LEAVING CHONGQING...NEXT STOP – XI’AN

Our 10:20 flight was cancelled so we are catching the 2:20 flight.  That was fine by us as we got to sleep in a bit.  We had a late breakfast.  Aubrey, Madi and Katie went for a last minute ping pong game.  At 12:00 noon, Windy and Mr. Luo drove us to the airport.  There was a problem with Donna and David’s passports but was eventually sorted out.  We said goodbye to Windy.  Olivia had tears as she had grown attached to her.  The plane ride to Xi’an was only an hour long.  We were met by our new guide, Neil.  During our ride to the hotel, Neil gave us some information on Xi’an:

·         Xi’an is in the Province of Shaanxi.

·         Population of Xi’an is about 8,000,000 people.

·         Xi’an grows wheat and corn.

·         It is famous for noodles and dumplings.

·         Their food is less spicy.

·         It is very ancient with lots of history.

·         Today, farmers still use hands to harvest.  You still see lots of cattle, horses, etc.

·         South Shaanxi has mountains and North Shaanxi has coal, natural gas, oil.

·         Like Chongqing, Xi’an has wild pandas.

·         The Bullet Train from Xi’an to Beijing is very expensive.  It travels at 150 km per hour.

·         All new buildings look the same.  The average apartment is approximately 1,000 sq.ft. which has 2 bedrooms, 1 sitting room, 1 toilet and 1 kitchen.

·         Buried more than 2,000 years ago, the Terracotta Warriors is one of China’s most renowned archeological discoveries.  It is the 8^th Wonder of the World.

·         Xi’an is the terminus of the legendary Silk Road which connected China with the Middle East and Europe.

·         Built more than 600 years ago, the Ancient City Wall marks the centre of Xi’an.  The wall stands 12 meters tall, 18 meters thick and 13.7 meters long.  It is one of the largest ancient military defense systems in the world.

·         The hotel we are staying at (Hilton Xi’an) is located within the Ancient City Wall.  The gates are narrow as they were originally built to allow chariots through.

·         KFC is their most famous dating place!  To impress a girl, you take her there.  David piped up and said in Canada to ditch a girl you take her to KFC (lol).

We checked into our hotel.  It is a grand and beautiful hotel.  We enjoyed an awesome buffet dinner.  The girls befriended a couple of the waitresses.  We are stuffed and ready for bed!

 

 

 

 

MADI’S CORNER:

I woke up at 8:00 because my 10:00 flight was delayed to 2:00.  I couldn’t even get out of bed.  But once my dad mentioned ping pong I sprung up faster than you can say “a Philippine ping pong player pre‑made a pretzel for his pet penguin Perry and his parrot Phil”.  I got dressed, brushed my teeth, put on my shoes.  Then I was ready to go.  Katie and I tried to get a rally but we kept dropping the ball.  We did have one rally.  It was our record!  6 hits.  My dad and my record with him is like 30 or even 40.  Alicia and Olivia came down with their mom, Grace.  We all took turns versing each other.  As soon as you know it our bus came.  We rushed to the lobby and saw everyone sitting with their luggage.  Once we loaded everything on the bus, it was time to go.  The bus ride was fun with all the bumps.  As soon as we got to the airport, we had to say our goodbyes.  All the kids hugged Windy and took a picture with her.  The plane ride to Xi’an was 1 hour and 10 minutes but on the plane it felt quicker.  On the plane, I drank Gatorade and I played on me and my mom’s tablet.  I played PVZ2 a.k.a. Plants vs. Zombies 2.  Our new hotel in Xi’an is the Hilton.  The hotel was awesome.  Our new tour guide is Neil.  It was dinner about 1 hour later.  Olivia made friends with 2 of the waitresses, Rona and Roya.  It was a buffet for dinner.  I got my meal for free because I was under 120 centimeters.  They actually let me off by 3 or 2 centimeters.  The buffet tasted great!  I went back to my room when everyone was done eating.  I went to sleep and that was the END OF THE DAY!