May 27

Today’s main excursion was to see the Terra Cotta Warriors museums. We rode a bus for about an hour to get there. There are three “pits” of warriors, as well as a chariot museum. So there’s lots of clay people. You walk around the perimeter and look down into the pits where they have excavated, or are excavating, and some of the warriors are put together, and some are just broken all over the place. You can also buy little replicas, or big replicas. They sell terra cotta ones, but random “vendors” will sell little metal ones that essentially look the same. By “vendors” I mean random guys who stuff boxes of warriors under their shirts. Being the business savvy students that we are, haggling prices with these vendors became a game. A few innocents were robbed of 100 yuan (roughly $13) for a box (includes four soldiers and a horse), where as one guy managed to get a box for 5 yuan. Mine was 10 yuan (roughly $1.30). While I sorta hate all the haggling, there's a sense of accomplishment being able to get things for really cheap. And you can always give the people who got ripped off a hard time.

We had lunch at the museum, and it wasn’t very appetizing, but we got to watch the guy make the noodles, and then cook them and serve them in soup. It was pretty interesting to watch a pile of dough become a bunch of tiny noodles by hand, the main motions simply being stretching and beating.

Next was a jade factory, where I was hoping to pick some up in purple or lavender. But not only is jade expensive, but the purple/lavender is rare, so it’s more expensive. I am really just amazed how much people will pay for rocks. Some of the jewelry was cute, and people did buy stuff. The one thing I liked was a purple necklace and earring set, but it was $474, so nevermind that.

Tonight was the dumpling dinner we’d heard talk of, where they basically served us a bunch of different kinds of dumplings (pork, vegetable, ham, etc). They were pretty decent, although after awhile they all sorta tasted the same. And I don’t know if I mentioned, but watermelon is a dessert here, and they serve it after EVERY meal. No complaints here, although there is rarely salt on the table so I can’t salt it.

We had been offered the choice to attend a Tang Dynasty show, or get some super awesome foot massage (like, an hour long, and only $13). I opted for the foot massage. It was sorta fantastic, although occasionally awkward. I had changed out of my dress at the hotel, knowing I was about to stick my feet up in front of someone (I’d also shaved my legs). Then all the girls had guy massagers, and all the guys had girls. And they definitely started off by rubbing up our legs (like, to mid-thigh). We did a foot soak, and they massaged both feet a huge amount, and then also up our calves. Hot towels were involved, and even though a lot of it tickled me, it was great. THEN, we sit down, and they massage our shoulders and upper back, and then did this weird thing where they bent us backwards by the arms. Which felt good, but hello I don’t know you and I’m pretty much laying across you. Best $13 I’ve ever spent though.

Back to the hotel, where I put on fun eye makeup to go out. I didn’t really bring any cute “going out” clothes, because I was too busy trying to pack a bulk of clothing since I’m here for so long, so eye makeup is about all I can do to achieve “cute”. Hopefully I can find a fun top or something in Shanghai. We walked across the street to some bars, and I tried my best to finish a beer without making a face. In case you were unaware, I hate beer. It’s an acquired taste that I never acquired. And not that I want to acquire it, but there’s a lot of it here, it’s really cheap, not to mention free at most of our meals. So I’m trying.

7:15 am wake up call, and bags have to be packed. We go to a Muslim mosque and market in the morning, as well as a history museum. Then afternoon flight to Chongqing, where we’ll board our cruiseship (no clue what those are like here).