Xi’an, Epilogue
My third and final day in the ancient capitol began easily. I slept in and it was not until nearly 9:30 that I checked out. Grabbing a taxi to make my way to Anne and Evan I was beginning to anticipate breakfast at Dad’s. Once at the hostel I found Evan patiently waiting for Anne who it seems is quite the deep sleeper. Since I was planning to leave that day it was decided that I would be wise to go to the nearby train station to buy my ticket in advance and drop off my loaded up backpack. Along the way we ran into Jackie, our guide from yesterday, and when finding out I was leaving he wrote on a piece of paper what I needed so I could just present it to the ticket agent. Apparently 10:00AM is too late to beat the rush and after waiting in ‘line’ for about twenty minutes I was able to get my ticket. I use the word line very loosely as the Chinese aren’t too keen on the concept. If not for the rails at the train station it would no doubt just be a throbbing mob of people jockeying for the ticket window. Kind of like it is at China Post now that I think about it. A glance at my ticket before tucking it safely in my wallet let me know that I would depart at 11:41PM. We then safely stored my bag at the, um, bag storage place and I was looking forward to another day in Xi’an with Anne and Evan.
With our bearings set we began to head off in the direction of Dad’s Home Cooking with images of eggs and hash browns and French toast in our heads. We settled on taking a bus and a local assured us we were on the right bus even letting us know which stop to get off the bus. It didn’t seem like a very commercial area but the lay of the streets matched those on the map so we cheerfully headed off. After walking what we were certain was far enough we gradually accepted the fact that it was either no longer open or we were lost preferring to believe the former over the latter. We were all in agreement that we were feeling our hunger. We headed back to the main thoroughfare intent on grabbing a cab only to find that actually grabbing one would prove more difficult than taking a bus back to the city center. With some cheerful help from a young man, who even paid our bus fare since none of us were with small enough bills, we boarded a bus headed downtown with thoughts of Pizza Hut in our heads. Easily navigating the now familiar streets of downtown Xi’an we arrived at Pizza Hut at 11:45 to find a line and a list. With our names on the list we were told to return at 1:00. You really have to want it. We did. Since the Pizza Hut was at the base of a large mall we did a quick walk through before heading across the street to the coffee house attached to the KFC. An hour passed and we made our way back to see if we could weasel our way in early to no avail. As we milled about a lao wei couple stepped up to find a place in line only to be greatly discouraged by the still incredible wait. We offered them directions to the fantastic barbecue place that we had eaten at the night before as we eased into a conversation with them. Originally from Canada, Michael and Donna have lived and taught in Taiyuan for three years and they enjoy it very much. Since our number was finally up we invited them to join us and feigned surprise, (it didn’t work), that our party had grown from three to five. They repeatedly expressed their happiness in Taiyuan despite contradictory statements about how much the people spit or acknowledgement of how bad the air is. A lot can be said for a good work environment and friendly people. The highlight for me was when Evan expressed an interest in staying to teach in China they assured him that they could find him work in Taiyuan and began to expound on the virtues of Taiyuan and how friendly the people are but that the air isn’t as nice as in Xi’an, Evan immediately shot a glance outside at the polluted sky. A huge majority of China is polluted and I will readily admit my good fortune in that regard having ended up in a smaller rural city. They were delightful and we enjoyed their company very much and I found that they even work with Jed’s girlfriend, Meliah, who came over from the states to join her fella. They have met him a few times but don’t know him well. It is indeed a small lao wei world. With contact info swapped and lunch complete we went our separate ways. We took our leftover pizza to offer to the first beggar that would send their child after us. It didn’t take long. Some of the child beggars are very persistent and it tears at your heart to not run off with them taking them to be cleaned and fed.
With his mind made up to stay in China, Evan decided now was the time to let his family know. His mother had just sent him a text to let him know how excited she was to meet him at the airport and hear of his adventures. Two phone calls and twenty minutes later he was relieved to have that done despite the immediate ‘did you meet a girl?’ question.
We headed for the South Gate of the city wall, (as seen on TV), for a walk along the wall and some photo ops. I had already walked along a great portion of the wall but that was before the camera incident so I was looking forward to recapturing some of the great sights. Although we didn’t discover where it is possible to rent bikes and ride along the wall. We laughed out loud at an older couple with their grown children who were biking but had stopped to change roles on the bikes. Apparently, ‘mom’ decided she wanted to be on the front of the bike but every time she would start to roll she would scream in fear before putting down the Flintstone brakes. We had stopped for a rest since Anne had begun not feeling well after missing a morning meal and then pizza for lunch. She soldiered through and hung with us until the next gate area before deciding to retire to the hotel for a rest. While Anne rested before coming to the conclusion that she would pack it in the bicycle group again approached and the ‘dad’ offered to let me bike ‘mom’ around on the wall. I passed my camera to Evan and rode up and down the wall a couple of times with her shrieking and squealing in my ear. It was a blast.
Evan and I continued on and soon found ourselves completely away from the kitschy commercial areas atop the wall and at the very cool and deserted Southeast corner. Looking over the wall we spied some outdoor pool tables, the likes of which I hadn’t seen since Datong, and decided we were up for a game. With no stairs we now continued North looking for a place to exit the wall. We finally came to the Lesser East gate, or something like that, and made our way into a small contained courtyard that seemed to be locked. A bit of noise and some tugging at some doors revealed that people lived here and someone was kind enough to let us out. As we passed back under the wall away from the city we immediately saw quite a few people including some Muslim food vendors and a large tent that was up against the city wall with the wailings of Chinese opera drifting out. We ducked inside the dimly lit tent and made our way to a couple of empty lawn chairs trying to look like we belonged or at least knew what we were doing. It seemed to be Chinese opera karaoke with a live band. Our Western ears we were hard pressed to identify the rhythm, beat or tune. It is said to be one of the most difficult aspects of Chinese culture for Westerners to appreciate and I believe it. To see an actual Chinese opera with all the costumes and pageantry would be great but sitting and sipping pi jiu and bai jiu with the caterwauling of a spitting Chinese singer just doesn’t quite do it. We both agreed that had we been alone we would not have ventured in at all. One of the more interesting aspects was that while we were sitting and chatting just soaking up the Chinese environment we were approached by a variety of smiling Chinese women only to see them quickly chased away by a Chinese man. Our suspicion is that they may have been ‘working girls’. It was a unique and interesting experience.
We wrapped up our cocktails and headed off to meet up with Anne. We wanted to hit the Muslim Quarter and get some dinner. She was rested and ready to go so we again grabbed a cab heading to this bustling part of town. With the sun down and the lights up it is truly an exciting part of China and we found a small place to get some noodles. With our appetites once again satisfied we headed off to shop and generally just soak up the atmosphere. Time was ticking and I began to anticipate my 11:41 train and we started to make our way East. With it only approaching 10:00 we dillydallied our way, even stopping at one of the many photo-sticker stores posing for a dozen photos and splitting them up amongst ourselves. At nearly 11:00 we grabbed a cab and headed to the train station where I grabbed my bag, did some pre-boarding shopping for snacks and bottled water before saying goodbye to my new friends.
I ducked into the train station with my eyes scanning the board for my train number, K165. I didn’t see it but thought that perhaps I was early enough that it was not yet listed. Yeah. After looking around for a few minutes I pulled my ticket out of my wallet and approached a police officer seeking assistance. It took her nearly no time at all to point out that my train had left at 11:14. Dumbass. My train coming to Xi’an had been at 9:41 and when I glanced I my return ticket, twelve hours earlier, I immediately took 11:14 for 11:41 and like a complete idiot had not checked it again all day. Doh! Two female police officers were very friendly and took me to the ticket counter where I was issued a new ticket for the next South bound train which would leave at 2:56. Ugh. I was so frustrated with myself.
I had nearly four hours before I would leave. It had only been a few minutes since I had said goodbye to Anne and Evan so I decided to make my way to their room to announce my stupidity. Imagine the surprise on their faces when the knock on the door revealed me. I filled them in and was invited to help them drink the bai jiu they had picked up. They also had a new roommate, Anna who was from Poland but had an English passport and more than passable English. It had to be from practice. She was quite the chatterbox and it only took me a few sips of the Chinese white lightning before I was commenting on it. You know how I hate competition. It was meant in jest and she took it well. Either that or she didn’t hear me.
After about 45 minutes I was beginning to feel the drinks and decided to head back to the train station. I found the Soft Sleeper Lounge and had myself a nap. I was awoken and led to the tracks by an attendant and was still quite sleepy when I got on the train. I handed the conductor my ticket and he pointed at a seat in the very crowded hard seat car. I protested and tried to explain that I had paid to have a place to sleep. From what I could understand they explained to me that I had paid for a place to sleep on the train I had missed and that if I wanted to lie down and sleep on this train I would have to pay more. I was fully awake at this point and more than a little frustrated. I believed it was because I was a foreigner, (I’m such a victim), but understood their offer to mean that they had beds but they wouldn’t give one to me. So, here it is 3:00 in the morning and to help me to communicate I decide to call my boss and friend, Teresa to see if this could be sorted out. She sleepily answered and I quickly filled her in and handed the phone to one of the train personnel. After several minutes they handed me back my phone and Teresa told me I should pay more. I was not thrilled to hear this so I thanked her for her help and prepared to call my friend and boss Jane, the owner/headmaster at CCES where I teach on weekends, when my phone ran out of money. Ugh. By now a Chinese passenger who had boarded at the previous stop had joined in to help. Zhai is a history teacher married to an English teacher so he was able to help bridge the communication gap. With his help I got over it and eventually paid the 90RMB additional and went to sleep.
I awoke around 10:00 fully rested to see Zhai looking in on me to see how I was. Completely over it and accepting my role in the whole ordeal I bought him lunch in the diner car to thank him for his help. Returning to my berth to rest until we arrived in Mianyang I was much too interesting too two young boys on the train to not be looked into. They bounced around and played in the corridor and I certainly didn’t do much to discourage them.
Once in Mianyang and having mastered, to the degree I need, the public transit system I took the bus downtown to have me some KFC before heading back to Santai. It was quite crowded and I ended up sitting with a mother and son who looked to be nearly done at one of those conjoined tables for two. When I had finished my fantastic sandwich, (really), the boy bought he and I ice creams. Very nice. I then headed to the city bus stop to go to the bus station where I ran into Mr. and Mrs. Deng who are friends of Teresa’s and live in Santai. They had gone to Mianyang for the day with their daughter and were very glad to see me, not only paying for my public bus but also my bus to Santai.
Safely in Santai we began walking in from the bus station when I could hear Mr. Deng practicing with his wife the English to ask me to dinner. Once he felt comfortable enough to ask me I gladly accepted. I was pretty exhausted from my trip but they had been so kind and hearing him practice the phrase to invite me to their home for dinner was not something I could then turn down. He followed me to my home so I could leave my travel gear before we left for his home. While dinner was being prepared I hung out in the living room with their daughter. She proceeded to light sparklers. In the house. Dinner was fantastic with Mr. Deng capturing it all on videotape. With a full belly and long day behind me I headed home for some much needed rest.
O.