We have arrived in Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province and our base for the next 9 days. We got up before 6 this morning to catch an early train from Zhangye. The train was packed. There were people standing in the aisles and a few sleeping on the floor in the space between cars. We couldn’t get three seats together. In fact, we had two near each other and one several rows back. Dylan ended up sitting on his own, though he came forward to chat with us and I checked in on him a few times. I got someone to change seats with me so Ella and I could sit next to each other.
Xining is a big city, with traffic and many tall buildings. Our youth hostel is on the 15th and 16th floors of a highrise, one of 5 identical buildings in a row on a quiet street parallel to a really busy one. I was a little confused when the elevator only went to the 15th floor. Odd. When the door opened up, we saw a doorway with stairs going up one flight to the entrance. That wasn’t even the top of the building as there is a small travel agency up yet another flight of stairs. Once we checked into the hostel, we found that our room was down a different flight of stairs, technically on the 15th floor but without a direct connection to the elevator. The hostel room is quite basic, a double bed, a night table, a desk and a chair.
Being on the fifteenth floor, we do have a nice view out the window.
There is also a sitting room right outside and a shared bathroom right outside our door.
Upstairs there is another common room and a laundry room. Not too bad for $23 a night. Somewhere in this warren is a breakfast room. We will find that in the morning. Most importantly, there is a playground right outside. Dylan and Ella have already had a great time there, as well as at another playground just down the street. In fact, it was on the way back from the nearby playground this afternoon that Ella remarked that she already felt very comfortable in Xining and that we should refer to the hostel as “home.” I hope she still feels the same in a week.
robsherry 
Hi Rob, Dylan and Ella,
I have been loving reading about your adventures! It seems like you are having so much fun and seeing amazing places. The photos and writing are always awesome…the highlight of my day is seeing Dylan and Ella’s smiling faces in each post (though the picture of them on the bed in this post just made me in awe of their flexibility!) Love, Karye
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Hi, Rob, Dylan, and Ella,
Looks as if you’re having fun in the desert! I would like to see the famous “yardangs,” as those fin-shaped rock formations are called–they are the result of wind erosion. I would also like to see the Buddhist cave paintings at Dunhuang and of course the “Singing Sands.” Are there any real camels these days in the desert?
Barden and Alden are climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro this week. On Saturday, I’ll meet up with them in Moshe, Tanzania, and we will go on a safari — I’m hoping to see lots of wildlife in the Serengeti!
Jonathan
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