Hey,

Sorry it has been a while since I have updated everyone on what is going on. Things have been busy and finding time to write a post seems to be getting harder. I guess the last time I gave a proper update was about Xi’an. I was on my way to the dumpling banquet.

Let me tell you, that banquet was amazing. We tasted 20 different kinds of dumplings! (I didn’t know that even existed..) After the banquet, we headed towards the bar area and chatted. They had a little band singing some old Chinese songs from the 70’s…of some I actually recognized! (Shout out to mom. Thanks for making me listen to that CD over and over again for years!)

Day 5:

Day 5 was our last day in Xi’an before we headed on another overnight train to Suzhou. In the morning,we took a bike ride on the city wall. It was amazing. I always thought that the city wall surrounding Old Quebec city was pretty fantastic, but this one blows it out of the water. My legs have been getting quite the workout. I have really nice toned calves now ;) There was such an interesting contrast between the old and new. It was great to see these towering buildings surround the outer wall, and the inner wall incapsulated the history. Beautiful.

For lunch we ate hot pot (ummy!, my favourite) and was treated to a “noodle dance” …I have it in on video. It is pretty amusing. The food, of course, was delicious. After lunch we headed to the Muslim Quarters. This is where there are many street vendors and shops selling “touristy” kinds of things. Jack attempted to take a group of us to another jade shop, but it was closed when we arrived. We broke off into two groups – the girls wanted to do more shopping, and Jack, Doug and I went off to play soccer at a nearby university. Did you know that Xi’an has 20 universities! It was a good time, I managed to score a point!

The overnight train to Suzhou was …well exhasuting. I didn’t get much sleep :( it was 15 hours.

Sorry for the lack of pictures – I haven’t been able to download much. I will tell you more about Suzhou later. Right now, I need to figure out my plans for the next two days. I think I am going to head to Hangzhou. :)