Day 5 X'ian

Yesterday: the bullet train was a fantastic ride but only from the perspective of 5 hours of uninterrupted reading time. I hear you bibliophiles ... where's the downside, right? I imagine if you're not a reader it might have been a bit boring. Tip for future travelers if you're considering the bullet train, travel in the day time. At night there's no scenery to while away the hours and even I would have looked up from my book every now and then to watch China speeding by my window. We did not get our 4 person sleeper cabins, we're not sure why and without the scenery as distraction it was a relatively uncomfortable, very long sit in one position.

We arrived at our not-5-star-as-promised (& paid for) hotel at midnight to discover that the 24 hour dining finished at 11pm; turned the AC down from sauna to slightly less steamy; and laid down on our cinder block bed (honestly the bed in the ice hotel was softer) for a nice evening of restlessness.

Today: The view from the window this morning

Lots of grey here which is why the Ginko trees are so delightful. We have accepted yesterday, all holidays have less than perfect days, it helps to remember where you are and the privilege of travelling in the world today where no everyone manages it in safety.

We started our day on the walls of old X'ian, 1.300 years old in it's current location (although its age varies depending on wherever you're standing). The city has moved around a bit over the last 3,000 years as each dynasty was overthrown the victors moved its location.

and then we went a bunch of other places that I'll have to tell you about tomorrow, coz i'm really really tired - we went to a LOT of places, plus a night tour!