Exploring Xian & singing in Shanghai

Flying into Xian late and lost we were just happy to finally find our hostel after getting off the airport shuffle in the city. Chloe and I ended up at the bar drinking 20 yuen pints of carlesburg ($3) whilst Eric tried to sleep off her fever. Waking this morning still all feeling fluey we caught the bus to the train station to book our evening ticket to shanghai. Out of luck with no seats availabile we booked tomorrow eves sleeper at a steep 490 yuen each. Overwhelmed and exhausted already we were on our way to see the Terra Cotta soldiers, it was so impressive unlike anything we have ever seen before, the 8th wonder of the world really is mind blowing and really makes us appreciate how lucky we are to experience it. 

Topped with some dumplings and deep fried pita we were well over the haggling of replica sellers and took the one hour journey back to the hostel to book another night. Eric rested up stairs whilst Chloe and I decided to check our the city in the evening dusk, heading straight to the Muslim quarter for some busy markets and street food by the bell tower. 

So rich in history and lit up quite pretty at night Xian just feels like a dusty city in a daze. Our 3 hour excursion was exciting; two blondes walking through the Muslim market wearing sequin hats and making friends with who ever is nice enough to us. The markets have everything, like Aladdin’s cave, trinkets and jewels, food and cigars… We exhausted it all and found ourselves dipping far to frequently into our money pockets. 

After rising from a much needed slumber, we packed out our bags… Feeling heavier everyday. We searched Xi an for a sustaining breakfast only to find a bakery, bread it is! Catching the 603 bus into the train station was like we were touring on a sideshow. Sneaky unsubtle photos were being taken of us left right and centre, you name it. Our personal favourite is the old’ ” I’ll stand here and you pretend I’m taking a picture of me but swing the camera to the left and get those three blondes in”.

The train station was like a swarm of people, not exactly Broadmeadow station. We were almost afraid to touch anything, the common disregard to the ” no spitting” sign prominently placed on the centre of the plaza confirmed this.  We made our way into the crowds and found a place to sit, still a spectacle we were slightly comforted when a group of middle aged German tourists sat beside us. 

The train compartments were made up of two bunk beds with a table separating the two. Narrow enough that it was difficult to fit our packs through the door. Because we had booked so late we found ourselves split up with Chloe sharing the cabin next door with two young Chinese men, and one that would later prove to have “severe respiratory problems”. The night proved to be not so bad, with an oily meal in the restaurant cart 1 game of cards and a restless night. Eric and I did find ourselves stuck with a couple of farters. Obvious not trying to hide it kind of farting. One In particular caught my attention as I heard it through the ear plugs and then came the smell…. Enough of this.

After a relatively sleepless night we found ourselves in Shanghai! As we were too early to check in we went on a scenic tour to get Chloe a photo with the “cock and balls” building ( we’re still unsure of the technical term). After obliging to a few photos with some Chinese tourists we found ourselves in a sleepless, un-showered daze! We wondered down east nanjing rd to find ourselves in an expensive shopping district. Still desperate for a nap we squeezed into the nearest took took and sent ourselves back to the hostel. 

The hostel was set in a soho style loft, painted throughout with bizarre colourful scenes. We did find that the staff were rather unfriendly, it looked cool but was not the place to meet fellow travelers. 
After a two hour nap on our cardboard mattresses we indulged in washing our hair, putting on some make up and getting ready for a night on the town. The girl at the front desk recommended a place to go out, we followed her instructions to find ourselves in the French quarter, beautiful but horribly expensive and full of westerners we were a bit disappointed, we asked two young students who sent us off in a cab to an odd street with a great mix of Chinese bars. 

We were first drawn to a bar offering food and free Cosmo’s for ladies all night. It had a funky band getting set up which played for the night. Food, Drink & Music, Sorted. After about five of these we made friends with the jazz/ funk band playing. The dreadlocked drum player was from Australia.
After we’d had our share of Cosmo’s we were ready to explore further, we left searching for ice cream only to find ourselves entering a small live band karaoke bar. We ordered ourselves long island ice teas and sat back to relax when we found ourselves making friends with Peter, a Kantonese man in shanghai on business. He bought us wine- which we liked. He also became our translator and assisted and insisted that myself Chloe and Eric sing a song. Much to Eric’s embarrassment she was soon on her own “I love you baby”- a song that will forever remind me of our one night in Shanghai. 

Our performance captured on Chloe’s camera by Peter was phenomenal; an awkward disco remix mush of Eric out of time and Chloe and I trying to unveil our amazing backup dancing talents!
Embarrassed and drunk at the time we fled the bar as soon as we’d finished… Poor Peter!  Shanghai was far too short but sweet, I feel our time here wasn’t used as best we could…which just means I will have to come back again soon.