Alright, before I dive in, I need to get a few things off my chest. Maybe it will help. We are currently in Vangvieng, and it is extremely hot here—so very hot! We've rented a charming little house on the outskirts of town, where there are water buffaloes (or perhaps cows? Definitely some type of bovine!) grazing in our backyard. Our back deck overlooks fields and a small pond, where fish are jumping and splashing. If you didn't know, that sound is the essence of summer! However, the heat is unbearable. The sun shines directly on the deck with absolutely no shade. Since I burn easily, I had to retreat inside and am now typing on my laptop in the kitchen, waiting for the shade to reach my chair so I can head back outside. Our backyard! Unfortunately, it’s not time just yet. So, I will continue with my story. We left off in Zhangjiajie. Now, we’re on our way to Xi'an, with a brief stop in Changsha. Once again, we're traveling by train; it was only 1 hour and 45 minutes from Zhangjiajie to Changsha, but from there to Xi'an, it took nearly 5 hours. Still, both journeys were shorter than the over 7-hour train ride we took from Shanghai to Zhangjiajie! The trains in China are quite comfortable, with decent seats and a smooth ride. If you get hungry, there are food carts moving through the aisles where you can buy snacks or larger meals if you’re more than a little peckish.
I didn’t have any particular expectations for Changsha. We made a two-night stop there simply to avoid an excessively long train journey; the previous 7 hours was a bit much. Although I enjoy watching the scenery pass by, there's a limit. On our first night, after living mostly on instant noodles, we treated ourselves to pizza, and it was good! However, I’m not sure if it was actually good pizza or if it just seemed that way after surviving on nearly nothing but noodles. Almost immediately after returning to the apartment, Toni dashed to the toilet, and it wasn’t long before I followed suit. We had a bit of a battle for dominance over the bathroom! Luckily, we both felt fine the next day, so we went for a walk to see the large statue. More respectfully, the monument of Young Mao Zedong. It’s massive! Located on Orange Island, it stands 32 meters tall! The island is lovely and a great place for a stroll. However, to reach it, you have to walk on a bridge for a while, and that was quite chaotic! Mopeds are zipping past you in the same lane. That is true Asian traffic. Visiting Orange Island was the only activity we did in Changsha, but it took several hours, so it was a day well spent!
The next city was one I had been looking forward to the most in China: Xi'an. While my high expectations weren’t fully met, I still had a good time, and our apartment was one of the best we’ve stayed in so far during this trip. We had a spacious one-bedroom with two toilets, one bathroom (with a tub!), and an open living and dining area with a kitchen. It was very comfortable, reasonably priced, and a grocery store was close by! However, the location wasn’t ideal—we were far from the nearest metro, and the neighborhood, for lack of a better term, was quite dull. A boring neighborhood for walks... but it made for a cozy little home for a few nights!
During our stay, we visited the Terracotta Army, the Xi'an City Wall, and the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and we did quite a bit of wandering around. One day, we just strolled through a park, which I enjoyed a lot. There were people singing karaoke with machines! That’s not something you’d see in Finland, probably because of the weather (more than half the year is too cold to sit outside) and also due to our cultural norms. We value privacy, and children are taught from a young age not to disturb others. Making noise outdoors is considered bothersome to some! We are a quiet nation. In many parts of Asia, such as karaoke in parks or listening to music without headphones on trains, is common, but we don’t engage in those activities! However, I came here to broaden my horizons, and I'm enjoying the observations I’m making.
We initially planned to visit the Terracotta Army on our own. As soon as we walked through the gates towards the ticket counters, a lady approached us offering her guiding services. I thought it could be a good idea, but we couldn’t really understand what she was saying due to her accent and soft-spoken nature, so we declined. While we were deciding what tickets we needed
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Alright, before I begin, I need to vent a bit. Perhaps it will make me feel better. We’re currently in Vangvieng, and it’s incredibly HOT here. So very hot! We’ve rented a charming little house on the outskirts of town, where water buffaloes (or maybe cows? Definitely some type of bovine!) are grazing in our backyard. Our back deck looks out over fields and there’s also a small pond. Fish are jumping in there, causing splashes. If you weren't aware, that's the sound of summer! But the heat... The sun shines directly on the deck, and there's absolutely no shade whatsoever. I burn easily, so I had to retreat inside and am now typing at my laptop in the kitchen, waiting for the shade to reach my chair so I can head back outside.