Day 45, 46, 47, 48

Laid up by a bit of illness lately, I've not had much enthusiasm about writing in this space. The twenty-four hour train ride from Turpan to Kashgar was rough. The usual Chinese railroad bullshit, when extended for twenty-four hours, was a bit too much for me. The constant smoking is what started it off - my bunk was beside the smoking section (just the end of the carriage), and so I had the smell of 50 cents/pack cigarettes wafting into my lungs for a whole day. That, combined with the general smelliness of the carriage, people spitting on the floor and children peeing into whatever sink or floor drain they could find make me a little queasy. Later on, a plate of fried vegetables pushed me over the edge.

You know, the only thing worse that shitting into a dirty squat toilet is vomiting into one. Yow!

That said - puking up with two hours to go was a smart move: it cleared my systems long enough for me to enjoy a day exploring Kashgar.

Kashgar is a visual and auditory treat. I spent my day wandering the streets with an American graduate student on a break from studies in Beijing. Kashgar, even more than Turpan, feels like a middle eastern city; the local Uighur people keep quite separate from the Chinese residents of the city, who are numerous. Strolling down the streets of old Kashgar one sees, immediately, such wonderful clothes - the women wear long, colorful (and sparkling) clothes of a local style. The men all look very smart in long overcoats and square hats, and most sport some very compelling facial hair. Older Uighur men look particularly sharp, abandoning none of their heavy clothes even in the heat of the summer.

The commercial life of the city is quite busy. Everywhere are carpet dealers (this place is famous for its carpets, though all are quite shitty in this age). There are also a thousand hat sellers in the city, men sharpening and selling knives (another local specialty) and men banging out shiny copper ware. And, of course, there are millions of food vendors, selling mostly lamb kabobs and flat breads. I've noticed that like in Chinese-China, there are many vendors of packaged food products, but they only sell drinks. Getting a bag of chips or a chocolate bar in China requires a bit of looking...

The best "sight" in Kashgar is it's wonderful "Old Town," a sprawling, labyrinthine collection of adobe homes and cobblestone streets. My American comrade and I explored that place at length, peeking into some homes (and being given tours of others) all along winding streets that took some hours to explore. The homes are very old, running the gamut from dumpy to luxurious.

And one more thing: the city is FULL of little dentist shops, all possessing only one or two chairs , and looking like little barber shops. They are as common as, say, corner convenience stores in Suncheon. I asked my guide to the old town about this - she said that it's because of the local diet; Uighur people love sugary sweets and tooth staining dates and prunes. And, I guess, they like to look good, too...