Through Guilin and on to Xian

Well, this is an interesting location to post my blog.

Mary Lou, Noel and I are in a smokey, dark, dank, upstairs internet cafe with about 30 or so of our closest young Chinese new friends. We are very entertaining to them, especially the whole conversation about the cost, time, and how to use the machines.

All this because the Hyatt (where we are staying) costs 2.5 Yuan a minute and this cafe is about 10 Yuan for about 8 hours.

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I don't have the USB cord for my camera, so pictures later.

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We spent 2 wonderful days in Guilin. We took the 3 hour Lei River boat tour. Strolled "West Street," walked through the Reed Flute Cave and toured the Sea Oyster Factory. All, very interesting. We were the only ones in our tour group and had a great tour guide and driver.

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Then we caught a flight to Xian and got caught in some interesting up drafts and down drafts in the thunderstorm across China. We made it safely to earth but no tour guide to meet us at the gate.

Finally someone came and got us and managed to get us safely to the Hyatt. She said we had to make a decision right then and there about the cultural show and dinner as it was very hard to book. We decided on "no."

Today was touring the State Run and Official Terra Cotta Statue Making Factory, then to the Bampo Village (6000 year old village that looks like Pueblo Grande in Phoenix, an interesting lunch experience and off to see the actual Terra Cotta Warrior Excavation Site.

Now, THAT was fascinating! It was a 3 hour tour. :-)

(By the way, she was selling tickets to the same cultural show and dinner. I mean she didn't have to book anything, she had the actual tickets right there in her purse!)

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Then dropped off at the hotel and stopped the sign for the Internet Cafe. So, here we are. We'll head back across the street, the cultural DMZ here in Xian.

We have a half day here in Xian tomorrow and back on another plane (our 7th of this trip) to Chengdu. We're there tomorrow night only and then have a 3 day bus tour in the Chengdu area.

We're heading to Ermai Mt., the Giant Buddha, the hill were the monkeys are going to try to steal everything out of our backpacks, the Hot Springs and then back to the City of Chengdu. Then we spend our last day in Chendgu at the Panda Research Center, the Antique Market and the Cultural Center.

We leave our hotel at 5:00 am on Monday, Julu 7th and head back to America. The Land of the Beautiful, the Home of the Brave, and where my dogs and bed are waiting for me.

Love,

Donna