Xi'an...not so much

I take back a good part of what good I said about Xi'an. It is still crowded and the people are still crazy, wondering into the middle of the street with traffic coming. The one street we are staying on seems to be the only really nice street in town. The rest is all old neighborhoods hidden behind the facade of nice new store fronts. Without the Terracotta Warriors I think this town can be skipped on my trips. Some of the more interesting sites we have seen:

• 1 armed homeless man singing karaoke on the street corner with a portable amp
• 8-12 year old kid pull his pants down and pee on sidewalk, facing traffic
• 2 homeless kids poking the glass at McDonald's trying to get us to pay attention to them
• a child going into convulsions when he came around the corner and saw us. I swear he started shaking and let out a small scream
• street vendors selling corn on the cob as snacks
• a lot more beggars. I don't remember any in Beijing

Xi'an does have blue skies and some modern development but it is not quite up to par with Beijing. The capital has many more sites to see and is probably more deserving of a trip than Xi'an.

Now the time has come for us to say good bye to Xi'an and the luxury of the Hyatt. We are in hostels for the next 35 days before arriving in Johannesburg. It is an 18 hour train ride today and into tomorrow to Shanghai. We loaded up on snacks in case the dining car sucks. But the store had no bags so Justin and I had to walk down the street carrying handfuls of snack food. I am sure we have never looked so American since we got here. Our class continued as we walked into the Hyatt and asked them for a bag to store all the food in. I bet they will be glad to be rid of us.