The last piece to the traveling puzzle

City wall of Xian decorated for spring festival

I went to Xian; home of the terracotta warriors and delicious Muslim food. We spent about 8 days there in total. Because of our carefree lifestyle we would get out of bed around 2 o’clock maybe later and not to go bed until around 4 or 5. It actually started becoming a problem when we started seeing sights because we wanted to get our sleeping schedules back on track, but it was really hard.

Xi'an at night

The hostel we were staying at had a really big bar on the bottom floor complete with live music every night. Needless to say, we went there every night, even if it was to pre-game and it was always packed. Xian proved to be a pleasant surprise for Lilly because there were tons of Irish people there! We hung out with them a few nights and I learned some Irish drinking songs and some Irish history.

As per usual, we met some token weirdos. This boisterous group came up to us, clearly already drunk. One guy said hey what are you guys talking about? Can you entertain me? Tell me a story. To which we all just laughed because it caught us off guard and we couldn’t think of anything to tell him. After all, he was a stranger and we didn’t know what the hell kind of story he wanted to hear. So, he didn’t like it and he started getting angry and said well if you want me to go away just say mango mango mango. And, again, what else could we do but laugh? This Canadian girl that was with him came up to Lilly and I and was like shhhhh don’t tell but I just stole a baby solider. She pulled out this weird figurine out of her pocket that she had taken from the hostel bathroom stall.

One of the main points of interest was Market Street where many people sold souvenirs and local delicacies. Right around the corner was Muslim Quarter where I ate some traditional food -- amazing noodles with what I can only describe as tiny chunks of bread.

terracotta warriors

Going to see the terracotta warriors was an adventure; not because of the tourist site itself, but because of the condition Lilly and I were in. We bought tickets and transportation through the hostel and the bus left at 9 am, so the night before we were going we decided we should have a quiet night in. WRONG. We ended up at the bar downstairs. Around 2 am we got kicked out of that bar so we kept drinking upstairs. We got hushed and insulted by a man that looked like a skinny Santa Claus in his 60’s. We went out to a night club around 4 or 5. We bought 20 beers and literally ten min later the workers were like ummm we are closing. OK why would you sell 5 people 20 beers if you are closing in a few minutes? Just doesn’t make any sense.

warriors

So we went to bed around 6 am. Had to get back up about an hour and a half later to get on the bus to go to the terracotta warriors and we were not in a good place. Well, we were still drunk for the most part. Long story short on the ride home a few hours later (when the beer started wearing off) the ride was really bumpy and poor, poor Lilly ended up sneakily throwing up into a small plastic bag on the bus. I wanted to raise my hand and say “we need an adult” but that would have just caused Lilly more embarrassment. Haha, love her.

ghosts

puppets used during the 2008 Beijing olympics

terracotta warriors

creepy puppets that were used in 2008 Beijing olympics

And that my friend is the end of my tale. Traveling was amazing – everything I hoped it would be. I met lots of strange and awesome people from all walks of life, ate interesting food, saw lots of historical places, and had plenty of time to relax and drink a beer or five.

The last piece to the traveling puzzle

Xi'an, China