Ah, finally a chance to relax and put my feet up and just enjoy being on holiday with no plans and no commitments for the next few days.
I don’t know how I managed four days here without seeing the famous Terracotta Warriors; maybe if they were Ricotta Warriors - do you know hoe hard it is to find cheese here. I guess it was partly that I wasn’t much interested in travelling outside of town to look at some old statues in a warehouse for $30. So I decided I’d enjoy Xi’an for it’s history, culture and food - the Muslim Quarter here has all three and it was so good I went back a second time!
Wandering the streets of the Muslim Quarter is a sensory overload of smells, sights and sounds. You have the smells of the barbeques wafting all about and the sound of mallets smashing against metal plates as strong men crush nuts and sugar together to make some delicious snacks. Every couple of feet you find you’re buying whatever food is going and as soon as you’re done you pick up and buy the next thing - and it’s all amazing! I left the Muslim Quarter feeling very content and amazed at how exhausted I felt after just a few hours browsing; nap time!
Another great pastime whilst I was here was to explore the great city wall. The wall itself isn’t all too impressive but it’s an enjoyable 13km to either walk or cycle. Doing so gives you some nice views of the city as well as an appreciation of it’s size and diversity. But don’t expect to see too far beyond the thick smog.
Getting off the walls at the south gate I ventured to the east down a street lined with paper merchants and brush salesmen. All along the street you’ll find various art supplies, paintings and calligraphy masters all selling these large scrolls I can only assume are the Chinese equivalent of 'greeting cards’.
Check out my Xi’an photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/14859193@N07/sets/72157636277659905/