Bogda Hotel Urumqi

Yesterday, we visited the Xinjiang Museum where we saw the amazing and intriguing mummies - some more than 4000 years old - which have been found in the area. I found an article in the Independent from 2006 about it, which you can read if you are interested!

http://www.independe nt.co.uk/news/world/asia/a-meeting-of-c ivilisations-the-mystery-of-chinas-celt ic-mummies-413638.html

We took a stroll through the Red Hill Park ...

After breakfast, we left for Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Autonomous Region. It was a most exciting drive; through the Gobi Desert, in very windy, stormy conditions; on a fantastic highway [312] which stretches all the way from Shanghai to the border with Russia in the ...

In July riots broke out between the Chinese Han and the Muslim Uigher ethnic groups resulting in the province in the far north west of China being closed to the outside world. Tensions are still high and the province in under heavy military control. Internet access has been shut down completely and txt messaging and international calls are also blocked. It is impossible to ...

... Next on the list was drinking slushies and beer in the park, then KTV. We figured an hour of KTV would probably do the trick, but ended up yowling away for about 3 instead. Finally, after noodles and beer we parted company. I was extremely happy to have met Ma Jun and sad to see him go. The next day, LX and his uncle took me to the airport. I was already out of sorts in the morning. I had had a fantastic time in Xinjiang. I had met so many lovely people ...

... Chinese people show their affection through food. She was pretty keen on me and wouldn't take no for an answer. After I got back, LX and his friend Ma Jun (who is Hui) took me to a Hui market area selling traditional foods. The food was good but we got harassed continuously by two wasps that were pretty keen on sharing our meal with us. Plus I got stared at a lot again. After being mistaken for being Kazak or Russian (?!) for the past few days, I was not particularly phased, but I ...

... in the morning people exercising or walking their dogs. Unlike our last visit in the autumn of 2007, this was spring and the city was green and vibrant.

As usual, our first mission was to buy some local wine. The Hotel is conveniently located opposite the Tian Shan Department Store and we were soon back at our hotel, sipping our first blissful drop of local Loulan red wine. Our stay in Urumqi was a great start for our adventures into Central Asia.

... the former city of Jiaohe. As with most historical sites and museums in China, captions are few, terse, and ill-translated, and in a city that is exposed to the elements and has been abandoned for something around 600 years, it's difficult to tell the difference between a home and a room for grain storage, or the remains of a wall from an oddly shaped rock formation. Sure, that basement prison (or was it cold storage? a pool ...

... pas manger de nouilles), relaxer et visiter un peu. J'ai fait ce qui pourrait s'appeler une mini-excursion dans le desert mais elle n'est pas vraiment digne de mention vu qu'on a camper tellement proche de la ville qu'on entendait les bruits de la vie nocturne alors qu'on essayait de dormir (on entendait aussi japper des chiens errants, ce qui etait un peu inquietant). Comme Dave l'a si bien dit, "it felt like we were sleeping in somebody's backyard!". Mais j'ai ...

... get a very fast and wild #7 minibus back to the hotel for Y3 total. Stand on the side of the road outside the hotel for a long time waiting for a break in the traffic, before walking along to a safer place and finding a dark, but safer underpass right to our hotel. DP has a sleeping tablet to try and get some sleep, but we are disturbed jut before going to bed by a phone call enquiring if we need a massage. Tempted to leave the phone ...

... I had and walking around the beautiful lake and up to the hills to view the lake from 500 metres above and the snow capped mountains in the backdrop. I particularly liked not being on a bus or a train. I met some great travellers here: Israeli Tomer, English International School teacher Jules, Matt & Marie from Dunhuang showed up again & Brit Ed. We had baking hot weather, even ...