Pics: Xinjiang, China FOOD

Xinjiang has some of the most flavorful food in China. Everything that I ate was absolutely delicious...even if it was a little surprising when it arrived! Here are some of the best pics!

Uighur bread is called Nan and is AMAZING! Probably ties for my favorite bread internationally (tied with Indian Naan). The crust is hard...and the middle becomes thin and cracker like, while the outer ring is soft inside and chewy. Many are sprinkled with sesame seeds or dried onions on top. Sometimes they spread a spicy sauce on top...but I like mine plain.

In the night market in Urumqi....lamb for sale...allll for sale! Makes you appreciate our nice plastic wrapped trays of meat at the supermarket!

Nuts and dried fruits are big for snacks...sooo yummy.

Where they cook their lamb kabobs...these are attached to all the Uighur restaurants and often really decorative.

A Uighur specialty...lamb kabobs. These are sold by Uighurs as street food all over China, but were especially delicious in Xinjiang.

This is lamb intestine stuffed with rice and peppers (surprisingly quite good--tasted like jambalaya), and lamb lung (the white chunks).

Breakfast at the Sidik's home. They were so nice to me and breakfast was so lovely every morning.

Uighur tea is served with cinnamon and in really pretty porcelain bowls.

Uighur bagels! You can't find bagels anywhere in China and then I came to Xinjiang and they were EVERYWHERE! They aren't quite like bagels...not as chewy..but they're still delicious in their own way!

In the night market in Kashgar, these lamb bones are considered to be incredibly curative for any medical problems you have...especially if you have back problems, you're supposed to get some of these.

This was funny to me...it's their Red Bull drink...but as Red Camel!

Pics: Xinjiang, China LANDSCAPES

Some of the scenery in Xinjiang! Again, if you want to see all my pics from Xinjiang, click here.

On the road from Urumqi to Turpan...icy capped mountains

At Flaming Mountain in the Turpan Basin: the left side of the mountain and surrounding desert

The middle view of the Flaming Mountain (my camera doesn't exactly have a wide angle)

The right side of Flaming Mountain

The view from the top of Flaming Mountain

In the Taklamakan Desert!! I spent the night out here!

I took a billion pictures of sand...and more sand...and then my footprints in the sand! But the desert just holds so much beauty and is a landscape that I've never seen before, so it was special to me. The amazing thing about the desert is the sound. The wind blew nonstop and made this rushing sound in your ears...there was no silence except for a few moments when the wind died down for a second or two. When that happens, you feel like you're deaf, because it's so quiet.

Coming up next are pics of food and me amongst all of these wonders.

Xinjiang, China: The PLACES

Below are some of the places that I went on my journey through Xinjiang. I've separated the photos into those that are places, and those that are strictly landscape. The landscape pics will come tomorrow. Again, if you want to check out my whole album, click here.

IN URUMQI

This is the bazaar in Urumqi, where they have a bunch of shops and now is pretty touristy. But I thought it was beautiful at night.

This is my cute little bed pallet at the Sidik's house in Urumqi. It was so comfortable and so wonderful of them to open their home to me!

The night market in Urumqi--just wait for the "food photos" post to see what they sold there!

THE TURPAN BASIN

I took a day trip to the Turpan area, a basin that is supposedly the 2nd lowest in the world. It has also recorded China's highest temperature. I toured the grape producing areas, a Uighur cultural museum, the ancient Jiaohe ruins, and a beautiful Mosque. It was really lovely.

scarves for sale in Turpan

grapes grown alllll over the place...really yummy to munch as you walk along beneath them!

The ancient city of Jiaohe.

A mosque in the Turpan region...the Uighur people are predominantly Muslim.

Gorgeous minaret done with Islamic patterns. I think Islamic art is my favorite in the world.

In the desert of the Turpan basin...near Flaming Mountain

This is Flaming Mountain. There is an ancient story of a monster who was coming to eat children, so a poet was given a brush to paint a wall of fire as a barrier for the monster. The flame he created became Flaming Mountain...

We had a little extra time on the tour, so I got to climb all the way to the top of Flaming Mountain...it was incredibly beautiful at sunset.

the view from the top of Flaming Mountain

KASHGAR

I didn't take many pictures of actual places in Kashgar because my camera ran out of batteries while I was wondering around the old city. The best pics from there are in the post below of people from the market town outside of Kashgar. But this is a shot of icy mountains from the plane I took from Urumqi to Kashgar!

TAKLAMAKAN DESERT

Most of my pics from here are landscape pics, so wait one more post and you'll see them. But I figured a tent counted as a place! To reach the desert, we rode 4-5 hours away from Kashgar. I joined a tiny tour of 3 Spanish girls around my age and our guide. We wandered around the desert barefoot and watched the sun set, slept well with the desert wind blowing nonstop and then watched the sun rise over the desert in the morning. It was a truly amazing experience...but I'll write more about it when I post the next set of pics!

That's all for now...the next posts will be landscapes, food and me in the midst of it all! Then comes pics of Tibet!!!

PICTURE POST!!! Xinjiang, China: The PEOPLE

Ok, I'm trying to sort through the billions of photos I have to show you my amazing trip through Xinjiang, China. I'll try to keep these posts from being waaayyy to long by showing you just the cream of the crop! If you'd like to see my whole facebook album, you can click here -- you don't even have to be on facebook to see it, it's open to the whole public, so feel free to check it out!

I'll divide my pics for you according to the following: The people, the places, the landscapes, the food, and me in the midst of it all.

What you need to know first:

During my trip, I was able to visit: Urumqi, the most landlocked city in the world. It is the city farthest from an ocean or sea and is the capital of Xinjiang; Turpan, located in the world's 2nd lowest basin and known for its ancient ruins and grapes; and Kashgar, an oasis city once a major stop along the ancient Silk Road (a trade route that stretched from modern day Turkey to Xi'an, China).

Xinjiang is the home to the Uighur people (pronounced "wee-gur"), an ethnic group quite different from the Han Chinese. Going there feels like you are traveling to a different country. They speak a language derived from the Turkish family that is written in an arabic alphabet. They are predominantly Muslim and are known as excellent businessmen, merchants and traders...probably due to their geographic home being between major nations. I found that everyone I met was extremely kind, and more warm and friendly than I had met in most of my other Chinese travels. I was so grateful to be there.

The PEOPLE

At a traditional Uighur restaurant in Urumqi. The restaurants all have a space for Muqam, traditional Uighur music, to be played during the meal. It is also accompanied by dancing.

A Uigher man in Urumqi showcasing a traditional dance: the thing I found amazing here was that this is just a normal Uighur restaurant...it's not a tourist destination. So this dancing is not put on for show...it's just the ACTUAL current culture!

In a city park in Urumqi, Uighur Muqam players

Market day in a small village outside of Kashgar

This boy is selling large blocks of ice at the market...the people used them to place under the slabs of meat they bought for their rides home...most of them came into the village on donkey carts.

Dinner party in Urumqi

Yultuz and Kunduz's mom, Mrs Sidik (standing in the center, red dress), graciously invited me to join a dinner that she hosted for her oldest friends. These women have all been friends for over 30 years and get together to catch up several times a year.

the kids table: These "kids" are like extended family to each other and all dutifully come along to the dinners their moms host. I think it's fun to guess which kid goes with which mom!

After dinner, the tables were cleared and they took turns showcasing traditional Uighur dances. It turns out, they are almost all professionally trained dancers. This woman is a cousin of the Sidiks and has traveled around the world dancing, has been on TV, and is famous for her dancing. Needless to say, it was an incredible gift to get to watch all of them perform.

Me with Yultuz (standing) and Kunduz (next to me) and one of their good friends. I met Yultuz and Kunduz during my first year through a mutual friend, and they have been extremely dear friends to me during the past 3 years. They've shared so much with me about their culture and faith, and now their home with me. I adore them so much and can't wait for them to move to the States (they are trying to apply to study abroad) so I can see them again!

Sweet Germany

I am now resting sweetly in Frankfurt, Germany after an incredible trip through Tibet and Nepal. Tibet was amazing; I have delayed in updating my blog because there are simply no words for the astounding beauty and once-in-a-lifetime fun that I had. I saw some of the world's most beautiful landscapes, the kind that make the photos for computer screen desktop backgrounds; got to observe a local culture so delicate that within a few generations it might be extinct; really connected with my international group of travelmates; felt swept away by a perfect sunset at Mount Everest; felt squished and feverish by the extreme lack of oxygen (but was spared from any REAL altitude sickness thank heavens); braved the worst toilet situations that one could imagine; ate countless quantities of yak products; walked the koras of amazing monasteries and temples; grew in knowledge and respect for Tibetan Buddhism; spent hours people watching in the hippie enclaves of Kathmandu; surrendered my water bottle to a gang of monkeys at the Monkey Temple; and in all had a wonderful trip.

Since arriving in Germany, I've given in to the exhaustion of the previous month--never has a bed felt so sweet and a shower seemed so clean as my spot at my sister's! It's been great catching up with my sister and brother-in-law and just having a chance to slow down and relax. They've treated me to great food and some lovely afternoons in the city, plus while they're at work I've had time to catch up on some tv shows and computer time!

But, the road calls to us again, and tomorrow Laura and I will leave on the cheap flights Laura found taking us for a few days to both DUBLIN, IRELAND and LONDON, ENGLAND!!!! I cannot express (once again) how excited I am to check out these two cities. The tickets were only 20 euros TOTAL... so we can splurge on some shopping and great food! Plus, it will be a joy to travel again with my big sis!

The next post will be a photo post, so stay tuned!! And if you're interested, I added a few pics here and there to old posts from the past semester...it's nice to be able to use pics now that my words have totally failed me!

On The Top of the World!

I don't have much time but had to update that I am currently sitting in Lhasa, Tibet!!! And it is amazing!!!

The trip so far has been wonderful: stayed with my friends and experienced local culture to the max in the world's most landlocked city of Urumqi, roamed around ancient desert ruins in the old city of Jiaohe, ate grapes from the vine in the 2nd lowest city in the world of Turpan, climbed around clay colored desert mountains in the Turpan basin, watched the sun set and rise over the sandy dunes where I CAMPED with three great Spanish girls in the Taklamakan Desert...surrounded on all sides by nothing but sand and sand and sand and heard nothing but the sound of the wind sweeping across the dunes, shopped in the old market in the oasis city of Kashgar on the Silk Road...

Then took the 24 hour train up up up into the Tibetan Plateau and watched shepherds herd sheep and yaks along the bright green grasslands edged with magnificent ice capped mountains and turquoise blue lakes. Now in Lhasa, the world's highest city..already ate some yak meat and it truly is the rooftop of the world...the sky seems so close that I could reach up and gather it in my hand...it looks like the mountains literally support the sky and i've never seen clouds so stunning.

The altitude is messing with us only a little so far...we feel a little blurry...but other than that it's ok. My tour companions are kindred spirits, we have a French guy, and Italian/British woman, a Japanese woman, a Chinese Canadian, and me. Quite an international group. Traveling alone has emboldened me and I've made some really fun friends along the road...the night before the train I was out until 1:30 with the Tibetan owner of the company we used for our tour agency and his friends. I'm thrilled and having the time of my life!

I'll post pictures and describe the places and people when I have time...but for now just had to say that I am actually HERE...it's real, it happened, and I still can barely believe it! Love to you all!

...and then there was...?

Tomorrow is my last day in Wuhan. I was delayed on my grand exit by a prolonged visa renewal process, but I've moved out of my lovely apartment on the 20th floor and am slumming with my great friend Bonnie (in her lovely apartment on the 15th floor) for a few days until I leave. Then I am embarking on a 2 month excursion covering: Xinjiang, a province in northwest China; Tibet, a province is western China (with the trip including a stop at MOUNT EVEREST BASE CAMP!!!); Nepal; Germany; and anywhere in/near Europe with cheap flights.

I am most looking forward to spending time with the people who will join me along the way. Xinjiang is the home to two of my closest friends in China, Yultuz and Kunduz, and I can't wait to discover their hometown with them. Then, in Germany, I will be living with my sister and her husband. I haven't seen them since before they were married and desperately miss my big sister. I can't wait to reconnect and travel together!

I'll try to update when I can, otherwise, I'll post excerpts from my travel journal COMPLETE with pictures when I return to the States in October. Also, if you feel like checking back then, I'll be able to update all my previous posts with their appropriate photos as well!

And after that? Who knows! I'll update once I know for sure what I'm doing, but after many twisting paths, it looks like I MIGHT be moving to India to work for about 7 months before returning to the States for grad school. Nothing is set yet, and my plans seem to have changed a million times at this point, but I'll be sure to update when I know more. See you again from the open road!!