Beijing and Xian, China in 15 breezy, easy to digest photos

age discrimination

     Let me state for the record that I am against age discrimination in all forms. Thank you.


five jiao

     This might be my favorite banknote in the world that is currently in mass circulation, and my photo doesn’t bring out the purple in it. China used to have the most beautiful currency, a mix of socialist ideals and ethnic minorities. I just happen to have a link to my old website here for a photo of some of it.


terracotta warriors

     Xian’s terracotta warriors, a view from the rear.


uighur cake

     Three Uighur guys in Xian’s muslim quarter side by side selling cake…


uighur fried tofu

     …deep fried tofu…


uighur tofu

     …and grilled tofu.


pancake sign

     Precisely.


laddies

     One little letter can make all the difference, mate.


boil dumpings

     Ditto.


chinese communal toilet

     Chinese communal toilet for those boil dumpings.


chinese dentures

     In front of a dental practice that I chose not to patronize.


facebook hostel

     Unlike.


forbidden haze

     Heavy pollution in front of the Forbidden City. It’s hard to see, but the flag of Trinidad is waving in the background as the president was on a state visit.


great wall hitch

     These guys gave me a ride hitchhiking to get to the Great Wall. They didn’t understand the concept, but they figured I needed help and stopped for me.


exquisite snacks

     Exquisite indeed!


     PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
     Did you know there are about ten cities in China at this point that allow visa-free entry if you stay less than 72 hours? It’s not so practical unless you are flying through China on different airlines or have a long stopover. If you are going through the effort to go to China, it’s likely you want to stay more than 72 hours.
     There are fast trains that go between Xian and Beijing as well as nonstop overnight trains, but it costs about the same to fly. That said, Xian’s new airport is way out of town. Contrary to that, I find it’s easier buying plane tickets than train tickets in China, and you can’t buy train tickets beyond 20 days in advance, I think it is.
     Why don’t you stay with me? You can follow along with RSS, subscribe to an email feed, see what’s cooking on Facebook, pray that I’ll say something worth remembering on Twitter and if you are really slumming it, there’s always Google+.

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Comments

Beijing and Xian, China in 15 breezy, easy to digest photos — 4 Comments

  1. evidently there’s still opportunity to teach english/grammar in china. sorry to see such wicked pollution! ew,man

  2. You’re missing the point, though: that seems like the perfect reason to PLAN a long stopover! If you’re playing with miles, especially, I see no reason not to stop in for a few days en route between other places.

    Already up to 10 now, though? Last I know was only 4 or something. Cool!

  3. Hilarious “Engrish” used there 🙂
    You got me with your first photo. As if the 4 year-old little gigolos could read… not to mention: read Chinese characters!

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