ohai beijing!

My final goodbyes to Xi'an were lovely. I got up early and headed to the Small Goose Pagoda, located a bit outside the city walls. The walk was long but I enjoyed passing through the early morning activities in the streets- smelling breakfast wafting through open windows, seeing vendors setting up shop, hearing children chatting on their way to school. This is my favorite time of day, when a city or place wakes up.

I'm going to try to end all of my travels with a visit to a temple or place of worship, not because I'm religious (I do believe in something, but I just don't know exactly what yet), but because I like the atmospheres of such places. They are always peaceful and calming, and I find that immersing myself and absorbing these vibes give me a sense of closure and fond farewell with these cities as I leave them.

The Pagoda stood at 15 stories. There were plants growing in cracks on the surface of the building and the steps leading up to it were worn and slightly crumbled. I climbed and wheezed up a winding staircase that wrapped up the interior of the holy tower to see the view from above. Unfortunately, the view was limited by smog, which is absolutely awful in Xi'an, but I was able to see the surrounding garden and park areas in which the Pagoda stood. Once back on the ground, I walked through the various buildings and structures, all preserved from the Tang Dynasty, I believe. I don't think I could ever grow tired of these buildings. I overheard another tourist complain that they all looked the same, which baffled me. Okay, I admit that they may look similar, but these structures are so, so, SO detailed, and it's in the details where they are so drastically different! I wanted to tell the tourist to pay closer attention to such things (and to slap her for being an unappreciative idiot), but she had disappeared into a nearby souvenirs shop.

The garden area was lovely, with a large pond and bridges, many stone pathways cutting through grassy stretches, and trees that seemed to muffle the chaotic streets just outside. I settled for a bit to write and sketch in a cement paved area dotted with several small circular tables, elegantly engraved of stone, each surrounded by matching stone stools. Two sets of brick towers marked the area, with eroding stone roofs and green plants peaking through the tiles. Their faces were engraved with Chinese characters that, from the distance I was sitting, reminded me of trails of water running down a window on a rainy day. I really liked it there. While sitting here, I also met a boy from Mongolia and I helped him with his English. He was very sweet and would not stop asking me questions about the United States.

Then, 11 hours on a train later, I'm here in Beijing. I'm waiting to be shown to my room. The hostel is nice, and the location is pretty killer- I'm literally a 10 minute walk from the Forbidden City and from Tian'an Men Square. Can't really beat that. Oh, my room is ready! I'll write more later about Beijing adventures!