Exploring Xi'An

Trip Start Apr 29, 2011

Trip End Jul 25, 2011

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Where I stayed

Xi'An University Of Arts And Science Guest House
Read my review - 3/5 stars

Flag of China Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Today, because Qing Qing's parents were coming to visit for a few days, I had to leave her apartment to find a hotel. After looking online and calling around, I had two places in mind. I got all of my things together and caught a cab to the first place. When I arrived at the street of the hotel, it took some time for me to locate the building. This was because it was embedded fairly deep into a small alleyway. I finally made my way into the hotel, only for the women at the front desk to give me one look and say that there were no rooms available. I wouldn't have been so upset if it weren't for the fact that Qing Qing had talked with them less than 30 minutes prior to my arrival, where they said that there was definitely room. The reason they were lying was partly not to embarrass themselves, but really because that hotel was not authorized to host foreigners. However, when Qing Qing had called, the woman on the phone had told her that it was fine that I was a foreigner. This was a case of “saving face,” which cost them a little embarrassment and cost me a 30 kuai taxi ride.

Never-the-less, I had to resort to Plan B, which was to go the second place. Qing Qing called the place ahead of time and made absolutely sure that they could host foreigners. The hotel said that I could stay there under Qing Qing's name. I caught another cab and went to the second hotel, where the service people at the front desk were very kind and helpful. After I paid my deposit and put my things in my room, I sat for a while to observe my surroundings. The hotel was located very near the drum and bell tower area, which was very convenient for tourism. The room, however, was quite old, and the decorations were particularly ugly. There were
also some small flying bugs and two roaches that I killed on that day. Needless to say the room made me very uncomfortable, so much so that I purposely spent as little time in the room as possible. I quickly left the room and decided to spend some time outside until later, when Qing Qing would be coming to the hotel to officially check-in on my behalf.

I went to a nearby McDonald's, ate my food, then went outside where I sat down on a park bench near the restaurant. It only took 10 minutes before I was approached by a Chinese woman who asked me to fill out a survey. Soon after, an old Chinese woman came up and talked to me about various topics ranging from English to, surprisingly, human rights. Later, two Chinese men came to chat with me, one of whom was a cop. They all took pictures of and with me. Soon, it was time for me to return to the hotel to meet Qing Qing. I said goodbye to the group and walked back to the hotel to wait for her. When Qing Qing arrived, she checked-in and visited with me for a short while in my room, assuring me that the room was not as bad as it looked and that it was actually quite safe because it was owned by the adjacent university.

Qing Qing later left, and I eventually went to sleep with the lights on to discourage any remaining roaches from coming out of hiding.

That's all for now, check in later for more updates!