Kashgar and the Sunday Market

Visited the famous Kashgar Sunday market this morning, an animal market and bazaar. It was a little disappointing having read so many good things about it, but it was still something special, Rows and rows of animals lined up for sale, sheep, donkeys (with carts), camels and horses all available at a price, we were tempted to buy a camel, but did not have enough money for one, though it would have been cool.. The amazing thing was to see so many traders heading along modern Chinese highways with flocks of sheep and donkey carts. There is a real mixture of culture here in Kashgar, a real mix of old and new, there is an old town full of Uighur people who culturally and physically looking are Central Asian, buying & selling fruit, nuts, carpets and hats, eating shashlyk, noodles, laghman and other Central Asian foods from street stalls and then, the modern side full of Han Chinese shopping in modern shopping underground shopping centres and modern boutiques around the southern side of town, while at the same time Uigur people ride through on their donkey carts, which today being Sunday took over the whole city. Even late this evening, the roads had as many donkey carts trotting along as there were the green and white striped taxis.




Top Left & Right: At the Kashgar animal market.
Bottom Left: At the Sunday market.
Bottom Right: traders arrive at the animal market.

It's a really good city with such a mixture of culture, so much more modern than Central Asian nations, but still with a strong Central Asian influence, probably about 50/50 ratio these days. The people are very friendly and helpful and it makes it an easy place to hang aorund a while. Also helped by some great fellow tourists I have met; with Tony (Oz), JP (US) and Fuki (Japan) and also Stefan (France) we had a great night out in a couple of night clubs, one which was very Uigur, in fact there were only Uighur people there apart from us. This club had the bizarre idea that for a few hours during the evening, they would play only Turkic music which involved revolving around the dance floor anti-clockwise while dancing, something Tony and I tried and got quickly thrown off for not moving around enough and havning everyone bumping into us, as well as the fact that after every song the dance floor had to clear for a two minute break of 'other' music after which everyone could start dancing again. The other club was entirely Han Chinese who strangely favoured dancing around the tables, but it was pretty quiet and did not stay long. Also met Michael (Germany) who was on the bus form Osh to kashgar and who i had also met earlier in Bishkek, Tom and Dom from England, Freddy from Peru or Switzerland depending on his mood, and surprisingly today, again Oren and Magen (Israel) all of whom I also met in Bishkek over a month ago, we somehow ended up in the same cafe in the Sunday market.



Left: Kashgar's Id Kah mosque.
Right: Test drivinga horse at the animal market

Also spent a day in the Taklamakan desert with Eunmi form Korea, who amazingly has visited my home town of Haverfordwest; I was a little embarassed that I had not yet visited her town, the capital of Korea, Seoul; that was a nice day and she was the second person in two days I met who has been to Haverfordwest. Tomorrow I should be off to Lake Karakul and then Tachkurgan near the borders of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan which is supposedly beautiful with the Pamir mountain range towering behind the lake at over 7500 metres high..




Left: Me & Eunmi in the Taklamakan desert
Right: Uighur men in Kashgar old town

While here I found someone to give me some Chinese Mandarin lessons (Puo tong hua) to brush up the few things I learnt in Amsterdam before I left, it's difficult for sure and nobody (except my teacher) has understood anything I have tried saying yet ;) but I hope thing will improve. It seems many tourists survive without any Mandarin at all, but it would be nice to be able to try some at least so I will probably stay a few more days when i return to be able to learn 'just enough' to get by when I move around the rest of the People's Republic of China (must get the name right !)

bye for now...