On the Road again

So this Spring Festival (the big one in China...think Christmas with more explosives), and Trent, Jesse, and I have hit the open road in search of adventure and enlightenment...ok maybe just adventure.

Our trek was scheduled to go through Beijing, but due to China craziness, we had to reroute through Xian, which is nearer to our city of Shiyan, and closer to the far western province of Xinjiang where we hope to end up. The change in plans has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, however, as I have gained a great appreciation for the city of Xian. Although it is pretty expensive, the sites are really cool, and it has some great Western food availability (we had DQ blizzards today!!!!).

So far, we have seen a fountain show at the Big Goose Pagoda, done some intense bargain shopping in the Muslim quarter, gone to see the Terra Cotta warriors (google it if you're not familiar, you'll be amazed.), and walked along the top of the ancient inner-city wall of Xian, which is really well preserved and nicely decorated for the festival.

Tomorrow morning, we leave at 5:30 on a train to Xinjiang, the far western province of China that is famous for outdoorsy things like huge mountains, vast deserts, oh, and of course camels. Seeing as it is sandwiched between Tibet and Siberia, you could infer that its a pretty chilly place in the winter, so we've stocked up on layers, gloves, hats, etc etc. The train ride will be 36 hours long, and probably the worst part of the travel experience. We are lucky to have good sleeper tickets, though, so we should be OK.

We should have internet in the hostel in Urumqi (again, google it if you need visual help), so more posts should follow after we do some AMAZING sightseeing out west. I am sorry to say, however, that I will not be posting pictures until I return to Shiyan, so you'll have to wait on that.

I miss you all back in the states. Stay healthy and warm! I'll try to post again soon.

-Finn