An Impromptu Trip...

I had been begging hubby to take us to Terracotta Warriors in Xian,China.This nagging started when I saw a documentary on the terracotta warriors on TV and I was fascinated by the place. Then one day a couple of years ago,2009 to be precise, a few of hubby's colleagues had planned to see this place during a Chinese holiday which fell after a weekend. With 3 days in hand, there were many places that could be visited. But hubby was not among that group to visit Xian.I was so disappointed. Then  P [ remember her from the Qingdao trip?]also told me her desire to visit Xian,and she too wanted to go there with the rest of the group. Our earlier trip to Qingdao the previous week had been very pleasurable.So we sat and 'dreamt' about going there and seeing one of the wonders of ancient China but our 'dreams' fell on deaf ears.

So on Friday afternoon, 4 days after our Qingdao trip,  P and myself went on a leisurely shopping spree to a wholesale market that sold anything and everything.Suddenly I got a call from hubby asking me if I really wanted to go to Xian. I was so shocked and thrilled to hear it from him and immediately said 'Yes'. After a short laugh he disclosed that the train to Xian leaves at 6.45 pm that evening and he had already booked the tickets for us!!We had to be at the station around 6 pm.I turned around to share this news with my friend but she had disappeared and in a few minutes arrived from a shop with the biggest grin on her face.Yes, we were going together with 2 of hubby's colleagues.

Our excitement was short lived as the time was 4pm already and we had less than 2 hours to pack and leave for a 3 day trip. We ran out of the wholesale market to get a taxi to take us home. I dumped our goodies on the couch and hurriedly asked MIL to pack her things and I ran to the mall to buy stuffs needed for our travel. I had to carry loads of food for us as I was sure I would not find vegetarian food while traveling.

One hour passed so quickly as I tried to think and rethink the items to be purchased, find them , bill them and get back home.Shopping bag was full of flavored milk, bread, buns, sweet bread for the lil one, chips , munchies etc.Hubby was home by then,busy helping his mom pack. With less than an hour to pack, I threw in all the cloths , things for the baby and other stuffs we would need for the trip into 2 suitcases.

Since Lil Angel was less than a year and a half old, there was so much to pack for her. Baby food, hot water for the trip,other food items for her. I was not sure what we would get there, so I was really worried.

Packed and set to go, we piled into a taxi and literally flew to the railway station.This is one of those trips that we went at the shortest notice.

Since this was our first trip on the train after we came to China , I was really looking forward to it. All our earlier trips had been on a car, so that we could travel at our convenience.I had no idea about the station , the facilities on the train or how long the journey would take.All I knew was that I was so happy and very excited that we were going to see a place that I really wanted to go.

I was so grateful that hubby had arranged this trip and luckily there were tickets for the trip, else in spite of the efforts the trip would not have materialized.

After this long story , I will let the photos do the talking.....

The train station

 Waiting on the platform for the train. 

Passengers are allowed on the platform just 5 minutes before the train is due. Until then we waited in the huge lobby.

 Inside the train. I loved it.Very comfortable and quite pricy [tickets]

 It was dark by the time we settled into our seats and got ready to have dinner . I was not excited to have bread so put off the dinner plans, when a trolley full of food stuffs came by. There were fruits, snacks and cup noodles. Luckily there were vegetarian noodles and we were over joyed. The lady informed us that hot water [ Boiling water actually] was available near the ticket checkers cabin and we could use that. Hot water on the train was a real blessing!

 The next morning newspapers were delivered to each cabin.Pity they were in Chinese. 
Some staffs came to the cabin to fold away the sheets and quilts the passengers had used! 

The thing I liked about the journey is that each coach had a display board where you can see the speed of the train, the temperature outside and the name of the next station. I like this system. If only the trains in India were like this.....

 .

It was raining right through the journey.....

 We passed some fields....

 A bridge...

  

 A field engulfed with water, taken when we were a bridge....

 The name of a place in Chinese,no idea what it said...

 At last we reached our destination....

The journey started at 6.45 in the evening and we reached Xian at around 11.30 the next morning. So that makes it around 17 hours of journey on a super fast [express] train.We had traveled almost half way across China from our place to visit Xian!

 It was drizzling in Xian as well.We [8 of us actually]were really worried as this would spoil our tour plans....

Our folks had made arrangements with a travel agency @ Xian and a mini bus came to pick us up at the station. Loading our bags and hungry for food and to visit the city we eagerly got into the bus..... 

 Most of the present day buildings are built in the ancient style...

Kelly asked us to hurry and freshen up .She had 2 places lined up for the rest of the day.

She had booked us at the Ibis hotel[Heping Road Bei Lin ] which is quite close to the Bell Tower.[5 minutes by Taxi or 15-20 minutes by walk from the Hotel to the Bell Tower]. The hotel is moderately priced , clean with hospitable staffs and has a breakfast buffet...

The picture you see above was the board near the reception desk which shows the important places to be visited in Xian.

Luckily our tour guide,Kelly, had booked tables for us at the 'Delhi darbar restaurant' situated near the Wild Goose Pagoda. [A really thoughtful lady indeed!]. So that was the place we were going to visit after lunch...

After the long journey we felt like we had landed right at home with Indian meals at sight!

The interior...

We had hearty Indian food.Naan,Roti, Paneer Butter Masala, Vegetable briyani, some beverages, fried snacks and stuffs....Sorry no food clicks here. I was too hungry to click and when I remembered to take pics all that was in front of me were empty plates and dishes....

All weariness forgotten, it was time to visit the place of my dreams....

In my next post I shall take you to the Wild Goose Pagoda which has an enticing history....

Take care until then.....