Wednesday, June 20, 2012
An eye-opener of a trip.
From Xi'an to Urumqi, travesing across 3 provinces by air and land, it had been an epic 10-day adventure which fulfilled my aim of seeing a different side of China away from the commercial districts of Beijing and Shanghai.
Different scenery, rich history, good food (especially naan bread from Urumqi's International Bazaar) and all the other ingredients added up to a very enriching 10 days.
To be honest, apart from Urumqi and Xi'an, I nenver knew that those cities which we visited existed on the world map. Needless to say, they were places of rich history and cultural diversity which will never be found in the coastal cities of China. I had a great time assimilating myself with the local population at the Uyghur markets and enjoying cheap local fruit (S$1.60 for a 2.8kg rockmelon). To top it all off, there was an Uyghur cultural dance with buffet dinner upon our arrival in Urumqi.
Of course, every banquet will have to come to an end. It was fitting that the last dinner of the whole trip culminated in a set meal of rice, steamed egg, soup, oyster vegetables and stewed beef in a Chinese restaurant at Xi'an's Dayanta North Square, with many baskets of Chinese dim sum added into the equation, all for only RMB250 for 5 people.
There were many highlights along the trip, such as camel riding and sand-gliding at Echoing Sand Hill, Mogao Grottoes, Flaming Mountain and my Monkey God pose and Balikun Grassland. While others were entertaining the stall owner with price negotiation for the plethora of fruits, dates and raisins on sale at the International Bazaar, I was entertaining myself with his fruites, dates and raisins, all naturally sweet with no artificial flavours.
A unique, entertaining and enriching journey to the west.
From Xi'an to Urumqi, travesing across 3 provinces by air and land, it had been an epic 10-day adventure which fulfilled my aim of seeing a different side of China away from the commercial districts of Beijing and Shanghai.
Different scenery, rich history, good food (especially naan bread from Urumqi's International Bazaar) and all the other ingredients added up to a very enriching 10 days.
To be honest, apart from Urumqi and Xi'an, I nenver knew that those cities which we visited existed on the world map. Needless to say, they were places of rich history and cultural diversity which will never be found in the coastal cities of China. I had a great time assimilating myself with the local population at the Uyghur markets and enjoying cheap local fruit (S$1.60 for a 2.8kg rockmelon). To top it all off, there was an Uyghur cultural dance with buffet dinner upon our arrival in Urumqi.
Of course, every banquet will have to come to an end. It was fitting that the last dinner of the whole trip culminated in a set meal of rice, steamed egg, soup, oyster vegetables and stewed beef in a Chinese restaurant at Xi'an's Dayanta North Square, with many baskets of Chinese dim sum added into the equation, all for only RMB250 for 5 people.
There were many highlights along the trip, such as camel riding and sand-gliding at Echoing Sand Hill, Mogao Grottoes, Flaming Mountain and my Monkey God pose and Balikun Grassland. While others were entertaining the stall owner with price negotiation for the plethora of fruits, dates and raisins on sale at the International Bazaar, I was entertaining myself with his fruites, dates and raisins, all naturally sweet with no artificial flavours.
A unique, entertaining and enriching journey to the west.
