Street Meat is Hard to Beat

We are gifted to have such a variety of cheap street food right outside of our hostel.  We have fruit, rotti, fried chicken, grilled meat, Pad Thai, and others depending on the day; each cart is actually the sidecar to a scooter, so they can come and go as they please.  For the most part it is all cheap, 20TMB ($0.65) per stick or piece and 30THB ($0.97) for a rotti, and delicious.  We then run into the 7/11 that is next door and grab a 640ml cold beer for 42THB ($1.36).  We watch them make the food in front of us, so I don't think we can get too sick from it.

The stick food is marinated in a savory sauce and comes with a cherry tomato and pepper on the end.  

The fried chicken is maybe a little overcooked and dried out, but the alternative could be dangerous.  The skin is crispy and seasoned with a spiciness that tastes great.  

The rotti is either plain, as Renee likes it, or a dessert, like the banana, condensed milk, and powdered sugar one I got.  

We did find a Swedish run place that had great pizza for 200THB ($6.49). While, it wasn't truly street food, it had the carts in front of it and it had draft beers for 49THB ($1.59). Great food and the owner was willing to shoot the breeze with us.

Train-ing Day

Hong Kong to Beijing to Xi'an to Shanghai to Hong Kong.  All by sleeper train and it only took about 67 hours and at a cost of $349.64.  Considering the distances traveled that was a pretty good price and I'd say it was more comfortable than flying.  There are two options on these trains: seat or sleeper, and those are divided into hard and soft class.  We only did soft seat and sleeper and from that we would not try either of the hard options.  The price difference is enough for the chinese but minimal for us.  The seat is a seat; either facing the back of another seat with an airplane-like folding tray or facing two other passenger that you share a table with.  No a problem, but we could not get comfortable enough in the seats to sleep restfully.  They are better padded with more leg room than an airplane, but the fact of the matter is that you are seated for 11+ hours.  We also ran into a problem with some locals that wanted to listen to some tunes as they fell asleep.

The soft sleepers sell out fast and we can see why.  You share the berth with two other passengers and each car has shared toilets and wash rooms.  No worries, everyone is courteous.  The sleeper berths have a small table and each bunk has a reading light and chinese-language TV.  Renee and I found these comfortable and easy to read/relax in.  The beds aren't the softest, but they must be softer than the hard sleepers that are in six person berths.  I would recommend booking your tickets as early as you can as these sell out first.  Though, tickets are always cheaper when you buy them at the station.  We used out hostel in Beijing and had to pay a 30-40 RMB ($4.42-6.34)fee per ticket.  Food is provided through a dining car or periodic carts.  It isn't the cheapest, so we learned to bring our own provisions in the form or granola bars one time and wine/cheese another.

After Xi'an we did not shower until we got to our hotel in Phuket.  We tried changing our clothes and washing our faces or using a washcloth when we could, but our hair was probably the dirtiest.  We had heard of a traveling remedy for greasy hair that involves baby powder.  The powder is supposed to attract the oil and make you look cleaner.  I went for it with talcum powder.  While my hair felt and looked less oily, I think I looked more like I put talcum powder in my hair than clean.  

Shanghai (at) Noon

Due to train schedules and whatnot, we were blessed with only 10 hours in Shanghai before we had to catch our next train.  We missed most of the city and have no real understanding of what it is really like, but we do know we want to go back.  The old, mixed with new architecture makes for a beautiful cityscape.  We went to the area call the Bund and from there we could see the financial Pudong area across the river.  The city was way too humid for September and after ducking in and out of the shadows for a few hours,and trying terrible seaweed ice cream, we settled on the aptly named Bund Brewery to avoid the heat.  Beers were 90RMB ($13.27) for half a liter of their own lager, ale, or hef.  All were good and they offered pint and liter sizes as well; we wanted to try all the brews with equal constitution, and stayed with the half liter.  

Terra Cotta Warriors: Come Out to Play

A placard says that real bone fragments were found at the site as well

The first step in seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors from Xi'an is to get to the railway station.  From there you can catch any one of the many 306 buses that run directly to the site when they fill up.  The voyage is 7RMB ($$1.03) and about an hour each way.  Once you get there you get to talk fairly far from the parking lot to the ticket booth, to the pits.  A fun jaunt that is included in the 90RMB ($13.27) entrance fee.  There are a ton of guides, hawkers, and shops that are also eager to get ahold of you money while you try to find the warriors.

I think the site is interesting, but I don't know how much of it is really ancient.  The army was found in 1974 by a farmer and it seems like the transition of tourist trap was a little too quick.  I won't say that the whole thing is fake, but it seems a little too convenient to find something like this without any written or oral history passed down.  Whatever, it was something to see and the craftsmanship was very good.  I overheard a guide tell someone that each statue has more than 200 parts in it, but that could be exaggerated.  There are signs saying that excavation continues and they have even put some of the better preserved pieces in glass so everyone can see how detailed they are.  Renee and I saw this on the day we were going to catch a train, so we only spent an hour at the site so we could catch the bus back in time.  I'd say and hour is all you really need unless pottery is your thing or you want to splurge for a guide that will fill you in on all the details.  

Xi'an

While kicking it in Xi'an, China, we figured a ride on the city wall was in order.  The wall has been restored and it turned out to be much larger than I had anticipated.  But, as an added bonus, there is a bike rental place on top.  After paying 40RMB ($5.90) each to get on the wall, we can rent bikes for 20RMB ($2.95) each with a refundable 200RMB deposit.  Well we wanted to save on the deposit cost and be extra cheeky, so why not get a tandem bike?  The bike worked fine, though it was a little wobbly from having a bent front end.  To go all the way around the wall it took us about 110 minutes and that was with an easy, steady pace with only a few stops for quick pictures.  The view during the day was of a normal Chinese city in my mind, but they sure know how to light up the place when the sun sets.  

That night we went out for for a dinner recommended by Lonely Planet of yangrou paomo at Lao Sun Jia.  I could it it everyday.  It is a beef soup with noodles and spices with bread crumbs thrown on top.  Super delicious as all the flavors mixed perfectly.  The restaurant was pretty hard to find and we walked past it several time, but we just worked up an appetite for the 24RMB ($3.54) per person we paid to share a bowl with beers.