No sooner had I slept a night in my own bed than I was off again, this time to Kuitun. We originally wanted to go to Kashkar for the Golden Week (a national holiday), but since all of China gets this week off, nothing much was available apart from buses (and Kashkar is quite far by bus). We settled for Yili, and with help from Becca’s waiban were able to track down a hostel which actually accepts foreigners (although they might ‘have to charge us a bit more than Chinese customers would be charged…’ Hmmm.). Knowing we had a bus the next morning, we got a sensible bedtime. After KTV and a 2am Dico’s (fast food), of course.

The Yili bus was absolutely fine, but the lunch stop toilets were not. The hostel was underwhelming and it turned out the ‘extra charge’ came in the form of a new rule which apparently bans foreigners from sleeping in rooms of more than four. There being five of us (me, Kieran, Becca, Liesbeth and Jordanne), he had to give us two rooms and charge us the going rate for four per room. We had a highly relaxing following few days, despite the grimy condition of the hostel. I got to try Yili Pollo (much the same as Karamay Pollo; thoroughly enjoyable), and Liesbeth and Becca found some delicious doughy dumplings which I haven’t found since. We did a bit of exploring, past intimately juxtaposed shrines and mosques to what turned out to be an elusive ‘Night Market’. We went too early in the day, then too late, before realising that the first time around we’d walked right past it without noticing. Needless to say it hadn’t been a particularly impressive affair. There’s a strong Kazakh cultural influence here, which is unsurprising given its proximity to the border. We enjoyed a Kazakh bakery and stocked up on goods for the return journey (and then some).

We seemed to take it in turns to be unwell (my turn was Saturday), but after a few days we had our bus tickets back. Well. Not quite ‘back’; Becca and I decided to pay Fukang another visit so we got tickets straight through to Ürümqi. The 7-hour journey there was replaced by an 11-hour journey back past Kuitun. Though not exactly ‘pleasant’, it was probably less pleasant for the person behind our window seat, who was being reclined into for 6 hours until we worked out where the lever was.

The next few days passed in a relaxing stream of Doctor Who, buying a full-size Mahjong set for myself and teaching Calum’s club the Macarena. We also tried practising another dance in the Foreign Teachers’ Office, much to the amusement of passing students (we refer to it as the Chinese Macarena because it’s similar and no-one knows what its name is. It works for any song in 4-4 time). Slightly less relaxing was the looming deadline for my UCAS Personal Statement, but a combination of the dodgy office wifi and a 3G dongle did the trick in the end.

I had an extra day’s holiday compared even to the girls in Kuitun, so while I accompanied Becca into Ürümqi for shopping and Burger King (which we’re making the most of), I returned to Fukang for one more night. Ben and Calum had one day off, I think, but their school is making up for lost time by completely ignoring national holidays (outrageous). I was off quickly the next day to make sure I got an early enough train to Kuitun, and then Karamay by bus from there, since the trains were sold out.

—TJC

Featured image: A mosque in Yining (Yili), next to a temple.