It is Known to Everybody

(If you would like to better understand the title of this blog, please visit the "rules" link in Adventure 3 about Xingqing Park... it is some of the worst English I've seen since I arrived in China!)

As I mentioned in my last blog, I spent the last week on VACATION! It was wonderful! Originally, I was trying to find some exciting trip to do during my week break, but I decided that there is plenty still to see in Xi'an, and, with everyone in a country of over 1 billion traveling, transportation can be a little crazy!

None-the-less, a relaxing break was needed and I enjoyed every minute of it. Here were some of the highlights:

Adventure 1: Because I was so busy and a little sick two weeks ago, it had been far too long since I went on a good bike ride. For this reason I decided to take off on the bike. My motivation was to visit the Subway in Xi'an; I figured I deserved some good, old-fashion Western food after getting sick last weekend. I ended up spending 5 hours 'out-and-about' on my bike in the city of Xi'an. I managed to visit the "Subway Temple," or an old Buddhist temple located right next to Subway, the Muslim Quarters, an area where tons of vendors sell all kind of goods from food to cheap souvenirs, and I visited some of the park that surrounds the city wall.

Adventure 2: There was a birthday party on Friday so I went shopping with, guess who? That's right, Cari! Anyways, we decided to try a new place for lunch- Joe's Cafe. This place does a great job creating the feel of a sports bar in the US. Not only was the atmosphere just like being in the states, but the food wasn't bad!

Next, we browsed the mall that surrounded Joe's. There two kinds of malls in China: there are the Western-style like you would see in the US with a food court or movie theater or pretty water fountain, then there are the ones that floors packed with row after row of small stores, back-to-back and no room wasted on those other luxury items. This mall was the later of the two. It's wild and it can be little overwhelming.

On our way out, we came across a show that was taking place outside the mall. Since this was Chinese Holiday, many stores had exciting things happening and everywhere was crowed. It was a martial arts demonstration with lots of sharp spears.



After the thrilling show, we made our way to a really cool smoothie place where all the seats are hanging from the ceiling! That was fun.


Adventure 3: As I said, traveling is crazy during Chinese holidays. Carrie and I decided we would try to go see the Terracotta Army, Xi'an's largest tourist attraction. To get to the Terracotta Warriors, you must first travel to the train station, then take a bus from the station to the site. Well, we when got to the station, we saw this:

This line was just to get on the bus! It's hard to tell from this picture, but it's at least 200 long... probably more like 400. We figured that if this was the line for the bus, it would be very crowded at the actual site. We decided, instead, to wander- my favorite activity in China (second only to riding my bike!).

First, we found a great video arcade and played one game with balls that you threw at the screen, one game that you used big sticks on a drum and Mario Kart. It was really fun and we always had an audience- one of the perks of being a 外国人 (foreigner).

Next, we found a nice park. It was named Xingqing Park and it was like a mini Tang Paradise (and free!). Cari and I spent a great deal of time trying to understand the rules at this park... very funny! Although similar to Tang Paradise, this park had it's own flavor as well: a ferris wheel, bird sanctuary, sea lion show and go karts. Please enjoy the following:

Getting a feel for my new set of wheels- Hello car #2	Being told to get into a different car by Chinese man...	Getting a feel for my newer set of wheels- Hello car #1!
...I have no idea what he's saying. He better not be bad-mouthing my man purse...	Eat my dust #4!	I totally won. Although I think I got cheated out of one lap...

So there is the excitement from my week. I'm been using the trail version of Arcsoft Panoramic Maker a lot lately and I really like the results! Below are some panoramics I've made.

Thanks for reading!