mountains far in the distance. Personally, I am an avid bike rider and being able to ride around a giant wall on old “cruiser” bikes seemed rad! We put down a deposit and a little cash and were issued our bikes; off we went on our adventure. The wall was in the shape of a square with watch towers at each corner. The wall was wide and flat except for the watch towers where you could zip up on top then speedily coast down with the cooling breeze brushing your face.
After the nine mile bike ride, we were sweaty, a little tired and ready to travel to our next destination. It was a museum that had a plethora of old relics of the ancient Chinese people. A highlight of the museum was a water bowl that had four slaves holding it up. Robin told us about the slaves, saying that many had their feet chopped off so they couldn’t run away. A little gruesome, but then he added a side note that, “it makes the human rights now seem like nothing.” Uhh China, human rights violations…
Then, after a hearty Western buffet, we began our six hour trip. For the first couple of hours we slept like babies. Then after a pit stop we began Movie Time! With the great movies Eraser starring the always amazing Arnold Schwarzenegger and another with Jackie Chan; we were in movie heaven bliss. We arrived at the hotel and began our stay in a new city and anticipating another busy day.
Sam Doyle
Recent Comments