CHINA, Terracotta Warriors, Xian

September 8, 2008

This morning I went to visit the site of the Terracotta Warriors. It was quite impressive with approximately 1200 of the estimated 8000 warriors having been unearthed so far. There are also many terracotta horses. It is said that every warrior has a different face and were modeled after the emperors soldiers. They were built and placed in his tomb to guard him in the afterlife.

A girl from Finland convinced me and several other backpackers from England and France to play a drinking game that only she knew. Bad idea, one of the backpackers missed his flight the next day. Luckily I went to bed at 1 am and did not stay up with the others who were up till 5 am.

There are fewer English speaking Chinese than I expected. Almost no one speaks any English except at the hostels, tourist attractions and McDonald's. Even at KFC they shove the English menu in front of you and wait for you to point.