I have been so excited about today’s activities for so long, but today I would have given anything to stay in bed. My cold has really taken hold. We have set the alarm for 5.30 am as our cases have to be ready for collection at 6.30 am. We also needed to pay our bill and have breakfast before disembarking.
We managed to get everything ready with 40 minutes to spare so I headed back to bed.
Finally it was time to leave. I left the Viking Emerald with a heavy heart but the trip was not over. This morning we are going to a zoo to see pandas.
We left the boat to board a bus. Our cases were being taken by road and would meet us in our hotel in Xi’an .
Just as we arrived at the zoo the rain started. This made photography a bit more challenging as we didn’t want to get the cameras wet. But that didn’t stop us!
The first pandas we saw were ‘red pandas’. I’d never heard of them before but they were so cute. They are quite small in comparison to the usual panda, with long tails. They too love bamboo. They were a little hard to photograph as they were quite active, running up and down trees.
Just as we are watching these a normal panda comes out for breakfast. By the time we get to her pen, she has her back to us, leaning against a concrete block munching away at her bamboo.
She is refusing to turn around so we head to another pen to look. Oh my, there was my first real view of a real life panda. They are absolutely adorable. I think we have hundreds of photos now. The mannerisms were so funny I could have watched them for hours. Sadly, we couldn’t as we had a train to catch.
As you know, I catch a train every day for work, but this wasn’t just any train. Oh no, this is a bullet train. Viking had sorted our tickets out in advance, so we had time to wander around the station before our 12.15 pm departure.
We first headed to a shop to get hubby some beers and me a Diet Coke. As we walked around we found a chemist. I went in to see if they had anything for my cold but it’s all in Chinese, obviously. The staff member didn’t speak English either. I decided to find one of the Viking guides to help me. I couldn’t find Terry but Leo offered to help me. I’m not sure what I have but he assures me they will do the trick!
I’ve taken the pills and keeping my fingers crossed they will work. I don’t like taking pills on an empty stomach so had the lunch Viking gave us. This was more successful than the last lunchbox. Ham and egg salad sandwich, sponge cake and a banana.
Our train is late due to a small earthquake somewhere, but finally we are boarding. What surprises me is that it doesn’t feel as fast as I thought. The tannoy warns you as it comes to a station that the stopping time is short. The train will not wait for you to get off so you have to allow plenty of time to get to the door. We don’t know the name of our stop, only that we are going to Xi’an for 2 nights. No doubt Terry will give us plenty of notice.
My cold has not improved and I’m fully aware I’m sniffing a lot. I’ve tried clearing my nose but it only helps for a few seconds. It’s going to be a long 5.5 hours.
During the trip my ears become blocked so I can’t hear a thing so decide to just read my book. We are sat on a table of 4 with another couple – Ruth and Bill. Ruth is watching a movie so hubby and Bill settle down with a few beers and have a good old chat.
The time flies. Finally Terry tells us we are shortly arriving at our station, so we all get ready to get off.
A bus is waiting for us to go to our hotel. We are staying at the Renaissance. It takes about 45 minutes to arrive. Our cases are still on their way, so as it’s 7.30 pm it is suggested we go straight to dinner after checking our rooms.
We open the door to our room and are just blown away. It is out of this world. A stand alone bath, glass walk in shower, super kingsize bed and a huge chaise lounge. Being on the 21st floor, we have great views of Xion. There is white marble everywhere.
If that wasn’t enough, we went to the restaurant for dinner. Wow! You would never go hungry. You could choose everything you could think of from sushi, roast meats, Peking duck, noodles, freshly cooked food from lamb chops to lobster. I had the latter.
Beer and soft drinks are free flowing too.
If you have a sweet tooth you will love this place. The only difficulty is what to choose!
By the time dinner has finished, our cases have arrived, so after a long soak in the bath it was time to get some sleep. Tomorrow is another exciting day.
Slimminginspirations4u 