My journey to Xi’an had been the easiest yet. I had discussed the action plan with the woman on reception in Luoyang and had found out (after buying the ticket) that I was actually leaving from the high-speed rail station, further to the south of the city. This was not a problem, it just meant getting up earlier. I left the hostel at just about the right time and got on bus number 1 as planned. Even though I’d waited 2 stops (as per the instructions), the name of the 2nd stop wasn’t the same as the name I’d been given by the hostel worker. I wasn’t sure whether the name was wrong or the stop number was wrong, so I waited for another stop, where I didn’t recognise anything and got off. Here I had a think and decided to get a taxi, as it was about an hour until the train left and I didn’t have time to get anything else wrong.

At the station I boarded and everything went to plan. Two hours later, I was in Xi’an and got on the metro to the station I needed. Here I got off and, using the map I’d been given by the hostel woman, I was in the next hostel in only a few minutes. In the hostel, I was greeted by some very excited Chinese girls, who happily checked me in.

On arrival in my room, I found a towel on the bed and the bed-side light already on. I remember thinking to myself that this was good service, as towels aren’t usually provided and they must have some kind of clever system which means that the bed-side light is turned on before you get to your room. I took the towel and went and had a shower. Later on, when I was back in my room, a Brazillian guy I don’t remember the name of said that there had been a mix-up in the bed numbers and he had been in my bed, but was now in a different one. I had just used his personal towel (which was clean) for a shower and he had turned the bed-side light on earlier. I went to reception, got him a new towel and tried to forget about the matter!

In the afternoon, after getting some advice from the hostel receptionists, I went for a walk around the Muslim quarter. Having spoken to other people since, I don’t think I went through the main part of the Muslim quarter, but I ended up getting lost in a maze of side streets and back alleys, seeing how Chinese people in Xi’an live and work the the first time. It was amazing. I saw things that I’d never seen before and really got caught up in the living, breathing mass of humanity. In the evening, once it was dark, I found a restaurant and had the best noodles I’d had up until that point. I met someone from Luton in there, but according to the guy who served me, I was the first foreigner in there for 4 years.

The rest of the time in Xi’an was spent visiting the Teracotta Worriors (which was much better than I was expecting) and visiting the Tomb of Emporer Jingdi (which wasn’t as good as I was expecting). Both involved bus journeys on public transport to sites outside of the city. Later the same day, after visiting the Tomb of Emporer Jingdi, I departed for Chengdu.