wild goose chase

chef in the Muslim Quarter,
originally uploaded by vfowler.

Money comes and money goes and goes. Yesterday's tour put a dent in my budget, so I skipped breakfast. Down in the Muslim Quarter I took up an English menu and ordered a garlic sauced meat dish which arrived as a spicy chilli dish! Perfect for taste and clearing the nasal passages, all without being too hot.

Browsing the market, I needed a small day pack for lugging around the mass of the China guidebook and water carrying. A fake North Face one should do the job nicely.

All 12yuan (AUD$2) at the Great Mosque was starting to sound a bit stiff. I struggled to find anything of interest. A bunch of Muslims were all gathered around the prayer hall, muttering in chorus. Then a woman started wailing and crying, spurring a chain reaction as they all followed a blanketed corpse out. I later bought some new sunglasses in case it ever happened again.

musical water fountain show,
originally uploaded by vfowler.

Strolling past the Drum Tower, I met Sally and Chris, some friendly Chinese people, who wanted their photo taken afront the Bell Tower. Together with Sally's brother, we taxied down to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, ate some food, then took up a position for the musical water fountain show - apparently this is the biggest one in Asia! A great day spent random exploring in Xi'an.