A hapless paddy on tour

The day started with an early start. I rushed to grab some food from one of the stalls and boarded the bus bound for the terracotta warriors. To my horror the only seat left was beside a guy fully dressed in Gore windstopper. He looked more like he was on his way to Everest base camp then a simple day trip. The night before I heard him chatting with the hotel manager about a steep peak just outside of Xian. His plan was to hike it in 14 hours straight. the manager tried to warm him that it was really dangerous, to which our rubber clad man replied, in a somewhat arrogant tone, and in a way that most of the hotel could here him "Dangerous, huh, how many people died up there this year" There fs 2 types of travelers I hate, Rambos and crusties. He obviously fell in to the former. I quickly stuck my headphones on and looked out the window to avoid conversation.

Our first stop was as ever the Jade Factory. I got chatting to a couple of antipodean here who seemed like a good laugh and we hung out for the rest of the day. The terracotta warrior were amazing but you got the impression that the Chinese had decades more restoration to do and that several another areas near the site may be investigated. The statement actually shocked me a little until the guide explained that some of the suspected sites were actually under villages! While at the site my breakfast, or it may even have been my luch decided to make a rather rushed appearance. The toilets at the site were a little rustic, to say the least. For a country that invented the flushing toilet the roll out process was taking a little longer than expected. After the trip myself and the antipodean retired to a restaurant and drank a few beers. I left a nine for the train station bound for chengdu and the panda reserve

Conor...

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