Monday, August 11, 2008

Meeting Them XI

Arriving at BingMaYong, the site of the Terracotta Warriors, the traveler faces an terrible problem. Every stick of memory is full; there will be no pictures here. Unless...! A stand sells memory cards. Buying one, she tests her camera. Which fails to recognize the card. Cards upon cards fail. She requests her money. "No, no! It works in our camera!" What good is that?
Enough. The traveler leaves five minutes later with a spiffier version of her own camera -- including a touchscreen! -- and a receipt that will enable her to regain her bankbook, keys, phone, and passport upon the expensive camera's safe return. What could go wrong?

She hires a guide and speedily gets to poking around History.
Commanders gather in Pit 3 to strategize before riding forth on golden chariots.

A Kneeling Archer from Pit 2, moderately curled shoes indicating a moderate rank:
Everything made to the highest standards, so that the Emperor would have the greatest chance of successful rule in the hereafter. Even bricks were better then; poorly made bricks meant death to their makers.
Zooming out a bit (and moving to the other end of Pit 1) we see the troops.
Duly impressed by BingMaYong, the traveler parts with her guide and exchanges camera for valuables. Apparently nothing could go wrong.

Returning to Xi'an, she is persuaded to take a quick look-see around the city walls,
then picks up her belongings from the room she's been not-staying in for the last couple of nights, and returns to the train station.

Where she eats an ... interesting ... meal and fascinates many rural Chinese travelers with her very (foreign) presence.
The journey ends simply: boarding a train, lifting self and possessions to a top bunk, and falling irresistibly into a deep, deep sleep.

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