what now, pussycat?

[30th September - part 2]

having seen the terracotta 'warriors' and said goodbye to the last of our guides we haven't got much reason to be in xi'an beyond waiting for our train to beijing next monday evening! however, lynne, armed with her trusty lonely planet guide sallied forth this morning with a reluctant but compliant lou to find a taoist temple and antique market. a taxi was needed as distances are as long as in any of the other chinese cities we have visited thus far!

as described the market is for locals so we experienced no hassle, only parents urging their children to say hello to us, bless. lou is all 'templed out' as he puts it so i paid my three yuan and pottered quietly in the temple of the eight immortals leaving him to study and enjoy the faces outside.

then it was a walk to the east gate through quite poor backstreets (but we did find a jar of nescafe in a tiny supermarket) and on to the bell tower in the centre of xi'an. a lovely girl in starbucks pointed us in the direction of the internet place (cheaper than the hotel) where we got amused stares from the usual clientele of fashionably dressed youngsters. on the way out i appealed to our fellow lift travellers for the nearest macdonalds (yes, yes, i know i said we would stick to local food but we were looking for sandwiches) and, once more, we were charmingly sent off in the right direction.

after a speedy and familiar lunch (twenty years since i last ate a macdonalds burger in piccadilly!) we carried on trekking but finally gave in and got a taxi back. we could have eaten in the street and chosen from boiled corn on the cob or roasted sweet potato, followed by slices of three different types of melon on sticks.

last night's dinner had been back on the eastern track and was hilarious! we opted for the hotel seafood hotpot restaurant and caused a stir when we turned up (pardon the pun). they nearly refused to let us in. a lovely waitress, yang chai, guided us through the process which we would never have worked out for ourselves. a pot of soup bubbled in the centre of the table and yang dropped in the various foods we had ordered. she scooped the pieces out as they cooked and dumped them in our bowls of soy sauce into which had been put spoonfuls from the contents of six small bowls. we recognised garlic, chilli and coriander but hadn't a clue what the rest might have been! :)

a different and yummy meal with lots of laughs and yang and her colleagues were a delight! we shall be expecting justin to have a go at hotpot, xi'an style! :)