On my second full day in
Turpan I got up late. Too late. I missed the cooler morning and was right into the middle of the hottest day of the week. I ventured down the road to get some food and knew right away that there was no way I'd be able to go out for some hours yet. I chilled in my hotel room (3 bed dorm but with no-one else in it cos they'd all gone for the cheaper 8 bed ones. Bargain), read my book and spent a good few hours on the
internet waiting for the temperature to drop a little. Finally at about 7pm I decided I couldn't wait any longer and rented a bike to ride out to the ruins of
Jiaohe city.
I missed the bit in my guide book that said in the '
cooler months' you can cycle out here and thought it'd all be fine. It took me about an hour to cycle there and by the time I arrived my T-shirt was sopping wet. I'd been told that it closed at 9pm but when I went to but my entry ticket they almost didn't let me in, telling me it was due to close in half an hour. I begged to be let in, and I must have been a pitiful sight, because they let me. So I raced around the ruins, wishing I'd just got in a taxi and come earlier. It was hard to take in the layout of this two thousand year old complex, but some of the ruins did stand out as definite structures. What was really spectacular though was the setting of this city. It sits on a high plateau surrounded on three sides by steep river valleys for ultimate defensiveness.
I cycled back at a bit of a slower pace but still ended up throwing my t-shirt away when I got back. It was never going to be the same again... A shower and clean t-shirt later I ventured out to get some street food. The streets and squares were buzzing and I wished I had been with a big group of people as it just seemed like such a fun place to hang out and have fun. I ate some good kebabs and delicious roast lamb, washed down with some
local Kawas wheat beer. I ate watermelon and drank this fantastic concoction of fruit, juices, tea and God-knows-what on the way back. I mused on the fact that I'd never have done all this a year ago without thinking twice about the hygiene and then spent the night going back and forth to the bathroom. Cruel irony, but I judged it to be worthwhile!
The next morning I did ensure I got up as early as possible and well before my bus onwards towards Urumqi rented out another bike and rode out to the
Emin Minaret, one of the symbols of
Turpan. The ride out there through the old streets was lovely, with people out and about buying big flat-breads for breakfast and the minaret and mosque were beautiful. Love this place.
On my second full day in Turpan I got up late. Too late. I missed the cooler morning and was right into the middle of the hottest day of the week. I ventured down the road to get some food and knew right away that there was no way I'd be able to go out for some hours yet. I chilled in my hotel room (3 bed dorm but with no-one else in it cos they'd all gone for the cheaper 8 bed ones. Bargain), read my book and spent a good few hours on the internet waiting for the temperature to drop a little. Finally at about 7pm I decided I couldn't wait any longer and rented a bike to ride out to the ruins of Jiaohe city.
I missed the bit in my guide book that said in the 'cooler months' you can cycle out here and thought it'd all be fine. It took me about an hour to cycle there and by the time I arrived my T-shirt was sopping wet. I'd been told that it closed at 9pm but when I went to but my entry ticket they almost didn't let me in, telling me it was due to close in half an hour. I begged to be let in, and I must have been a pitiful sight, because they let me. So I raced around the ruins, wishing I'd just got in a taxi and come earlier. It was hard to take in the layout of this two thousand year old complex, but some of the ruins did stand out as definite structures. What was really spectacular though was the setting of this city. It sits on a high plateau surrounded on three sides by steep river valleys for ultimate defensiveness.
I cycled back at a bit of a slower pace but still ended up throwing my t-shirt away when I got back. It was never going to be the same again... A shower and clean t-shirt later I ventured out to get some street food. The streets and squares were buzzing and I wished I had been with a big group of people as it just seemed like such a fun place to hang out and have fun. I ate some good kebabs and delicious roast lamb, washed down with some local Kawas wheat beer. I ate watermelon and drank this fantastic concoction of fruit, juices, tea and God-knows-what on the way back. I mused on the fact that I'd never have done all this a year ago without thinking twice about the hygiene and then spent the night going back and forth to the bathroom. Cruel irony, but I judged it to be worthwhile!
The next morning I did ensure I got up as early as possible and well before my bus onwards towards Urumqi rented out another bike and rode out to the Emin Minaret, one of the symbols of Turpan. The ride out there through the old streets was lovely, with people out and about buying big flat-breads for breakfast and the minaret and mosque were beautiful. Love this place.
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