Beijing and Xian

After the fact, once again. Last week, I went with four other teachers and the 42 kids in my two core classes to Beijing and Xian. Beijing was fun - we visiting the usual amazing places - Temple of Heaven, Forbidden Palace, Tiananmen Square.
Then we took the overnight train to Xian. Do not EVER take 42 kids on an overnight train in China, when some of the kids have a vomitting bug, and you do too. Our car had smoking, noisy locals, and it was really hard to sleep. The squat toilets were the absolute worst of the trip. I won't describe them, but they were BAD.
Xian was lovely, except for the vomitting bit. The terracotta warriors are breathtaking. It amazes me that such a vast secret could be just below the ground, and nobody knew anything about it until the seventies. The Muslim markets were fun, and we finished with the best dumplings in the world