Hong Xin Hotel Urumqi

... game. The highlight of the my afternoon was kicking LX's butt at the air hockey table. Unfortunately that attracted a bit too much attention from the mostly male video arcade hangerouters (on top of the usual "which minority group is she?" curiousity) so, feeling slight unnerved, for the rest the time we spent in there I took to hiding behind Ma Jun and LX while they played some kind of mortal kombat game that they used to play when they were in ...

... the curiosity was even more noticeable when walking around with LX (Han) and Ma Jun (Hui) than usual. After being very nice, but glancing at me surreptitiously when she thought I wasn't looking, the waitress finally couldn't contain herself and the question "Which race is she?" burst out from her lips. I can see if I come back to Xinjiang I am going to have to have a t-shirt made with this information printed on it in order to stop people from dying of curiosity regarding my heritage.

LX and I went on a tour to Tianchi (Heavenly Lake). Neither of us is really the kind of person who goes on tours, but given the situation (if only all the road blocks) it seemed like the quickest and most convenient way of going to the places I was keen to see. Actually, we had to catch a minibus to Urumqi first, which was good in a way because it meant I got to see what the city was like. Then we headed for the mountains. I was still feeling dizzy, so when the bus stopped at a Chinese ...

... her to help me send a message to my Mum telling her I was fine, could not call out and to tell her the hotel number. JV was one of the few people in China who knew for sure where I was, which was why I called her. I didn't want to go getting even more people worried about me being here in Xinjiang. She readily agreed, but unfortunately while I could talk to JV and JV could talk to my mum, Mum and I still couldn't manage to talk to ...

... people are funny creatures. Resilient and adaptable. And here was proof. After discussing travel plans, we headed out for barbecue and beer at a night market. A super clean night market with proper tables and chairs (the likes of which I have seen nowhere else in China, the sparkling cleanliness, that is...) with people eating and chatting happily. People of different ethnic groups at that. It was almost midnight, but the city was wide awake. Changji is awesome. I think I will like it here.

... Shanghai. And then the flight took us over the Gobi Desert on the edge of Mongolia, flanked by the mighty Taklamakan Desert, its name meaning "you go in, you don't come out". Having spent some days on our 2007 trip travelling by train and bus through this massive desert, the ominous name is quite appropriate. The flight then passes further over the massive arid Tian Shan Mountain range that soars in huge parallel waves well above the tree line toward the ...

Ni Hao, mein dritter Besuch in Urumqi, und das erste Mal, dass ich hier uebernachtet habe:-) Nun, das gab mir Zeit das Provinzmuseum zu besuchen, welches recht gut ist (allerdings ein wenig propagandistisch, es beschaeftigt sich mit den Kulturguetern der Moslems, Buddhisten, Uyghuren, Mongolen, Tuerken, Tibetaner, alles chinesisches ...

... it doesn't have a functioning rail line, so we had a two hour coach ride through the desert from the nearest train station. The main reason to visit now is to see the incredible Dunhuang Grottoes, a collection of several hundred caves in a cliff containing thousands of carvings and paintings depicting Buddha. The carvings and paintings were created between 1000 and 1500 years ago. Just a few of the caves are open to the public with displays in the ...

... tent which can sleep upto about 15, but we had it to ourselves, so we lit the stove and once the smoke cleared (should have paid more attention in scouts) we had a nice cosy bed for the night. Back in Urumqi, the best thing we found was the Wuyi night market. Every night the place is packed with food stalls selling endless amounts of kebabs, flat bread, roast lamb, vegie wraps... much better than the celery infused noodles we'd been getting in Tan Chi...!

... it for Y40, not bad value if we were feeling more in the mood. We have spotted Richard at a table inside, so share with him, and talk about his options for seeing China, having been forced into a Xian ticket, rather than Beijing, because it was that or nothing for a week. Even so, he has 2 day to kill in Urumqi before he goes. The Poles had no better luck, so have gone to Turpan for a couple of days and will return for the Xian train ...