Back to Julia's Home Page.
Previous page

Julia's Trip to China (cont.)

Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province

We finally took a bus to Taiyuan. That had to be the most uncomfortable bus ever. First, it was crowded. People were squished into the aisles with little wooden chairs. Getting in and out was a huge hassle. The seats were bumpy, and I couldn't sit by Elisha or my dad. The lady in front of me was eating sunflower seeds and tossing the shells out the window, except she kept missing the window and the shells would land on me. We had to travel all day in this bus on unpaved roads. Because of all the people, we had to open the windows so it wouldn't be too stuffy. But then all the dirt and dust came in. The guy in the aisle next to me started smoking!! That was the worst because almost everyone smoked but there isn't a No Smoking area. So I tried to hold my breath while he smoked, which didn't work because he sure took his sweet time. I was plenty miserable. There wasn't a lunch break either!! When the bus stopped for gas, you could buy some food from the gas station, but it wasn't really a meal or anything. And sleeping was almost impossible, but what else could you do on the bus??

Finally we arrived at Taiyuan. After finding our hotel, we each took a good long shower. I had so much dirt in my hair and on my face that if I wiped my mouth, the tissue would be black!! My 2nd uncle was meeting us there, since he lives the closest. Then we wandered the streets, looking around. We stopped to eat in a restaurant (which wasn't the best, but hey, we were hungry). My sister, being the genius that she is, knocked over a glass while reaching for a toothpick. It fell and shattered. But the highlight of that day was the popsicle after dinner!!

in front of Jin Ci The next day, we went to Jin Ci, another historical place. It's a place of worship that was built before the Qin Dynasty. Some people here almost live here. They spend their time pestering the tourists if they want a guide to explain the history. Seriously, every time we finally get rid of a will-be-guide (and they can be VERY persistent), another one comes our way. The weather was HOT!! We got to see trees that are thousands of years old!! I also saw a bunch of foreigners, some were speaking English, some French. one of those cool-looking Chinese towers

poor little monk!! There was this statue of a monk. Poor little monk, people kept rubbing his bald head!! He had no shade, but just stood there, smiling. See Elisha giving him bunny-ears, and me giving him absolutely no respect!!

Please go here for more.

Previous page
Back to Julia's Home Page.

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws