Welcome to Xi'an!

Between the time I left Shanghai and the time I arrived in Xi’an, the weather changed considerably. I left the sun and 70º F, and arrived to rain and 53º F in Xi’an.

Since UTC expats in China are not permitted to drive, the five expats (I’m the fifth) share three drivers with mini vans. Joe, one of the drivers, welcomed me at the airport and drove me about an hour to the Citadines Gaoxin Xi’an hotel. I arrived at about 17:00.

Leaving the airport; highway sign to Xi'an.

More picturesque scenery than Shanghai (despite the rain).

Highway map at a toll station. Like Washington, D.C., Xi'an
has a "beltway" around it.

Just like at the Westin, my room was upgraded at no additional cost—I went from a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment to a two bedroom/two bathroom apartment. I don't need all that room, but it was a nice gesture. After all, I will be staying here for about a month . . . or as long as it takes to find and move into an apartment. Here are my temporary accommodations in Xi'an:

The kitchen sink--the first thing you see when
you enter the apartment.

The rest of the kitchen, and view into the dining/living area.

The first bedroom.

The rest of the first bedroom. 

View from the first bedroom. (The windows are dirty--the pollution
isn't quite as bad as the windows make it look.)

Flat screen TV in the first bedroom. 

The first bedroom's bathroom with a tub/shower.

Better view of the dining/living room area from the kitchen.

The dining nook.

The living area.

The second bedroom. The mattresses are harder than mattresses
in the U.S., but not uncomfortably so.

The view from the second bedroom.

The second bedroom's bathroom sink.

The second bathroom's stall shower.

After taking these and other pictures of the Citadines apartment, I had to get something to eat, so I ventured out to Lotus, a Super Walmart-type store. How did I know about this place, you may ask? When I visited Xi’an briefly back in June, the General Manager of the JV and his wife showed me around a bit, and one of the stops we made was to Lotus. It is conveniently located about a five-minute walk from the JV office and about a ten-minute walk from the Citadines. I didn’t take any pictures on this trip because I was hungry and just wanted to go in, get something quick for dinner, and go back to the hotel. So here’s what I ended up with:

Apple, banana, and dragon fruit.

Bet you didn't expect the inside of dragon fruit to look like this.
The fruit has the texture of kiwi fruit, but a more muted flavor.

Tasty!

I slept in the first bedroom that night, but haven't slept there since. I was able to hear the people in the apartment next door as if they were in the same room with me. Very strange. I decided to move to the second bedroom--a good decision.

So that was Tuesday. On Wednesday morning (the 24^th), I looked at three apartments for rent with the help of Silk Road Ventures (SRV), a company that specializes in assisting expats and foreign companies in Xi’an. The first two apartments were in the same complex about a 15-20 minute walk from the office. The third apartment was in a complex about a 5-10 minute walk from the office.

The office is located on Keji Road, a diagonal road toward the
bottom center of the map. The two apartment complexes I visited
are in the large, polygonal green areas between W 2nd Ring Road (the
diagonal road that comes from the bottom right-hand corner) and Keji Road.

SRV had already taken pictures of the apartments, so I didn’t take any. They sent me the pictures, and here are some of the highlights.

All of the apartments would require some clean up and minor repairs before I would move in, but SRV will handle all of that on my behalf. The first two were nicely decorated with nice hardwood floors (and some tile in the second apartment). The first was a two-bedroom, two bathroom; the second was a three-bedroom, two bathroom (there aren't many, if any, one-bedroom apartments here). The third one was a three bedroom, two bathroom.

All three have radiant heating from the floor, 24-hour hot water access (rather than on-demand), and decent Internet access options. The first two were already furnished; the third one was completely empty, and the landlord said that I could help choose all the furniture if I selected his apartment. I think I already know which apartment I would like. See if you can guess:

Apartment 1: 3rd floor apartment

Entryway looking into the living area/dining area down the length of the apartment.

Cool walk-in-closet right when you walk in the door of the apartment.

Living room with brand new flat screen TV (under the little sheet);
the tall thing in the corner is an air conditioning unit;
there is a door where the windows are that leads onto a balcony.

Dining area with brand new fridge.

Kitchen; gas stove top with ventilation hood.

More kitchen; door leading out to another balcony.

Patio room with door leading out to another balcony.

Bathroom #1; open shower.

Small bedroom--bed, desk, and two bedside tables.

Large bedroom--bed and two bedside tables.

Bathroom #2; another open shower. 

Part of a balcony; the clothes washer is around the corner.

  

Apartment 2: 22nd floor apartment

The kitchen.

Mini balcony with clothes washer. 

Living room; decorative maroon wallpaper (I wish there was a better picture
of the wallpaper--it was textured and very European);
lots of lace; door to the balcony.

Dining area.

Big bedroom; bed, bedside table; armoire.

Armoire; also notice the silver/gold decorative wall paper (the maroon
wallpaper in the living room is in the same pattern, just different colors.

Bathroom #1 with enclosed shower. 

A balcony (can't remember what room it is off of though).

Middle-sized bedroom; bed, two bedside tables, and an armoire (not in picture). 

The OMG room; bunk beds, pink desk, and pink wardrobe. And you can't see
it in the picture, but the light fixture in the ceiling was like a little chandelier
with green, purple, and pink heart-shaped glass things dangling from it.

Bathroom #2 with enclosed shower (on the right).

Apartment 3: 13th floor apartment

Bathroom #1 with enclosed shower; the bathroom is to your immediate
right when you walk in the front door (a little weird). 

The kitchen; the whole in the counter is where the stovetop will go;
the clothes washer will be in the corner all the way to the left.

Living area with door to the balcony; not sure what the deal is
with the glass rectangles on the right-hand wall.

Bedroom #1. 

Bedroom #2.

Bathroom #2 with open shower.

Bedroom #3/office.

Balcony.

I really liked Apartments 1 and 3, and I was leaning toward Apartment 3 after seeing all three, but I decided to think on it a little longer . . . and create a spreadsheet to evaluate and compare the various aspects of the apartments. (Those of you who know me shouldn't be surprised that I made a spreadsheet for this.) I awarded points to each apartment in categories such as bathroom/shower quality, natural light, living area, kitchen, furniture, storage/closet space, location, balconies, etc. The points came out as follows: 

- Apartment 3: 26 out of 30 possible points

- Apartment 1: 21 points

- Apartment 2: 13 points

I've had a few days to think more about the apartments, and I think Apartment 3 is the one for me. Let's just hope someone else hasn't beaten me to it.

Next up: new friends and food.