Turpan 2nd - 5th May
Got the bus to here from Urumqi, painless. David fell asleep for most of the journey and commented on how the scenery had changed to rock dessert when he woke. The temperature had sored. Turpan is the 2nd lowest place in the world and recieves little than 2-3" of rain a year! Dispite this it remains a beautiful oasis. The irrigation system is donkeys old (1000yrs) and it disperces the snowmelt throught the town. This area is popular for growing grapes, best weather, oldest roots and constant water. They are tastey, small and green when ready to eat.
We knew there was a place close to the bus stop with cheap rooms (more like concrete cells as we discovered!) so we made a bad choice at walking - it really was vvv hot, the town itself is small enough to wander but not with bags at 15.00. Soaked and drained we arrived and with first things first, happy we could see the hotel, we sat opposite in a cafe and drank a cold beer....hhmmmmm.
Voter (guy we met in Urumqi) strolled in and before we knew it we had spent 6H drinking with out even checking in! This night was very messy indeed. Bruce (voters mate) wanted to go to a club and so after a very yummi street dinner we found a Ugir Disco (Ugir are the locals here; they speak a turkish-arabic and refuse to speak chinese) that was amazing fun. David entered and lost the 'pop your opponents ballon', he strolled on the dance floor and in seconds a young bloke saw him as an easy target and popped him. The night was very strangely chorographed, traditional dances, frantic happy house and party games - great fun!
The stuff to see around here has been very impressive the Jiaohe Ruins being the finest. The ruins are naturally defended by the river that splits around the town stranding it as an island. Over the years the river has eroded into a deep gully either side of the town.
And the food is delicious, we had had a carnivous diet since arriving as there is plenty of kebab stalls grilling hearts, kidneys and other bits of tasty unreconisables. Noodles go down very well here and breads are the staple diet.
We had missed the sleeperbus to Kashgar the day we decided to move, so we headed back to Urumqi by bus to get a train from there.
We knew there was a place close to the bus stop with cheap rooms (more like concrete cells as we discovered!) so we made a bad choice at walking - it really was vvv hot, the town itself is small enough to wander but not with bags at 15.00. Soaked and drained we arrived and with first things first, happy we could see the hotel, we sat opposite in a cafe and drank a cold beer....hhmmmmm.
Voter (guy we met in Urumqi) strolled in and before we knew it we had spent 6H drinking with out even checking in! This night was very messy indeed. Bruce (voters mate) wanted to go to a club and so after a very yummi street dinner we found a Ugir Disco (Ugir are the locals here; they speak a turkish-arabic and refuse to speak chinese) that was amazing fun. David entered and lost the 'pop your opponents ballon', he strolled on the dance floor and in seconds a young bloke saw him as an easy target and popped him. The night was very strangely chorographed, traditional dances, frantic happy house and party games - great fun!
The stuff to see around here has been very impressive the Jiaohe Ruins being the finest. The ruins are naturally defended by the river that splits around the town stranding it as an island. Over the years the river has eroded into a deep gully either side of the town.
And the food is delicious, we had had a carnivous diet since arriving as there is plenty of kebab stalls grilling hearts, kidneys and other bits of tasty unreconisables. Noodles go down very well here and breads are the staple diet.
We had missed the sleeperbus to Kashgar the day we decided to move, so we headed back to Urumqi by bus to get a train from there.
posted by David at 9:49 am
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