Old Xian

Final sightseeing

It’s my last day in Xian and China today before a flight out after midnight.  I had they day to kill and I chose to do that with E  & BW.  Kim went out with Dennis instead, to do car “things”.  KL & M had departed this morning for Penang.

The morning was spent exploring the sights in the old Xian city centre, starting with the Drum Tower.  Inside there was a throne set up but the other furniture displayed looked somewhat like an exhibition, so I’m not sure what was meant to be there.  There were many drums on display but historically a drum was beaten to mark the end of the day.

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Next we wandered around the nearby Muslim quarter and found Xian’s Great Mosque.  Even though the mosque dates back to around 700 AD, most of what we see is from around 1300 AD.

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We finished with a visit to the Bell Tower.  The big bell is rung in the morning (while the drum in the evening).

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Even though distances weren’t large, we took our time and it ended up being a good 5h exploration.  Somehow, we forgot all about climbing the city walls but I had done in 27 years ago.

For dinner, we ate at the eatery below the fancy restaurant where we had Kim’s birthday dinner.

Leaving

E & BW and I hailed a taxi for Terminal 5 of Xian airport around 2115 and arrived about an hour later.  The new terminal was nearly deserted and with over 4h till my flight, there was no queue for my 0140 AirAsia flight to Kuala Lumpur and also for their 0135 Scoot flight to Singapore.

Despite no queues anywhere, it took about 50 mins for us to get from kerbside to airside.  It was also deserted airside with no shops having been set up yet and also stuffy with little ventilation in operation.

We said our goodbyes before heading to our respective gates.  It had been a great trip together and it had given us a chance to reconnect.  Old friends are the best!