August 28: Xi'an

The moto for the trip so far has become: "F*** it, just f*** everything man."

The early to bed, early to rise is a definite in China, trains hold no exception.  People began waking up quietly around four, by five the entire train was up and about.  I was awakened by a woman sitting on my feet on my bed.  When I sat up and looked at her on my feet she just glanced at me and went back to her conversation.
The train finally ground to a stop at its final destination, Xi'an.  The train station deposited us outside the northern gate in a mass of bodies.  Xi'an is a city of six or so million, just a small city for China but in a condensed space.  The crowds of people beat those that i saw in Beijing, save for on the subway at rush hour.  The traffic is worse, traveling faster than in Beijing, and therefor the roads are that much more terrifying.
The city was coated in a dense haze, one similar to a morning fog, and at first it was hard to tell if that was all it really was.  As the day wore on, Cora and I wandered lost through Xi'an trying to find our way back to the dorm after breakfast, we realized that that haze was not a just a morning fog but an all day smog.  At least today, Xi'an seems worse than Beijing pollution wise, explainable by the more industrial nature of this town.
The evening found our group at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.  (this is where I will or at least would tell you about Buddhists and the Journey to the West and whatnot if i weren't tired while writing this.  I can also put up pictures at some point.)
I super love ancient Chinese writing.  Pictograms, or at least pictographic writing systems, are so interesting to me, and the evolution they went through to be the characters they are today.
We learned our way around the Wild Goose Pagoda area with a Scavenger hunt where we had to ask locals where stuff was and look like fools :).  After getting third place we went to eat delicious Chuan(r) (thats a beijing er)  Its meat on a skewer and its wonderful.  In order to charge you properly they count the skewers after the meal is over.
So far I've spent less than 150 kuai, RMB, yuan, whatever you want to call it; that should change when I start having to buy three meals a day.

I'll get pictures up and finish this one soon