Now you know I said our room was a dump, well let me just quantify that a little...

The toilet pipes leak, so much that there is no water in the cistern. I only discovered this after a trip to the local watering hole when I was bursting to use said utility.
The room stinks and hadn't (judging by stray hairs everywhere) been swept since the last Ming dynesty.
The duvets smell of bonfires/urine/stray dogs.
There is a massive hole in the wall where the heating (that no longer works) exploded and caused a small fire.
It is damp.

Apart from this, it's the bloody Ritz. Anyhow after noting most of the complaints last night we were disappointed surprised (but not astonished) to find the room hadn't even been touched on our return. After trying to get some shut-eye but realising it wasn't going to happen I finally lost my rag and went to have a real go at them. They moved us at pace and our new room is somewhat better although still less than salubrious. Anyhow onto today....

Receiving our discounted air tickets we have found we're not flying with China Southern as discussed but Hainan airlines who look decidly dodgier - but hey I'm not scared of flying any more - honest...the ticket was less than 30 quid - a bargain given that the train is 27! They also booked us onto todays tour but we needed five people to go so it wasn't until 10.45 this morning (an hour and 15 late) that we finally departed...we were not impressed...

HOWEVER - the tour more than surpassed our expectations and for 10 quid, including all transport, an English speaking guide, and all entrance fees you really couldn't complain. Incidentally although the guide had leant English at university (and his grasp was pretty good) all he learnt about 'pop' culture was from the tourists he took round, so hence he thought (genuinely) that we all had afternoon tea, knew the queen, and wore bowler hats...very amusing. Quick first stop was the North Wall and Gate (Xi'an) where we bought a couple of mini-terracotta-warriors. We then went to a silk farm where I tie-dyed Jen a silk scarf, it's come out pretty well too...we also bought a pressie for Jen's sister (will be shipped from BKK Rachel next week hopefully) and a piece of slik carpetting. A good 1/2 days purchasing...

Then onto yet another tour highlight - the Terracotta Warriors. The first great bit of news was that we could take photos and we both did, despite my camera being on the blink (for the second time ince I bought it...) thinking of ditching it if we can't get it repaired cheaply in BKK. The Warriors themselves had been destroyed by a peasant uprising in about 300 BC. They were originally set in battle formation around Emperor Qin's tomb and there was approxinately 6,000 plus. Of these about 2,000 have been excavated and restored. There are many different types of figures, ranging from infantrymen to archers, generals to lower ranking officers, and there were even a number of horses (their wooden chariots long since gone). It is an amazing sight although it is a little disappointing that you have to view from a gallery rather than get 'amongst' them. There were another couple of pits they are still excavating in, a film and a short 'history of the site' exhibition. There was also 2 sets of 4 bronze horses/chariots that have been meticulously restored and are now on display. We finished the tour with a trip to the mausoleum (read big mound of earth) where we got some great views of the surrounding area.

It was another of the days we'll remember long into our old age - something to tell the grand-children we keep saying...hmmmm, little worrying that. Onto Chengdu and the pandas tomorrow, let's hope they don't sell the funniest and most bizarre souvenir we have seen so far - an electronic cuddly panda that walks back and forth whilst playing the lambada...hahaha