Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Xi'an 西安, day 2 -Terracotta Army 兵马俑


Day 2 in Xi’an was all about the Terracotta Army 兵马俑. Since we were flying back to Shanghai that night we decided to get a driver for the whole day, so that we could keep our luggage in his car, and, so that he could take us to the airport after we had visited the sight (the terracotta army is located quite far away from Xi’an so going back and fourth to the hotel did not feel like an option). I chatted to the bell boys at our hotel for about 30 minutes until we came up with a good deal and were assigned Mr Guo, a black car driver, to take us around for the whole day and then drop us off at the airport.

Mr Guo turned out not only to be a good driver, but he was also a great guide who, once he realized that I could speak Chinese, told me everything I wanted to know about Xi’an (I could then translate for mom and dad). We started off with a visit to the Banpo Village Ruins museum, followed by the Terracotta Army, and then dinner at a local joint at the mountain area. The Terracotta Army was quite spectacular, way above my expectations. This might have something to do with the fact that we actually rented ourselves a guide who took us through the history of everything. Although the area was crammed with tourists (“and this is nothing yet, just wait until the high season!” Mr Guo told me when I made a comment about it) it was still a really good and interesting visit. I would recommend anyone to go and see the terracotta army, but make sure you go before the peak season, and get a guide unless you’re an expert on Chinese history.

We had a little incident later at the mountain restaurant (which, although the food was lovely, obviously was a tourist trap) when we were given a picture menu with prices that made go “whoooot?!” How about 98 rmb for some cabbage, 150 rmb for spareribs etc… Nah, I don’t think so.

-Can I see the Chinese menu please, I said, and although the waiter claimed I wouldn’t understand anything of it, I did, and we managed to order some good food at a more reasonable price (because, obviously, the dishes on the Chinese menu were priced according to Chinese standards).

A large group of waitresses stood, sniggering at our table when I read the Chinese menu and ordered in Chinese. Still, when we got the final bill I saw that they had charged us 20 rmb for napkins etc (my own bad, I should have known better and asked how much they were before we used them)… so yeah, always have to be careful when visiting tourist attractions in China –even though this restaurant wasn’t even located within the actual Terracotta Army area. All in all it was a good visit, a nice little getaway, and I believe mom and dad also found it interesting and fun.





7 comments:

조안나 said...

omg, what is with China charging for napkins?? We got charged for napkins we didn't use at the Guangzhou airport last summer. We had no yuan and almost no dollars, we almost didn't have enough money to pay for our meal because of it and they wouln't take it off the bill even though we gave it back to them still in the wrapper. It makes me really appreciate the bend over backwards service in Korea....

Nederland said...

I am not really sure if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your great job is clearly identified. I was wondering if you offer any subscription to your RSS feeds as I would be very interested and can’t find any link to subscribe here.

mantse said...

traps are everywhere..
so take care all the time...

Anonymous said...

HI Jonna,

Looks like you had a lovely time with your parents, and your Chinese continues to impress.

I noticed with many outdoor photos, the air looks a bit hazy. Is that because it was overcast, or is it air pollution?

Take care,

Adrian

ordinary malaysian said...

I think the napkins charge was more a tips thing. Did the restaurant levy a service charge? Some nice pictures! The one of a row of terracotta soldiers reminds of i-robots!

Michael B said...

Went to Huangshan recently and stayed on the mountain one night. Apparently the hotel charges an extra 100 RMB or so for LaoWeis. My wife snuck me in and was quite proud of herself for her stealthiness.

Anonymous said...

i'd never get too hard on the waiters/waitresses or taxi drivers. life sued them and they lost. a couple of euros means nothing to me but to them maybe it'll just make their day. so why ruin someone's chance to be happy if u have the power to make it happen?
i know it feels like u r being ripped off but personally i don't mind as deep down i know that im doing good deeds.
just personal opinion