"On the Trail"

The Journals from the Road

Saturday, July 7, 2001: On the train to Xian! Luoyang - Xian, Shaanxi, China (16 kms by bike, a lot more by train)

Tad here...

I woke up happy to be alive and sweating! I soon hopped on my bike and rode the 16 kms back to Luoyang in a bit over an hour! Traffic was full on and steady but I followed this motor rickshaw that acted as a wind and traffic shield for me and was cruising behind it.

I found the train station and then two university students found me and were extremely helpful. They both worked for about 30 minutes to help me fill out my paperwork for my bike and my bags.

A note to the reader-I hope you are noticing that in almost every single journal some person living in China is going out of there way to help me and without me asking them for help. They offer it. And I only mention some of the times in these journals! A few have said to me that they do this because they want to help others feel at home in their country and that maybe if they get to go to America or some other country one day they will be treated the same way. Let those who have ears hear.

Back to our story...I bought them drinks just as a token of my gratitude for their near hour of work on my behalf. Thank-you!

On the train I met some other Tourism University students and we had a good talk about the Olympics, the NBA, cultures, and Japan and China relations. Mia Xing, one of them, send that Japan and China are becoming better friends and that there is a lot of business relations between China and Japan.

Got to Xian and another English speaking student helped me get my bike out of the parcel section! Wow, even if is just a chance to practice English at the start it ends in good memories for many! Thanks so much to Sun Hai Xiao! He and I ate noodles together and then he helped me find a hotel. To my surprise their were many other international travelers there. I usually shy away from dorm rooms if possible but I really enjoyed talking with my two roommates that night! The fellow, gave me a gift of his phrase book and maps of Xian! What a caring guy! He really encouraged me!

Well, tomorrow it is off to see the Terracotta warriors and do a PeaceBike Kid interview in Xian!

Sleeping in a basement of a hotel in Xian,

TAD

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