CHINA: ARRIVING IN XI'AN AND VISITING THE TERRACOTTA WARRIORS

Traveler beware.

Upon arriving in the Xi'an Airport, we were almost instantly accosted by a smiling young man speaking passable English asking if we needed transportation. He could offer the four of us a taxi to our hotel for just 400 Yuan. At first we were a bit confused, and as a result he latched on to us like a tick. Remembering advice from our tour company, we told him no, that we would talk to the travel desk about transportation. However, he continued to hound us, even when we ceased to respond to him or make eye contact.  He was still there after we used the restroom, and he would not take no for an answer. Ultimately, he finally left us alone after we talked to the travel desk and booked a minivan taxi for 200 Yuan (about $30 for the 45 minute drive to our hotel).

Later, we heard from friends who arrived a day earlier that they had accepted the offer of one the persistent solicitors. They had paid the premium price and then thought they were going to die as their driver reached speeds of what they guessed was 100 mph or more and as he swung in and out of traffic with total abandon.

Lesson learned: Don't use the guys bugging you inside the airport. In fact, don't even speak to them.

We made it safely to the hotel (more about the hotel later), crashed immediately, and got up before the sun rose the next morning to shower and eat breakfast at the buffet before getting on a tour bus at 7:30 AM to travel 30 minutes to the most famous site in China other than the Great Wall: the Terracotta Warriors. It was cruelly early, especially given our previous day of travel, but the tour company's strategy was to be there at the moment the ticket office opened in an effort to beat anticipated crowds.

We were greeted at the site by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC-210 BC), the self-proclaimed "First Emperor of China" who profoundly influenced Chinese history by unifying seven warring states into one nation for the first time. Qin is credited with building an immense defensive wall that was the precursor to the Great Wall, and it was by his order that the Terracotta Warriors were created. Also, "Qin" is pronounced "Chin," and is the foundation of the name "China." Those are three pretty significant legacies, right? Not bad for a guy with a really bad hairstyle:

Is this the same guy? He has the same wacky hairdo:

We passed this fur seller on our walk between the bus and the warriors. I'm pretty sure this wouldn't go over too well in the United States:

TRAVELING THE SILK ROAD

The Silk Road. The name has such a romantic sound, much more romantic than "The Oregon Trail" or "The Trans-Siberian Railway."  Who wouldn't want to travel on the Silk Road?

As early as 200 BC, caravans traversed a network of roads on the Asian, Southern European, and Northeastern African continents, spreading not just silk, but many other goods as well, along with the latest technologies, philosophy, art, religion, politics, culture, and even genetic traits. The road went as far east as Java and Japan and as far west as Italy.

The trade route was made possible by the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and later Genghis Khan, Marco Polo, and Kubla Khan were key figures on the Silk Road. 

I must confess that I was astoundingly ignorant about the Silk Road. I knew it went through China, but not much more. I certainly didn't know it wasn't a single road and that it had branches all over Asia and fingers that reached into Africa and Europe. I couldn't have placed the Five Stans on a map to save my life, and I absolutely couldn't have spelled a couple of them.

However, that all changed with our most recent wild and crazy trip, which lasted 24 days and involved, if you count the air miles, enough travel to circumnavigate the globe. It was our longest trip ever in both time and distance. It included seven different airplanes,

From LAX to Hong Kong

WHAT TO DO DURING A SEVEN-HOUR LAYOVER IN HONG KONG

On a trip to the Silk Road (China, the Five Stans, and Azerbaijan) in September and October, 2017, we had what we thought was a six-hour layover in Hong Kong after a flight from LAX that covered 7,288 miles in a little over fourteen hours.

My husband and I decided that sitting around for six hours waiting for our second flight was too much to bear after such a long first flight, so we began exploring the idea of a quick trip away from the airport. We read conflicting comments on Trip Advisor about whether or not it was wise to leave the airport, and in the end we decided to go for it. When we landed at 7:00 AM and discovered that we had SEVEN hours, not six, we felt even more comfortable with the decision.

The Hong Kong International Airport itself is pretty unique. For starters, I liked this mother and child bathroom stall:

 You can take a shower here before your business meeting:

There is a pink pagoda in the middle of the airport:

And the airport design is tres chic:

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: MURALS, ART, ARCHITECTURE, AND A GOOD BOOK

One of the best things about Baltimore is its ubiquitous murals. In 1975,  the Baltimore Mural Program was created to beautify the city, create a sense of pride, encourage and employ artists, and put young people to work. The result has been over 250 murals being created all over the city.

The first one we saw (and it was impossible not to see this one) was Migracion/Migration. It's actually painted twice--once on the large wall and then again on the smaller wall to the left.

The artist is a Peruvian who goes by the moniker El Decerto. The man in the mural, who looks like he could be an immigrant, is holding a broken key and a small building. Bird shapes that include parts of the man's face are flying away from him. I'm not sure, but maybe the artist is saying that immigration is not all that great, that promises of a better life are broken. Any other ideas?

Vulpes Vulpes (the Latin word for "foxes") is also by El Decerto. Note the caption: "never bow down."

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: INNER HARBOR

In Baltimore, "Inner Harbor" refers both to a body of water (part of the 39-mile-long Patapsco River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay) and to the developed waterfront area.  I was surprised to learn that it was in this harbor that the Battle of Baltimore took place during the War of 1812. It was where Francis Scott Key was held in a British ship during the conflict, and from where he saw the huge American flag flying over Fort McHenry on the morning of September 14, 1814. It seems too far away from the fort for all of that.

The Inner Harbor is a little bit quirky. For example, check out these dragon boats:

That glass-topped building behind them is the National Aquarium (I'm not sure why it is the "National" one), which is the biggest tourist attraction in Maryland, drawing 1.5 million visitors annually.

Did we go there? No. We should have, just like we should have gone to this colossal Barnes & Noble and the Hard Rock Cafe. 

Instead we visited the Historic Ships exhibits. My husband likes ships more than I do.

Four historic ships are docked in Inner Harbor and have been turned into floating museums. We first stopped to see the USS Constellation, "The Flagship of the Anti-Slave Trade." It was built in 1854 and used during the Civil War for many things, including blockades of the South:

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: FORT McHENRY

I'm embarrassed to admit that I may not have been able to identify the significance of Fort McHenry before I actually visited it.  I am intrigued by the fact that it's not just a national monument, but also a historic shrine. I have always associated shrines with religious sites. Maybe it was designated a shrine because it is a battlefield site, or is it because of its connection to the national anthem? It is the only site in the National Park Service to have both designations.

During the War of 1812, this fort successfully defended Baltimore from an attack by the British Navy.

However, what makes this Fort especially famous is this:

Before we actually went to the fort, we spent some time in the visitor center. I like this view of the star-spangled banner

We learned all about the origin of our National Anthem:

. . . and we saw Key's original hand-written draft of the lyrics.:

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: THE BABE RUTH HOME AND MUSEUM

I'm not a huge baseball fan. I'm not even a middlin' baseball fan. However, I AM a Babe Ruth fan. How could you not be intrigued by the Sultan of Swat? One of Baltimore's claims to fame is that it is the hometown of the world's most famous baseball player, and we decided it would be a shame to miss the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum.

How does a person go from being born in a row house in the working class area of Baltimore called "Pigtown" . . .

. . . to being named "Player of the Century" by Sports Illustrated? You don't have to love baseball to wonder about that!