Day 50: Zhangjiajie: Trains

Today I said goodbye to the incredible Zhangjiajie with a big walk around the streets of the city centre. China is heaps weirder than I thought - the rumors are true!!

First up I found a store after my own heart - selling only steak and milk in a shopping centre surrounded by clothes, "Aussie life" really stood out. I also saw a restaurant with robot wait staff (literally robots on tracks carrying trays of food and drinks to tables, but couldn't get a good photo without the non-robot staff ushering me either away or inside.

Outside, the street food was mostly questionable at best, seeing as it is a rural town, but people seemed to really like it!! There were also some super strange things for sale. I saw a couple carrying live chickens down the main street, and worst of all, out the front of McDonalds, there were people selling what I'm 90% sure were smoked dog and cat!!

On the plus side, I finally got a slice of birthday cake, which was great.

After my walk, I headed to the train station, and just people watched for a while. I was surprised by how many people didn't have bags, but instead were travelling with large sacks tied to sticks for carrying. 

The train I am catching is 20 hours long, and my bed is at the top, so barely enough room to crawl, let alone sit in bed!! We will see how this goes...

Tomorrow, more train xx

Day 49: Zhangjiajie: 23

Today was my birthday. No cake, but I did eat my body weight in moon-pies and oeros. I had happy birthday sung to me in 3 different languages, and I listened to the hottest 100. 

Today was a good day.

Also, found a drink at the shops with Hello Kitty on it. It's 3.8%, and totally aimed at kids. No real age restrictions for alcohol here I don't think... and only $2AUD.

Tomorrow, another long train ride xx

Day 48: Zhangjiajie: The Floating Avatar Mountains

Today was incredible. One of the things I was looking forward to the most on this whole trip was the Zhangjiajie National Park - home to the floating mountains. They did not disappoint!!

These are the mountains that inspired the scenery from the movie "Avatar" (not that I've seen it). The mountains are all stony peaks, completely separate from one another. It's incredible to see.

I really wish I had my standard lens to give some perspective to the size of them, but they were huge, and even the photos I have don't do them justice.

The walking was actually pretty tough, with icy stairs all over the place, but I managed to stay standing the whole day without hurting myself. It was about a 7 hour hike through the park.

I was surprised to see monkeys there too, which was quite a nice surprise addition.

Tomorrow, my birthday!! xx

Day 47: Zhangjiajie: Tianmen Mountains

So I am finally in Zhangjiajie. I still can't pronounce it, but I'm here, and it is beautiful.

The town itself is bigger than I imagined, and apparently only a couple of years ago it was a village, but tourism is big bucks, and the town seems to be thriving.

I started my time here in Zhangjiajie at the Tianmen Mountains. It is about half an hour from the city centre, and starts with a huge cable car ride to the top. About half way up, we moved above the China smog, and the view became spectacular.

The whole top of the mountain is covered in snow, and the walk around the edge is incredible. there is a walkway that hangs out from the side, and while unfortunately the glass walkway was closed, it was an incredible experience being able to see nature so unobstructed. Looking down was slightly terrifying though.

We couldn't get close to Heaven's Door because it was too icy and it was closed, but we saw it from a distance, and I don't know how people could glide through that!!

One of the coolest things on the mountain was a wishing area. There were hundreds, thousands, I don't even know how many red ribbons with wishes written on them. I added mine to a tiny tree that no one else had touched yet.

On top of the mountain is a temple which stood out against the cold, white snow, and I only slipped once climbing up the icy stairs. I even managed to catch myself and didn't even fall!!

Tomorrow, the floating mountains xx

Day 45: Xi'an: The First Booking Mistake

So, it turns out I have made my first mistake. I thought I would be flying to Hunan today, but I accidentally booked for next month instead. I've fixed it and will be flying out tomorrow, and it does mean I get an extra day here. 

So today I took it early. I went to the Muslim area and ate a ton of street food and browsed the wares. It was all very chilled out and very cool. 

The vibes were awesome and now I'm going to sleep off this food coma. 

I also made a cool Chinese friend HeXi who gave me the cool paper cutout for Chinese new year, and wrote out her favourite poem for me. It was really sweet!! She also showed me how to write my name in Chinese (apparently along with "horse" and "mother", "ma" (as in emMA) also means beautiful girl)

Tomorrow, a flight to Zhangjiajie xx

Day 44: Xi'an: Snow and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda

Today I am feeling much better, so got up nice and early and headed out. Much to my surprise and amazement, it was snowing!!!

It was beautiful, and surprisingly less cold than Beijing was. I spent a while just wandering around the streets near my hostel taking in the snow and sights, trying not to slip over.

Once I had seen enough snow, I headed to one of the attractions I was yet to see in Xi'an - the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. I'm glad it was snowing, because alone, I think it would have been a but boring, but the white coating on everything was really novel. Nearby, there was a museum, and it was free, so I went in, but unfortunately most of it was in Chinese and I had no idea what was going on.

On the way home, I wanted to buy some chocolate, so headed into a shopping centre, and it was insane. There was a waterfall from the 4th floor down, and was 10 stories all up!! I tried on a pair or Armani jeans I was never going to buy and got some chocolate and headed back. 

Tomorrow, flying to Zhangjiajie xx

Day 43: Xi'an: Doing Nothing

Today my non-stop lifestyle has really caught up with me, and I am sick. There isn't really anything I can do other than rest and drink lots of water, so I haven't even left the room really!!

Tomorrow, hopefully back at it xx

Day 42: Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors and a Goose Pagoda

Today was a big day. I started the day with a slight disaster - my standard camera lens is broken and needs to be repaired. I'm not sure when I will be able to get this done, so in the meantime, every photo is taken with a zoom lens. Thank goodness I have a spare!!!

After the trauma of trying to get my camera to work, we headed to one of the main attractions, the Terracotta Warriors. At first it was slightly underwhelming, with a museum and a small pit with some broken ceramics, but when we got to the main pit, I was completely blown away.

It was incredible just how many of the warriors there were, and the sheer attention to detail on them all. It was truly amazing.

After the Warriors and some food, we headed back to the accommodation then went out to see the drum and bell towers by night, and to get some street food. It was beautiful and delicious.

Every night, there is also a light and water fountain display at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, so we got a rickshaw there, and watched it for the full half hour display. It was surprisingly beautiful, and the music was almost inspiring.

Tomorrow, a sleep in xx

Day 41: Xi'an: The City Wall and Two Towers

Today I arrived in Xi'an, and I have to say, I really like it here! I started the day off with a double decker bus ride to my accommodation which is in this cute little street, and immediately headed to the big tourist attractions of the town.

First I went to the City Wall. I enthusiastically rented a bike and cycled the whole way around. It was a really pretty way to see the whole way around, and to get a glimpse of the city. It was only 13km, so even my legs could cope with it!

There are heaps of preparations underway for Chinese New Year, and I'm getting excited already (even though it's still a few weeks away!)

After the City Wall, I headed to the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. The area around there is really "Western" with huge brand name shops and billboards everywhere, but then also a complete disregard for OH&S, with guys putting up lights in trees without harnesses. It's kind of funny to see, if it weren't so dangerous.

The towers themselves were really cool. Originally used to tell time in the city, they seemed relatively unchanged through time, and gave a cool insight into the history of the town before it became a huge metropolis.

Inside the bell tower there was a band playing, and for some reason, they finished with a traditional Chinese cover of Auld Lang Syne.

Tomorrow, a day trip with a new Chinese friend xx