So, I'm still on my travels, so this will be a short update.
So, on Sunday midday we got on a train headed for Kashgar, and 11 hours later got off the train at Korla. After finding a really cheap hotel (20 yuan per night), we went to bed on a board (literally) and slept not very well on account of the train station being next to us and the trains using their horns (are they called that on trains?) as much as possible. The train journey wasn't that bad, we had seats and a really nice Chinese couple opposite us. That evening though, outside Korla train station, a homeless woman ran up, snatched my bottle of Sprite and necked it. I wasn't bothered, it was mostly empty and flat, but still not much fun. So on Monday, we jumped in a bus to the city centre, and explored. What we didn't know is Korla is a very new city, set up by the Chinese government purely for the sake of economic growth, so everything was big, shiny, new and nice. Then the fun part - we went to what we thought was a park, and it turned out to be a theme park. Many exciting rides later, we were tired and hungry, so a cheap lunch followed by a wander around. Frankie had a bumbag on under her t-shirt, which made her look pregnant, so we decided to go into a baby shop for a browse, which amused us all greatly.
Then, back to the train station to board the train to Aksu. We were told our tickets were absolutely fine, but around ten minutes before the train arrived (and the train waits ten minutes at the station), we decided to double check. Turns out, we had to get the back of our ticket stamped and signed, so Catherine had to take all four tickets and run downstairs. While she was away, the train arrived. But we made it onto the train, and as we had no booked seats for this train, sat on some of the steps in a carriage. Two things about the Chinese train system: stations are like airports, with security checks and specific waiting rooms for specific trains. The trains are also two story, and have free hot water, for instant noodles (which are really good in China). On the train, Nikki and Catherine played card games with some Uyghur men (including one which couldn't possibly every work, mathematically) and Frankie and I sat and taught English to a Chinese girl and her friend(?). At Aksu, we got off the train, got ripped off in a taxi and tried almost every hotel in the city, but none had beds (read: it was 5am and the sleeping hotel staff couldn't be bothered). Eventually we found one, and it turned out to be crawling with bugs. But it wasn't bad for the price. Word of advice: don't go to Aksu. There's NOTHING to do. Seriously. What a wasted journey. We got back on the train at 5am the next day, but only after sitting in the waiting room opposite two Chinese people who were talking about us in Chinese. It was amusing that sometimes, if I stressed a word, he would repeat it in my accent. Then at one point, when they were talking about us, she said, "They might understand." He said, "No, they don't." Then a woman standing next to them said, "Of course they understand" and then we laughed. He was embarassed, but it was funny for us. We managed to get seats on the train (it was now the middle of the holiday week, so the train was quieter). We sat next to a Chinese couple who we chatted to for a few hours, with a break to eat the blandest noodle-soup-breakfast-thing I've ever not-tasted. The guy made me taste Baijiu (for those who don't know, it's Chinese rice wine, about 50%), which wasn't as bad as expected, but not what you want at 8am after 4 hours sleep.
I'll stop there because this keyboard is a nightmare and my arms are sore from typing, and also I must go and book flights to Urumqi (Nikki is ill, so I'm flying back with her (to her family if you read this - not serious, but in a "I want my own bed and a western toilet" kind of way)). Postcards are on their way to Mum, Dad, Alice, Nicki, Fran, Lady Faye, Franck, Zona, John, Carole and David, God and Gogd, Starbucks (Newcastle and Inverness) and Rachel. If anyone else wants one, I need your address :D
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