DAY TWO: XIAN OF MY DREAMS

I peeped out of the window and my heart jumped with excitement.

We were already in Xian and I am just moments away from the Terracota Warriors.

But boy, going out of the railway station is not easy, huh.
You have to compete with thousands of people for space and you literally need not make an effort to move as you will be swept off by throngs of people making their way out.

We met our guide for the day Brian  (whose name and contact number I got from Trip Advisor).

Once outside, I noticed that it was "hazy" and I thought it was because of the -3 degree celcius temperature we were having.  

Imagine my shock and disappointment when Brian said that it was because of Pollution.  He said that there are two huge coal companies in Xian and this "haze" is experienced all winterlong.

I asked them why this is being allowed by the government and he said matter of factly "this coal companies bring us a lot of money".  Holy smokes!  I wanted to go home right then and there for fear of my boy inhaling those substances.

Anyhoo,  we ate a quick lunch at Dico's (a Taiwanese local joint) and off we went to the Terracota Warriors.

The ticket booth near the entrance.  You have to take a short golf cart ride to the Pits

We paid for our tickets and rode on a golf cart to get to the actual sites.

The history of the Terracotta Warriors is so fascinating (at least for me and the million other people who visits the site the whole year round) because they were archaeological treasures that speak of the glorious past.

It was actually a whole batallion of clay figures buried thousands of years ago alongside the tomb of the Emperor so that he would have an army when he dies (astig sa trip di ba?)

Tapos, in 1974, a group of farmers who were digging a well accidentally unearthed it.
What's even more fascinating is that they were not taken away from the actual site where they were dug.  They just built concrete structures over it.

This is Pit 1 - the most number of warriors found

In 1979, the site was opened to the public.

I made Jon take a picture of R with the warriors in the background so that when he is older, we can show this to him.

I was "hyperventilating" all those times that we were there because I am a sucker for history.  Dati, nakikita ko lang sila sa TV at sa books pero now, I am face to face with them.  Ang saya lang talaga!

The Chariots- imagine the details they put into the figures eh wala pang machine noon. These were crafted using their bare hands.

In one of the Pits, you would get to meet one of the farmers who discovered the Warriors.
Kaso lang, you cannot have your picture taken with him kung di ka bibili nung book.

I thought I could resist the temptation, pero I was wrong. We bought the book, he signed it and let us take a picture of him with R.  Ayos ang "raket" ni Manong Farmer!

I hope someday we get to use this Anak in one of your school projects para sulit bayad. 

After spending a lot of time there, Brian announced that it was time to go as there are more sites we need to see in Xian.  We obliged kasi nakaka "umay" na din talaga the warriors at that time. Hehehe

Our next stop was the Xian Gate, which was, to me, just like the Walls of Intramuros.

Honestly, I could have skipped that had I known better.  Sayang the 40 yuan we paid for each person.

Tapos, we specifically requested Brian to bring us to the famous Muslim Quarter in Xian.  Not because of the history but because I have read that there is where we could buy cheap souvenirs, haha!

Achieve na achieve naman ang purpose namin as we were able to buy a lot of souvenirs there and even got to sample some local delicacies.  I savor this time kasi we left the kids under the care of Ate Lyn inside the van and the four of us (Glenn, Anna, Jon and I) ventured into the market.  It was like having a late afternoon double date. FUN!

A structure inside the Muslim Quarter

After that, we had to rush to the airport for our Xian to Beijing flight.