Day 48: Back in Urumqi

Okay, so I'm back, so I'll pick up where I left off with the tales of my voyages. So, we got off the train at Kashgar at around 11am, and were harassed by hundreds of taxi drivers wanting to charge us extortionate amounts to get to the centre, so we got the bus instead, then found the hotel we had heard of (the Seman Hotel), because we had heard it's next to John's Café, which does travel advice and things. The hotel ended up being cheap and really really nice, so we stayed there.

That day, Catherine wasn't feeling well, so she stayed in the room while Frankie, Nikki and I went to a Uyghur restaurant across the road for lunch, then went back to see how Catherine was. I think it was most likely a minor illness (I got a slight cold on our travels) and the exhaustion from the travelling made her feel much worse. But anyway, she still wasn't well, so she stayed at the hotel, and we got a taxi to 东湖/東湖 (west lake) park. Which is in fact just a giant lake. But our taxi driver wasn't too clever. We told him where we were going, and he headed off. Then part way, pulled over and ran out, to somewhere across the road, then came back. We assume he went to ask directions. Then, he took us to the International Bazaar. Not quite right. We told him the new place, and again he stopped, and asked someone, who spoke to us in Chinese and translated into Uyghur for him. Eventually we got there, paid to get in, and discovered there was nothing there of any interest.

So we left, and went to People's Park, opposite which is the biggest statue of Mao in China/the west of China (delete as appropriate). Once inside, we discovered a mini theme park. Which was fun. We also stopped and had some whippy ice cream on the way, because we could, and because it was 2 kuai for a big tub :D At the park, after the theme park, we went into the zoo. Big mistake. I had heard Chinese zoos were bad, but nothing prepared me for this. It was worse than the RSPCA adverts (for the Americans out there, the RSPCA is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a UK charity who show you horrible pictures of mistreated animals to get money from you so they can try and stop animal cruelty). There was a lion in a cage about fifteen foot by fifteen foot (around 5 metres). It was so skinny you could see the bones, and when it tried to roar, it was the most depressing, pathetic crying-like noise I've ever heard. There was a tiger in a cage the same size, who just lay on his side in the shade, and didn't move once. The bears, in ten foot by ten foot cages just paced side to side constantly, and the eagles were in a cage so small they couldn't even stretch their wings at all, never mind fly. All of the animals were mangy and underfed, and the few that did have water, had really scummy old water. And the people at the gate were quite happy to take your five kuai to see that.

So, shellshocked, we left the park and headed up one of the main streets, arriving (without our knowledge) at the Idkah Mosque, famous for its size (on festival days, it can hold up to 100,000 worshippers), and the old town.



We wandered up the old town, and bought some comical hats (see below), then walked right up the old town, coming out at the city walls. However, we were oblivious to any of this, and just walked on home. It was only when we looked at a map and tried to go back there that we realised we'd been there. But we hadn't gone into the mosque or taken photos, and Catherine hadn't seen it, so we went back anyway. The city walls were an anti-climax, in that we couldn't decide for a few minutes if what we were looking at was indeed a city wall, but the rest was good.



The following day, we went to the tombs at Apak Hoja (sometimes spelt Abak Hoja) where we wore traditional Uyghur dress and had photos taken:


We say the big Mausoleum (just behind us in that photo), which has a really big dome, and it's the biggest in China I think, but then these claims I never believe anyway. After checking out the mosque and museum, we went to the orchard, where we were given free fruit grown there and there was a traditional Uyghur dance show. They did a few dances, then they invited people from the audience. Nikki and Frankie went up, and did their best:



After the tombs, we headed back into town and got our bus tickets for Tashkurgan. Then we wandered again up to the mosque, and this time went in, where we saw some hilarious propaganda, which I will post at some point. Then through the old town again, and to the city walls, which were a huge let down. We went back to the hotel and met a friend of a friend, who is a tour guide here, but I don't know how much I trust him, as everything he said turned out to be false (of the things I remember).

On Friday morning, we got on the bus to Tashkurgan, and five hours later, arrived. Now, Lake Karakul, according to China, is in China, but according to all maps, is in Tajikistan. Furthermore, we stopped at a place where they checked our passports, but didn't stamp anything. No matter, we got to Tashkurgan, which is really near the Pakistani and Afghani border, had lunch, wandered around the town and the Stone City and marvelled at how the cows and goats just wander around the streets and no one bats an eyelid. Then at 6:15, we boarded a bus to Karakul Lake, which then left at 7:30. We arrived and were greeted by a Kirgiz family who had a yurt we could stay in. We had dinner with them (rice and lamb, really nice) but not until after they sold the three girls some jewellery. Then we slept in the freezing cold in a yurt, which I'm sorry, but is a glorified tent. The inside looked like this:



It was amusing though that the man was so creepy. We were lying there going to sleep, and he suddenly came in, lit the candle, poked the fire, then went back out. We wondered if he was going to come back, so we waited, but no. Then, in the middle of the night, Frankie heard someone moving around, and had a blanket thrown on her. It was warm, so she didn't care, then she realised the man was next to her. She grabbed her bag and he just said, "sleep" in a very strange manner, and left. I wasn't aware of any of this happening.

The next morning, after a breakfast of bread and tea, we got on some camels to ride around the lake. Although just before this, we went to find a shop, and while over at the main bit at the lake, we were told we had to buy tickets, 50 kuai, 25 for students. So we bought tickets, and then went to head back to the yurt to wait for our camels. The creepy Kirgiz man then spent fifteen minutes basically shouting at us for buying tickets. He was like a broken record, and I was so close to shouting at him. He seems to hate the Chinese though, he was being very racist. Fair enough if they're claiming that part of Tajikistan as part of China.

That over, we got on the camels. Two hours later, my legs were so sore and I was cold, so I got off and walked for the next hour and a half. They tried to make me pay for three hours, but the distance around the lake is doable in two hours, they just took their time, and I got off after two, so I refused. Hired car back to Kashgar, and back to the hotel. And a very early night - the lake is spectacular, and the stars at night are absolutely breathtaking (there's absolutely no ambient light, and there are literally tens of thousands of really bright stars), but it was nice to be indoors where there was a toilet, a shower, and a real bed.

On Sunday, the day we were going to the famous livestock market, sunday market and the old Uyghur housing museum, Nikki was ill. She had food poisoning, so she stayed behind. It was raining a lot, and was really cold, and because it's still Ramadan, the livestock market wasn't on. So we went to the Sunday market. Dead. Only half the stalls open. So we went to the museum, which was interesting, but there purely for tourists. When you leave though, you get a ticket with a prize on it, so I won a can of Sprite.

This was supposed to take all day, and it was now around lunchtime. So I dossed about, read Gulliver's Travels (abridged) and three Shakespeare plays (VERY abridged), then dinner. Nikki was still really unwell, so we booked flights to Urumqi for the next day (yesterday, Monday). As we'd done everything we wanted to do, on Monday I went to the bookstore and bought several maps and books on China, and we started planning our plan - to visit every province in China. Harder than it sounds. There are 34 (including Taiwan, Tibet etc.) and by Christmas we'll have covered 6 (for Christmas, we're going to Shanghai, then a two day trip to Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, followed by a trip to Suzhou and Nanjing in Jiangsu province then on to Hefei in Anhui province to fly back to Urumqi), and at Spring Festival we hope to cover another ten at least.

So we flew back, and that's it. Catherine and Frankie have gone on to Hotan, to then take the bus across the Taklamakan desert (Taklamakan means once you go in, you can't come back out), and should arrive tomorrow or the day after.

So today I'm doing all my laundry, homework etc. and relaxing before classes again tomorrow. I'll leave you with a photo of myself and Nikki on the bus on the way to Karakul Lake from Tashkurgan: