Quick post from Xi'an

I arrived in Xi'an today via overnight train. The train compartments are clean but smaaaaall, and the bunks are tiny by our standards (they're designed for Asians, obviously). I drew top bunk and managed to sleep in fits and starts without falling off. I've been pretty tired today as a result, but I took the opportunity to stroll around downtown Xi'an. This is one of the old capital cities, and it shows. They've made more of an effort than Nanjing and Shanghai to preserve the older styles of architecture, which means that there are traditional tiled buildings looming everywhere. I visited the Bell Tower and got to sound a giant bell with one of those battering-ram-like-knockers (it's harder than it looks - the ram rebounded and gave me quite a bruise on my palms). You can feel the vibrations still ringing through the ground afterwards. Then I went to visit the Muslim Quarter to see the Xi'an mosque, which was quite nice - lots of courtyard gardens built around Arabic-inscribed pagodas. The surrounding alleyways are like a souk - lots of fake coins, perfume bottles and ornamental swords. I caved and bought a red guard's cap and a little red book -- both probably fake, but whatever. What else? There are a lot of tourists in this city, more so than in Shanghai or Nanjing, which means that the child beggars and pickpockets are out in force. Some of the older beggars leave babies and toddlers sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk to attract attention; others send their children after you to tug on your clothes - the younger the better. Apparently a lot of the time the children are not related to their keeper - it's a real Oliver Twist type scenario.

That's all for now. I have another overnight train to catch tomorrow, so I have to get my laundry done.

PS. If you collect postcards, foreign matchbooks etc., reply in the comments section and I'll see what I can pick up. I can also send one to you if you send me your mailing address. Cheers.