Amazing time with Michael!
My girlfriend and I had an amazing time with Michael for our Bike tour and Calligraphy lesson! It started with a lot of great info about the wall and the history behind it, and also getting to know our guide and friend! We won’t spoil too much of the fun but it was a long 14km ride around the wall! It was a lot of fun and by the end of the biking we were beat. Perfect for sitting down for an hour to learn some of the basics of calligraphy! The calligraphy master was very kind and we made some pretty decent pieces at first, but it wasn’t until after that that our trip was topped of by having a bowl of biangbiang noddles that Michael showed us, it was really special and Michael made the trip very enjoyable. We were sad to have to leave his company but he had many restaurant suggestions handy for us afterwards! And Michael knows all the great spots. Thanks again to Michael for an amazing day, best of luck! And to you reading looking for a trip, this is one you will not want to pass up on!
A great day in Xian
I was apparently the first person to take this tour, but I really should not be the last. We started with a trip to a morning market and my guide (Harvey - excellent) explained many of the local foods; where the food was from; and so on. A nice way to start the day, including a quick look at a nearby mosque, which looked just like a Buddhist temple. Then we made our way to the city wall, where Harvey gave me a quick history, and then we got on our bikes, literally. We did three-quarters of the wall, with stops to look at the views. Then we took a bus to a small shopping complex, where we met Mr Chong, who is apparently a noted calligrapher, and Harvey's colleague, Andy. The three gamely tried to show me the basics of calligraphy; I confess I was just terrible, which we all found pretty funny. But Mr Chong did my name in Chinese (I paid 100 yuan to have it done on special paper) and we enjoyed some local tea. The whole thing lasted about 5 hours, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Many thanks to Harvey and Andy, who were both lovely. Highly recommended.