killing time in xian

this morning i wanted to go see the big buddha but realised that the bus system to get there was just as reliable as the one for huashan and that i would be taking a big risk in trying to get there and back in time for my flight. so, like huashan, i had to give it up. it's really annoying how i came here to see specific sights and will have left having seen only a third of what i came here for.

so by lack of things to do in this city, and not wanting to walk in the muslim area yet again, i decided that i should try walking the city walls. xian is one of the last chinese city with city walls still standing. so i head out to the spot with wall access, located 2 blocks from here. i pay the *student* price ticket and then start going up the stairs. i don't know what i was thinking, that i could actually make it to the top but i soon realised that i was crazy. see, this "staircase" was really some sort of patented iron stairs, skinny and very steep, going up to the top of the wall. half-way up, i started to feel dizzy and realised that there was no way that i was going higher. so i just stood there, for a few minutes, trying to reason with this stupid fear of height of mine. this is silly i told myself. you can do it. blah blah blah. i finally took one more step. and gave up. good thing i conned the guy and paid the student price.

so here i am, at the hotel, taking it easy. there's no sights around that i want to see. i don't want to walk around, again. and i don't want to shop. so it's really time for me to go! too bad i picked the latest flight out... the funny thing about china is that the latest you travel, the cheapest it is.