Guang Zhau to Xian

Somewhat refreshed our plan was to get to Guangzhou South Railway Station and on board a Bullet train to Xian, experienced similar language problems as we decoded all the steps to get to the correct platform and find our seats, though a smile is the universal language and everyone works together to ensure that everyone is on board.

The train is very smooth with an average speed of 300km. We travelled through pretty countryside with carefully tended agriculture with small very neat plots used for cultivation alongside a range of equally neat but different crops, no vast fields of wheat. In amongst these fields were small clusters of houses which looked very similar to ones we saw in Vietnam, and cities of towering, tightly packed apartments, many under construction, some looking quite smart and others very run down.

Arriving in Xian our hearts were in our mouths as we anticipated a repeat of the day before. coming through the station we made a rash decision to try to navigate the metro rather than risking all with a taxi ride. The maps on the underground were all very straight forward yet despite all the writing in Chinese characters we were able to make sense of it and feel a little more in control than in a taxi. Lovely people on the train some who seemed keen to practice their English. Very confusing when we got off at the station near the centre of Xian and after several futile attempts to to hail a cab we went looking and came to a police station, (they will have a big file on us by the time we depart), he looked up the address, brought it up on his phone and drew us a very rough map, so off we set walking with high humidity and very heavy luggage. John discovered that his pack carrying strength from Kokoda was somewhat diminished while I found the lovely wheels on my case which ran smoothly on our floors struggled with the challenging surface of Xian, none of these cities are wheelchair friendly.

Very happily and thankfully arrived at our hotel in the Muslim quarter and near the ancient bell tower, a dumpling meal in the street and sleep.
Proof that China is civilized.