Day 4 Luoyang (loath yang) to Xi’an
Luoyang was one of the seven ancient capitals of China, serving at one time or another as capital to 13 different dynasties. Originally founded in the 11th Century BC, Luoyang has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.
Our hotel was the Grand Hotel, centrally located near the airport and rail station. The 4-star Grand Hotel is one of the largest hotels in the area. The rooms are air-conditioned and it has a business center.
After a short night’s sleep, (late dinner last night!), we went out in search of roads off the expressway. I am pleased to report that the roads we found were fantastic! All except for Provincial road 318, which was our objective for most of the day.
After leaving Luoyang we followed our maps in search of 318. It looked to be a significant road according to our maps and should be clearly marked. Unfortunately, we were not able to find the beginning of the road. We used every means at our disposal including asking for directions from a local motorcyclist who led us to what he tried to convince us was “318″. We followed his directions but never found it.
As we passed through many villages, our strategy changed to interviewing the locals. Ma, our driver conducted several of these at the direction of Sim, our world-class guide. I continued to assure Sim we would find “318″. We did discover that if you have a little imagination, a compass, our GPS, and try to head west while you navigate the myriad of roads–none of which are even on our maps, (including the ever elusive “318″),
you will eventually rejoin the expressway. We know that somewhere out there “lies” what we are now calling the “gui road” (gway) ! translated the “ghost road”
This afternoon, lunch for 4 people including dishes of rice, tea and great service was $7.16. The experience, priceless!
Oh by the way, to end day, we visited the famous Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an. Are you kidding! I am not even going to try and describe them. You will have to see them for yourself!
On the road,
Wayne
Wayne, any idea about the octane level of gas?
Ed,
Wayne is heading out into the less “connected” world in western China so he may not have seen your post. I will ask him to respond. He did say early on however that he believe that the octane was about the same as ours. As a matter of fact at some stations, they fuel carried a rating of 91-93.
Mike