#wordybits

[burythisbody-blog]

“I’ve taken liberty with burning hands, to breathe life back into broken frames - to bridge the distance between the living and the dead” #librum #delumine #wordybits https://www.instagram.com/p/BY1guWTgT1i/?igshid=4sfn6pwddpbz

[bigetakesontheworld]

With our bags packed and passports at the ready, we headed for the airport this morning to head to Xi An.

Xi An is the largest city in North West China, and parts of the city are over 3000 years old. The centre of the city is still surrounded by the original walls, although mostly rebuilt around 600 years ago. Home to over 13 dynasties, it was China’s capital for over 1000 years. It has a lot more history and culture than just the Terracotta Warriors, which it is most famous for.

Our guide for the weekend, Brittney, was waiting for us as we came through the airport ready to escort us to the Grand Noble Hotel, located near the centre of the walled city. The drive to the hotel was only mildly uncomfortable, with cars weaving through the traffic almost like a motorised dance, although Brittney assured us we had “the second best driver in the city!”. Of the course the question was begging to be asked, what happened to the best? And her slightly overly happy expression as she exclaimed “in the hospital!” Was less comforting, and we decided to keep the rest of our questions concerning the matter to ourselves.

After getting sorted in the hotel, Brittney had told us of a “good local restaurant” within walking distance that we thought sounded like a decent dinner option. Well, there was definitely a language barrier and we were greeted by the grumpiest waitress of all time, who seemed to communicate purely in a range of grunts and frowns. From here our little adventure only got more interesting. Apparently sweet and sour pork and lemon chicken are basically the same thing anyway, our rice never turned up, and turns out the Chinese use “No Smoking” signs mostly for decoration, as despite them lining the walls every 2 meters or so, most of the tables had at least 3 cigarettes lit at any one time, and the restaurant floor seemed to be as good an option as any ash tray. Despite all the this the food was pretty decent, and it was definitely a cultural experience if nothing else.

I was in desperate need of new shoes, so after escaping the chaos of the restaurant we threw ourselves into the underground markets in search of a bargain. It’s an absolute maze down there, but we did make it out alive, and with two new pairs of snazzy shoes! We were absolutely exhausted, and as our lovely guide was meeting us at 8am, we headed for bed.