Our memorable visit to the Terracotta Warriers was followed by a very welcome lunch in a Chinese restaurant. Cindy on every occasion helped us choose our meal and then absented herself to eat quietly in a corner in another part of the room. We enjoyed her company so much as we drove and walked but realised that she needed down time when we were at meals. Cindy was bright and attractive, very dainty and classily but simply dressed. She had a rare sense of humour and found us extremely amusing. She easily 'got' our jokes and chatter and joined in happily. She was a delightful companion. On one occasion I believe we disappointed her.
Alfred wanted dumplings...very much. He mentioned them often and Cindy decided that what we needed was a meal consisting mainly of dumplings. So for our second evening she booked us into a Theatre restaurant and ordered our meal early in the day. Because of our magnificent lunch and the fact that we had been walking around nearly all day we would have been happy to forgo a dumpling supper and have a light meal with tcho (our newly discovered word for wine!) followed by an early night. No, she informed us charmingly, the meal has been ordered and has to be eaten. The booking cannot be cancelled. So like good children we went.
The restaurant was lavishly decorated in red and gold, huge and expensive. Course after course was set upon the table...all dumplings! There were various shapes, sizes and fillings but it was all dumplings! I was still so full of our midday meal I could only manage one or two of them on the top layer of the multi-layered bamboo steamer in which they were served..and there were at least three more courses. I believe I ate the least but we all struggled and when Cindy joines us at the end of the meal I think we had truly disappointed her.
We checked out of the hotel just after nine the following morning...having all slept pretty well. It was raining again and very grey. We visited two museums and had another excellent lunch before visiting the Moslem Quarter and Mosque. The latter was a beautiful oasis in the centre of the busy, noisy city, built in the Chinese pagoda style with peaceful gardens. Surrounding it was an exciting market full of exotic foods and other interesting things which I would have loved to examine more closely. It was narrow, crowded and colourful but we were rushed through in case we should succumb and buy something which, Cindy assured us, "Will fall apart tomorrow!" George of course was delighted...
We had seen earlier in the day piles and piles of rosy pomegranets and. with memories of loving it as a child in India, I asked Cindy if pure fresh pomegranate juice could be found in Xi'an. 'Only in the Moslem Quarter' she had replied. As we were approaching our van she suddenly stopped and pointed out a couple who were pressing the ruby coloured juice out of the fruit seeds and serving it in paper cups. I was the only one to buy a cup full and it was worth it. It has a tangy, refreshing flavour, really different from any other fruit juice when taken alone with no other juice added. Delicious!
Our next stop was our last in Xi'an...the Railway Station. The van was unable to park close to the entrance so dropped the four of us and Cindy down the road. We had to fight through crowds to reach the entrance and then there was a further bottle-neck as security men checked our passports and tickets. This took quite some time but eventually we were through to the 'Soft lounge' where we sat on hard wooden seats until Cindy had organised our tickets and discovered which platform we would be leaving from. We waited until we were allowed through the door to the platforms, Cindy hurrying ahead of us, and went down a flight of stairs to platform 5, carriage 11 and bunk numbers 32,34,35,and 36. We had a clean, 4 sleeper compartment to ourselves. Each bunk was made up for the night with a dark brown blanket under a white sheet and a pillow, and each bunk was bordered with a cream brocade frill, matching one along the top of the window. It was all very civilised and comfortable. The upper bunks each had one step to help the brave occupier climb up...George and Alfred decided they had the courage!
Cindy bade us a fond goodbye after making sure we were settled and when I gave her a farewell hug became quite emotional and tearful and hurried away. She had told us alot about herself and her life over the previous 48 hours and we liked and respected her. After she had left we looked at each other and said "OK supper!"
George and Alfred had gone shopping in a supermarket the previous night and bought baguettes, cheese, sausage and wine. The four of us enjoyed another hilarious picnic meal as the train started off. It was great to be with another couple with whom we got on so well, it made living in such close quarters easy and comfortable and we found a great deal to laugh at!
The only disadvantage to overnight trains in China is the 'squatter' toilet which easily seems to become overused and smelly. Getting up during the night was relatively easy for Terry and myself but required mountaineering skills by the two men. However they both managed it!
Just a few moments after the men had decided it was bed time and climbed into their upper bunks Terry leaned across and whispered to me 'Look at the time!' I had put my tiny travel clock on our table, it read 8.55 pm! We decided not to pass on this information (in case they descended again) and enjoyed our books for the next hour or so, our minute, round bed lights lit the pages just sufficiently.
I did not sleep well: I found I was so enjoying the movement of the train and the experience of travelling through the middle of China to Shanghai that I was too excited to sleep.
We arrived in Shanghai at about 8 am, took a taxi to the Bund where we found a coffee bar and enjoyed a huge, delicious cup of coffee with a muffin. We could see that the Explorer had docked and a short cab ride later we were on board again and in our cabins to shower and catch up on sleep.
This had been one of the most exciting and enjoyable few days of the voyage for all of us. We will not easily forget it.
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