Xi'an

Aug. 5

Today was an early start for us all. We got up at 4 o'clock to catch our flight. Although a little rocky, it seems short compared to the previous 12 hour flight (though the flight meal was more "interesting"). We arrived at the airport and quickly got on the bus and drove to our hotel. It has beautiful Chinese gardens and peptobismol pink bathrooms.

It didn't take long for us to notice how different Xi'an is from Bejing. Xi'an being the ancient capital is full of well preserved historical sites, such as ancient tombs and the only standing city wall in China, which we visited today. It was much less crowded than the great wall and thankfully, there were far fewer steps. From the top of the wall there was a great view of the surrounding city. Once the sight seeing was done we bought ice cream before going back to the bus. It was a hot day, so we needed it!

After supper some of the choir decided to go to a light show at a large fountain. A group of nine of us wound up in the middle of the fountain surrounded by spraying water and blaring music. Even though we got drenched it was a blast! We hurried back to the hotel as soon as the show was over and got a lot of funny looks on the way.

All in all, it was a very laid back day, since so many people were tired from waking up early. It felt great to have a bit of down time between lunch and sight seeing. Xi'an being much smaller than Beijing has a more laid-back feel to it, so going at a slow pace is a nice change. We all noticed how much construction was going on, you can't go anywhere without a crane or two. But even if it is a growing city, it feels just like what out guide called it: "a big village".

Leah & Virginia