Xian

Of course, everyone wants to see the clay soldiers. Good for them. But other than that, didn’t really find Xian a great city. It was just too crowded, noisy and with a whole bunch of cars and traffic. There are some nice pagodas for the interested and statues of Fa Hien, which is interesting for an Indian. The only other memorable moment in the city was when we were running really late and had a train to catch in 30 minutes. There was no way we could make it by road given the traffic jam. We got a auto-rickshaw to reach us on time, by promising him double fare if he could do so. I swear – the guy should get a role in the next James Bond chase sequence. With him at full throttle, it was a scene out of a movie, as he swerved around cars, ran on sidewalks, almost knocked down pedestrians while barely escaping from buses himself and whizzed and zoomed to make good his promise. I don’t remember his name, but I salute him for a job well done. The other thing to remember here is that if a salesperson offers a box of soldiers for 120 yuan, you can get it for 20. (Yes – 20, that is not a typo, but do adjust for inflation if you visit now)