We slept in a little later than before. Paul and I left the room at about 7AM. We caught a taxi and made our way to some tourist attractions. Our taxi driver was a woman. This was the first female taxi driver I had rode with.
We passed by a museum but found that it was closed. So we made our way to a nearby site, the Wild Goose Pagoda. This Pagoda is a large 7-story building. The Pagoda wasn�t opened yet. We decided to make some pictures. On the outside of the gates of the Pagoda, there is a large open square with a statue of a monk. Paul decided to get some breakfast at a nearby restaurant. He got dumplings to go.
By the time we got back from breakfast, the pagoda was open and we went inside the gates.
All around the pagoda there are buildings (temples?), which house Buddhas. There are knee pillows for people who bend down and pay homage to the Buddha. There were also intricate carvings of the Buddha stories on the walls of the temple. Sometimes these carvings were made of jade, other times it was of wood.
Monks were all around the area. They were dressed in grey clothing and wore a special kind of shoes. They were also shaven bald. I asked a couple of them if I could have my picture made with them, but they refused.
We decided to go to the very top of the pagoda. You had to pay extra to enter the pagoda. Paul was required to check his backpack in, but I was allowed to keep my camera.
As we got inside I noticed a miniature model of the pagoda. There was also a gift shop, of course. We climbed the 7 flights of stairs to the top. The orange stairs were narrow at times and there were people coming down it at the same time you were going up.
We got to the top of the pagoda. I took pictures at all 4 sides of it. The view seemed to be obscured by the smog of Xian.
We climbed down and visited other parts of the complex. As we were going out I noticed a short monk. Paul asked if I could have my picture made with him. He said yes.
We were planning on walking to our next site, which was several blocks down the road. However we decided to catch a cab there. As we pulled in, the driver almost hit a lady and her small child.
As we entered the complex, I noticed we were in a small alleyway. Paul said this place is where they film Chinese movies. It was supposed to represent ancient China.
We came to an area with a bunch of statues facing each other along a wide path to a building. I made several pictures.
Inside the building you could put on some traditional Chinese wardrobe and get your picture made.
As we walked through the building, we went to a walk through exhibit with animatronic statues. It was like something out of a bad Disneyland ride. Paul later pointed out that each exhibit was supposed to represent a story in a Chinese folklore book. We entered a room, which Paul described as �Heaven.� People were having their picture made with the exhibits. Next we entered �Hell� which showed people being sawed in half. Finally we got through the entire exhibit. It was pretty sad.
Afterwards we went out to another area for more pictures. We left the place.
We had hoped to find a cab on the outside, but none showed up. We ended up walking to almost back to the Wild Goose Pagoda and catching a cab there.
Our next stop was the Great Mosque. Since Xian is so far west, it has a Muslim influence. We walked through the merchant stands while on the way to the Great Mosque. I bought a few items including a green military hat. We also stopped at a place that engraves stamps with a person�s name. Placed an order for a friend of mine who was in the hospital. Paul got some stamps for his family and himself. The engraving was going to take a little time, so we decided to go to the Great Mosque.
As we entered the Great Mosque, I noticed that it seemed to appear just like any other Chinese temple. Occasionally you would see something written in Arabic. There were men around who were wearing while caps. These were the Muslim caretakers of the temple. There was one area which was restricted which was for ceremonial cleansing. A black curtain was hung over the entrance to this room.
The Mosque consisted of several different building with different exhibits setup in each.
Afterwards we left the mosque and made our way back to the main road. We were having trouble finding the booth that was engraving our stamps. Finally we found them and paid for our stamps. We were talked into buying more stamp pads. This is how it works in China. You seemly get a good deal on a product, but afterwards you find out it is extra for additional accessories such as the stamp pad.
We caught a taxi back to the Hotel. My flight was leaving at 4:30PM. I said I needed to be at the airport by 3:30PM. I had no idea if the tickets had arrived yet. Paul had taken care of everything. He had given the money to the hotel staff. I was just hoping that the tickets arrived by now.
We stopped in front of the KFC near the hotel so that I could get some lunch. I got it to go and Paul and I walked back to the Hotel.
I ate lunch in the hotel room while watching ESPN. The Mariners and the Red Sox were playing baseball. Paul later entered with the plane tickets. He had planned to stay and extra day in Xian, spending the night with his friend at his university.
Paul recommended we leave at around 12:30 since the airport was so far away from the city. After finishing lunch I packed my bags. We got on a taxi which would presumably take us to a bus to take us to the airport. However on the way there Paul noticed that the ride to the airport via taxi was just as expensive as going to the airport via bus. So we stayed in the taxi the entire way there.
We got on a highway and rode for several minutes. Along the way, I noticed a man had stopped along the side of the highway and was peeing in public. I guess when you�ve got to go, you�ve got to go.
We finally arrived at the airport. Since it was so early the airport reps had not begun serving the flight back to Shanghai. Paul and I sat down near a gift shop counter. We were discussing the events of the day. At one point I put on my military hat. The store keeper noticed it and said that he wanted to sing a song about it.
I asked Paul if I could buy him lunch. We went to a nearby restaurant and Paul got some hot noodles.
Finally it was time to get in line for the ticket counter. There was an American family in front of us. As I got to the ticket counter, I handed the lady my ticket. Then a rude American came up and was in panic mode. He was very concerned that his travel group had left without him. Somehow he had gotten separated from his group and wasn�t sure what flight they were one. After going through the list of ticket holders, they found the passenger�s name and send him on his way. I later told Paul that this guy was being rude.
I had to by a 50 Yuan tax levied on all domestic flights. Paul went as far as he could with me. I said goodbye and went on my way to the gate.
As I found the gate, I noticed the American family, which was in front of me. An American asked me if the flight was already boarding. I said I didn�t know. I asked the lady at the ticket counter. She directed me to the doors. I walked outside and boarded the plane.
I sat beside some Chinese people. A large group of gay Americans boarded the plane also. The flight to Shanghai lasted about an hour and a half. I had a Pepsi and a ham sandwich on the plane.
After we arrived I heard something in Chinese being said as we were taxi-ing to our gate. I thought they said, it was time to deplane. But obviously it wasn�t since we hadn�t stopped yet. Others must have thought the same thing because lots of people were grabbing their bags and things.
Finally we arrived and deplaned. I asked an American if this was the tram to the gate. He said yes. He said he was waiting for the rest of his party and to let him know if I needed help getting a taxi. I told him thanks.
As I left the airport I noticed there were quite a few lines for taxis. As I was leaving I was harassed by people wanting to give me rides for 100 Yuan. I told them �no� since Mark had said it would be about 40 Yuan. By the time I got in the right line for the cab, I was so sick of being harassed every time someone said 100 Yuan, I just told them they were crazy.
I got in line for the cabs and was told to go to the short-term cabs (yellow). I got in line for them. I tried not to look too concerned as I left. A lady in front of me got in a cab. She later was shouting to the cab driver and left. The cab driver then told me to get in.
I watched him like a hawk the entire time. When the meter did not initially come on, I pointed at it. He said it would come on after a certain amount of time, which it did. When he made what I thought was a wrong turn, away from the landmark skyscrapers away from the school, I pointed the other direction. He said he was making a U turn. After we made it to the school, he charged me a fair price and I thanked him profusely.
I walked back to the guesthouse and up to Mark�s room. He was back. He seemed a bit tired. He had been camping on an island somewhere near Shanghai. I was going to have to sleep on the floor of his room since all the rooms were taken up by May Day visitors. I got on the internet and emailed home.