Six Go Adventuring in Xian

This week Dulwich was closed for two days teacher training and it seemed to be too good an opportunity to miss to holiday in China without the usual crowds.  We decided to head off to Xian one of the must see places on our China list.  

Our friend Meeta joined us with her daughter Ria, who is a friend of William and Oliver.  The boys were delighted to be going on holiday with a friend and Sam was excited to be going with two women, not so much the three children! After much discussion over the previous month we decided to get the overnight train and stay in a hostel to give the children a backpacker experience.  We managed to pack all we needed in to two small rucksacks and with much excitement set off for the train station.  

The train was due to leave Shanghai at 10pm and we got to the station about an hour before.  The children hit a bit of a low and nearly crashed out before boarding! 

      

      

Luckily our train was called and then it was all systems go.

     

The three children were very excited exploring the train and declared it to be the best thing they had ever done!  We settled in and had a beer, chat and bedtime story before going to sleep.

     

                                     

Everyone slept pretty well and when we woke we breakfasted on museli bars and water rather than risk the train food.  Getting off in Xian was a bit of a shock after Shanghai as it was pretty cold.  Our guide Raphael met us at the station and took us to see a cave that his family had grown up in and for a local breakfast of a bread stuffed with chillis, which warmed us up!

                                     

       

       

       

 

After looking around the cave we headed to a fairly newly excavated site, the tomb of the Emperor Jingdi.  The museum and excavations were excellent and Ria, William and Oliver enjoyed lying on the perspex flooring to see in to the excavation pits.

      

                                       

Raphael then dropped us at our hostel to check in and have lunch.  The hostel was in part of an ancient building and is listed as one of the ten most spectacular hostels in the world and it certainly lives up to that accolade. 

                                      

      

 The food was fantastic and after eating far too much we set off to explore more of Xian.  

         

 

       

The children all enjoyed a climb up the Big Goose Pagoda followed by an ice cream in a Hagen dazs shop!  

                                   

       

                                         

                                         

In the evening we went out with a friend of Meeta and Giz's for a typical Xian meal with cold noodles and lamb.

      

On the Friday morning we woke early and were very excited as we set off for the Warriors.  I was especially excited as the Terracotta Warriors are something I have wanted to see since I was about ten! 

      

Note the slightly scary man reaching for Ria!

      

The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses", is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang who united seven provinces to form China.  The army too 38 years to complete and was buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC.  It's  purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from around the late third century BC, were discovered in 1974 by a local farmer.  The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses.  the majority of these are still buried.  Other terracotta non-military figures were also found in other pits and they include officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.  When the figures were first discovered they were painted in bright colours, however after exposure these colours disappeared.  Therefore the government has forbidden further excavation until a way to preserve the paint can be found.  

Following advice we visited the three pits in reverse order, seeing the smaller pits first.  William, Oliver and Ria packed binoculars in the spirit of going on an adventure but they actually turned out to be pretty useful!

     

 

                                     

     

Visiting the pits from smallest to largest enabled us to experience wonder at the sheer size of Pit 1.  There are some sceptics who suggest that the whole site is fake, we decided that even if this is the case, it is pretty impressive!

       

       

       

All six of us thoroughly enjoyed the experience and were fortunate enough to meet the farmer who first discovered the army when digging a well on his farm. Apparently the Chinese government gave him the equivalent of about five pounds for his land!  Now he makes money from his book, which we bought and he signed.  

       

After seeing the warriors we headed back in the the city of Xian and went to the Muslim area which is well known for its food and produce.  The street was lined with stalls selling dried fruit, nuts and various other produce.

       

     

                                       

      

  There were also some impressive and ingenious food stalls including this one selling fried eggs on sticks.

     

 Although there was not much regard for people's safety and we had to be careful not to catch alight.

                                   

Unfortunately we also spotted quite a few fur stalls where we were reassured by the owners that it was indeed real fur.  Apparently most of it was dog fur dyed and cut to look like other animals.  

       

Raphael took us to a restaurant for some delicious local noodles and dumplings.  

      

                                      

       

Following the recent unrest in China the police are making their presence known.  We witnessed them clearing street stalls that they would normally turn a blind eye too in an effort to assert authority and quash any unrest.

In the centre of Xian are two towers called the Drum and Bell tower.  The bell used to be rung in the morning and the drum sounded at night.  We climbed up the Drum tower and marvelled at the drums, especially the biggest one.  

                                     

                                     

This was followed by a quick trip to a traditional Chinese shadow puppet show where Oliver, William and Ria got the chance to be puppeteers.

       

       

                                     

On our last evening, following another delicious meal at our hostel we went to a Tang Dynasty Show.  The show told the story of the Tang Dynasty through a collection of dances.  The dance of the Warriors and the dance of 1000 arms were particularly impressive.

                                       

On our last morning it was Meeta's birthday so we enjoyed a birthday breakfast followed by a walk on the impressive city wall.  

                                      

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

We had intended to hire bikes and ride around the whole wall but the rain and pollution put us off.  For the first half an hour we had the wall to ourselves and then our peace was shattered by the largest group of students we have ever seen!  After watching the spectacle we headed back to the hostel to collect luggage before heading to the airport.

       

       

Happy Diwali!

       

This year we were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, with the Mistry family.  Ria, William and Oliver lit candles and placed them outside the front door. 

     

       

 Meeta painted our hands with henna which turned out to be a disaster for Sam.  We left him supervising Ria, William and Oliver whilst their henna was drying and the in charge of rinsing it and he managed to get it on his clothes and the sofa!  

    

      

                                 

All of the children sat and enjoyed an Indian meal together and then played whilst we enjoyed ours.  

     

       

    

  

Holiday fun

China's National day falls on the first of October.  As with the Chinese New Year three days of paid holiday are given, and the surrounding weekends are re-arranged so that everyone has seven continuous days of holiday.  These seven day holidays are known as 'golden weeks' and are usually not a good time to travel within China!  Having been back in Shanghai for a little over six weeks, we decided to spend the holiday at home.  It is often a good time to be here as the weather is a more bearable British summer temperature and the city can feel quiet, as everyone has headed off on their hols.  

Sam had the first Saturday of the holiday off and we started it with jidan bing for breakfast.  These delicious pancakes filled with egg, ginger, coriander, chilli and fried dough are a firm favourite with all of us.  We have recently discovered a new street stall near us which sells the best ones we have ever had.  Whilst sitting on some steps eating them a man approached William and Oliver and told them that they are now truly Chinese!

     

      

      

Unfortunately, in order to get his seven days off Sam had to then work on the Sunday and Monday.  The boys and I headed up to meet him for lunch at our favourite duck restaurant and to then go round the aquarium.

                                  

      

      

 The following day the boys and I met Anna, Oscar and Eva for a picnic in Century park.  I thought I had found a  nice quiet area until the school parties arrived!!

       

       

The rest of the holiday week was spent riding along the canal and watching the fishermen, picnicking,  swimming, making crafts and playing with friends and eating lots of jidan bing!

      

      

Towards the end of the week our neighbours, from the US, invited us to a 'black' party.  When I looked blank she explained that it was at the end of the day, everyone brings some food and drink and hangs out outside their house.  I made some comment about it being dark so hence the name black to which she now looked a little confused.  Sam then asked if it would be ok for us to head over at half five and she looked more confused and said is five thirty ok.  We had a chuckle about all speaking English but still having problems communicating.  At half past five we headed over to their house excited to be experiencing yet another different cultural experience.  We were chatting about the name of this type of gathering when someone explained that it wasn't a 'black' party but a 'block' party!  So basically a street party!  It was a fun evening and the cultural experience was learning that although we have a common language there can be a huge divide.  

Mr and Mrs Goodson

Earlier this year we had received the fantastic news that Tim and Sian were engaged, but unfortunately for us, when they set the date of the wedding as 7 September, we realised we would not be able to go as we were already due to be back in the UK in early August and also the boys would already be back at school.  However, as the date got nearer we realised that there was no way the Hawkridges could not be represented and so I booked my flights for a long weekend in Cardiff.

At 4.40 on Thursday 5 September my alarm woke me and I set off on my 20 hour journey to Heathrow, via Dubai.  I decided that, as I was landing at Heathrow at20:30 that evening, instead of heading straight on to Cardiff I would stay at an airport hotel.  And so I found my self checking in to the EasyHotel, which as you can imagine was fairly basic.  However the bed was very comfortable so I got a good nights sleep, which was not all that surprising given that I had been up for 25 hours.  When I woke up I was pleased to see that the extra £2 I had paid to have a window was money well spent...

                                   

                                   

On Friday morning I got the National Express coach to Cardiff where I was met by Tim, who had decided to pick me up in Sian's MX5 as it was a sunny day, great idea until he realised I was armed with a big suitcase ready to bring back all of the items Lucy had ordered over the Internet, so I wedged my self in with the case as my very own seatbelt come airbag.  We headed straight out for lunch with Sian and her father Wynn and then Tim and I went and did some food shopping followed by a coffee to catch up.  That evening Tim and I went out for a great meal and a few pints with Tim's friend Leighton, Wynn and Tim's soon to be brother-in-law Gareth.  We were very sensible and headed home in good time, which for Tim and I meant heading back to Leighton's bachelor pad.

                                     

The previous evening Tim had asked me if I would do a reading, which of course I gladly agreed to, but then established Tim did not have a printed copy.  Luckily Leighton had a printer, so on the morning of the wedding, after several electric shocks trying to remove a jam, I finally had a copy to practice.  After a full English at the house, Tim and I headed down to the venue to put all the seat covers over the chairs, it was good to see that Tim is still able to find ways to save a bit of money!

The ceremony at Cardiff Civic Hall went off without a hitch, Sian looked stunning, Tim got very emotional and my reading seemed to go ok.  The weather was perfect, the sun shining whilst we had photos before we all head to Cardiff Bay for the reception.  The meal was excellent and it was great to catch up with some of Tim's friends who I do not see very often and of course Phil and Caroline

                                       

       

                                    

After the meal one of Sian's friends suggested we all go on the carousel outside and I think it's safe to say we drew quite a crowd!!!

                                     

                              

The evening do was held at a small club, where we were joined by more friends so it was great to see Syd and Kev for the first time in almost 3 years!  The drinks kept on flowing and as the DJ cranked things up the only thing left for me and Phil to do was show everyone that we have still got the moves for the dance floor, at least we felt sure we did anyway!

                       

I had a lazy Sunday morning at Tim and Sian's, taking the opportunity to watch Match of the Day, until Mr and Mrs Goodson arrived back from their hotel and we then had a few hours recounting stories from the day and having another full English!

At 2pm Tim and Sian set off for two nights of Glamping in west Wales and I set off on my 27 hour journey home involving a coach to Heathrow, a plane to Dubai (where I managed a spot of breakfast and duty free shopping, including finally finding a 10th anniversary diamond ring for Lucy) and another plane to Shanghai.  I eventually flopped into bed at about 00:30 Monday night feeling very tired and not particularly excited about my 9am Tuesday meeting, but it was worth it as it had been a fantastic few days, which I would not have missed for the world.

Back to school for Oliver but not quite for William and other medical dramas

Oliver and William started year 2 on the 21 August.  Unbelievably, this is their third year at the school here in Shanghai, and we are still not used to the August start.  It feels wrong!  I went in with William and Oliver the afternoon before to meet their new teachers.  We are delighted that they are both British- lessens the chance of developing an American accent! 

That first morning back we all had to be prised from our beds to be ready and out of the house by 745.  Even at that time it was pretty hot and we had a rather sweaty walk to school.  

                                 

After picking them up at the end of the first day they both chatted all the way home, buzzing about their day.  William even declared that Miss Wright was his favourite teacher. 

      

However the buzz didn't last too long, as after supper William called out that he had swallowed a marble.  I rushed up to him to discover that he had swallowed a ball bearing from a magnet game.  William, Oliver and I jumped on the bike and went to the doctor round corner who said that she thought it best for us to go to the hospital, so we returned home to wait for Sam to pick us up.  During this time I felt pretty calm and William seemed fine until he turned to me and asked if I thought he was going to die!!

Thankfully Sam soon arrived and we headed off for our first A and E visit in China.  As we drove in to the hospital there were hords of people milling around and coming and going.  It looked like it would be a long wait.  However because of medical insurance we were whisked through to the VIP section.  William was seen and x-rayed immediately and the surgeon saw us within a few minutes.  The ball bearing was clearly in his stomach and having examined another one from the game the doctor was confident that it would do him no harm and should be allowed to pass naturally.

                                 

 In the interests of making some money he said we could admit William to be monitored overnight but it could take about three days to come out.  When we didn't look that keen he said we could all have beds and order takeaways, all on our insurance!  But he also said it would be fine to monitor him at home which is what we decided to do.  

For the following two days I kept William home from school and closely watched over his toilet habits. On Saturday at pretty much exactly 72 hours after swallowing it, the ball bearing reappeared.  

Luckily Sam had taken over monitoring duties by this time.  

                                   

William was delighted to see it again, although disappointed that it had lost its shine.  He and Oliver insisted on it being washed and put it back in the game.  The following day William took it in to school to show the class, along with another one from the game so he could show them how it had changed colour.  His experience fitted in rather nicely with the work they are doing about the human body in science!

Life didn't quite return to normal as a cough Oliver had had got worse.  A visit to the doctor resulted in being told that he had seasonal asthma.  We were given a course of steroid tablets and inhalers.  However, nothing seemed to be working and typically, while Sam was away living it up in the UK at the Goodson wedding, Oliver got worse. We went to a different doctor who, at once, suggested that he had a chest infection.  Blood tests revealed an infection and Oliver was sent for a chest X-ray.  The medical clinic we go to is a private one, however the X-ray was a real eye opener.  Oliver, wasn't tall enough for the X-ray machine so the technician was momentarily thrown until she spotted a two drawer filing cabinet.  Se wheeled it in to the room and with great delight lifted Oliver on to it.  I had Daily Mail headlines flashing through my head when I considered had this been an NHS, let alone private, hospital in the UK!  Oliver was very brave and gave me a little wave from the X-ray room in to the parents area.

It turned out that he had quite a bad chest infection and the doctor decided to give him antibiotic via IV. I talked him through what would happen and he was fine until the nurse failed to get the cannula right the first time.  Then he quietly cried until they got it in to his other arm.  He soon cheered up when the nurse gave him a lolly.  

                               

                                

It took about two and a half hours for the whole drip to go through, during which time Oliver decided he needed a nap. 

                               

 The following day he was allowed to go to school but had to return to the doctor after school for another IV.  Another nurse was on duty and asked me how many people did I think were needed to hold Oliver down while they inserted the cannula!  I told her that as long as she got it right first time he would be fine.  She was fantastic and he even claimed it didn't really hurt!

The doctor diagnosed pneumonia which meant he has been put on antibiotics for ten days and needs to have another X-ray.  In himself he seems fine and is more than happy going to school!

Having not had to really utilise the medical facilities in Shanghai other than for routine appointments, it seems that this is our year for getting the most out of our insurance!