It's a little bit crazy, and a lot Muslim Quarter, Xi'an (China)
When you leave the Drum Tower area in Xi’an, you basically are right next to the Muslim Quarter, which is a must-see if you are in Xi’an.
It is lit like Las Vegas, crowded, visually entertaining and just an amazing experience. Vendors line the streets with every kind of food. There are motorbikes, and other small vehicles I have no name for careening down the streets honking for people to get out of their way. A garbage can in the middle of an intersection was a safe haven for people in the middle of the street.
I got a bowl of durian and walked down the streets trying to find the mosque, which turned out to be hidden behind a bunch of vendors on the street, down a dark alley (literally). As a non-Muslim I couldn’t go in, but got a few pictures from the outside. You can see a video of me buying durian in Bali here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iUTJ-iVGVg
There is some food that requires being pounded by two guys with big wood mallets, not sure what it is. If you know, please tell me. The sights and sounds are a feast. Lots of foods on sticks, like the crab-on-a-stick below.
To get around in Xi’an, I used their Subway system which was very similar to the one in Beijing. It is well labeled and easy to use. Your bags are put through a scanner to get into the building, and my water/fruity drinks were put into some kind of scanner to test for something that I don’t understand.
The entire system is so much better than any in the US that I’ve experienced. They have areas for people to line up to get on the next train, and they actually let the people on the train get off first. The traffic mostly only goes in one way in each place. AND one of the stairs I saw was musical and lit up and played music as you walked up or down.
Plus, there are bathrooms in all the stations. What’s not to love?
And after that brightly lit, brightly colored, manic experience, I went home very very tired and got in just before it started to pour.
For more info on Xi’an, click here
