Today was a very hard day. We had a 10:55 am flight to Xian. Our luggage went straight to the airport so we didn't have to deal with that. Once we got to the airport our boarding passes were ready and we "got" to go through security at the Beijing airport. This was quite a different experience from what I had in Shanghai earlier in the year. In Shanghai I only had to take my laptop out of my bag for scanning and it was very fast. They had a sign up that we had to take out computers and cameras so that was exactly what I did. After I got through security I found out that it was now necessary to take out iPads and I hadn't done that (it was in my purse). I was then asked to take my iPad out of my purse and to take my change out of my purse. It seemed they had a problem with my coin purse with all my change in it. I took those 2 things out and they sent them and my purse back through the scanner and i was good to go.
Our plane was leaving out of the very last gate so we traipsed down to the end. As soon as we got there it was clear that our plane wasn't taking off on time because it was still in the air and was going to be late getting there. We sat there and waited for a while. They had given us sandwich lunches to take on the plane because they said the food on the plane wasn't any good. Ours was from Subway so we went ahead and ate our sandwiches and cookies while we were waiting. Good thing we did because our flight was 3 hours late taking off.
When we got to Xian we were to go see the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was too late to go when we got in so they rearranged our tours. We now went to see the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and City Wall. The Pagoda was interesting to see. There was also a gift shop where they gave us cards that told what year we were born in. It seems I was born in the Year of the Horse. Once they discovered my year they then tried to sell me all sorts of things and I politely excused myself.
From the Big Wild Goose Pagoda they took us to the City Wall but it was closed so we got a tour through town. We were booked for dinner and a show at the Tang Palace. The food was some of the best that we have had on this trip. The show was good but we were so tired it was hard to stay awake. The trip to the restroom was also very good -- "Western" bathrooms! There was also a lady there that turned the water on for you, put soap in your hands and handed you paper towels. Quite a nice change from what we have been seeing.
We were staying at the Sofitel Xian which is a nice hotel but it was after 10:00 pm when we got there and were totally exhausted. To top it off, we had to leave the next morning at 7:00 am so we could see the Terra Cotta Warriors before going to the airport to catch our flight to Chongqing to get on our river cruise.
Not only was today an exhausting day, I have a feeling that tomorrow will be the same!
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