BackPax Luxury Hostel- A Review
You know you’re desperate when you’ll climb 9 flights of stairs (not even joking) at 6:30 am to check your email and upload pictures! The elevators at the Prince are closed this early in the morning and the Backpacx Hostel was on the top floor, so I had no choice!
This morning I opted for a tour of the Big Goose Pagoda, Banpo Village and the Terra Cotta Warriors. I don’t know what possessed me to join a tour group. The pagoda was beautiful, as well as the surrounding temple. The one unfortunate part of having a guide, I wasn’t free to wander and take pictures at will. Not only that, but we didn’t go to the top of the pagoda, which I was looking forward to the most. Needless to say, I was a little bummed about it.
Afterwards we headed to the Banpo Neolithic Village. The title made me think of some excavation site in the country, so I was more than a little surprised to find out that it was in the city. Although I understand the concept, I was a little disappointed. It wasn’t what I expected and our guide (NOT Rosa) seemed to be talking as if she were reading from a textbook.
According to “Mary” the next stop which was the Terra Cotta Warrior factory, was essential before going to see the actual Terra Cotta Warriors. I’m still trying to figure out what was so essential. We seemed to be paraded around shop after shop today, which led me to believe that Mary must receive a commission.
By the time we arrived at the front entrance, it was raining quite a bit. We were given two options, either walk the 15-20 to the buildings where the warriors are located, OR take a tram for 6Y. Wearing a wet hoodie, and flip flops, I opted for the tram! The actual Terra Cotta Warriors were fantastic. Apparently when they’re unearthed, they’re generally in pieces and it takes archaeologists upwards of a year to piece together one warrior. So not a job I could do! haha. The site for the warriors has 4 different buildings, with building one being the largest and most fascinating.
All in all, if I had to do it again, I’d skip Banpo and visit the pagoda and the warriors on my own. I was very wet, cold and tired when I got back to the hotel late this afternoon and needed a steaming hot shower to make my body temperature rise again.
Tomorrow morning I fly to Chengdu, so tonight is my last night with my lover 
I’m talking about my bed with the thick mattress people! Keep it clean 
Tags: backpax hostel, china, China, Hostel Reviews, review, Travel, xi'an
