Kashgar

Distance covered - 0km

I woke up the next day at 7am Peking time, and it was still pitch black. Kashgar is located at the Western end of China, in a different time zone, hence there is a 2 ½ hours difference. The sun actually only would rise at 9am! Since the streets were still empty we decided to sleep an extra 2 more hours.

Local staple diet, Naan. 

By 10am, the streets were starting to fill up with people, and we decided that it is time to take a stroll in the city. Our hotel was located conveniently in the Old Quarters, hence it is never too far from the interesting sites here. We were greeted by the kids who were playing on the streets, with "Hello", "Nihao", and the happily trailed us as we headed towards the Id Kah Mosque. On the way, we stopped at a stall to buy some Naan for our breakfast. It's a thick bread,around 9 inch in diameter, and an inch thick. Hence, one piece of Naan would probably last me for 2 days. 

Uighurs are a shy folk and they are not particularly fond of being taken photos of, hence, to be on the safe side, we avoided shooting them. Oh well, we are visitors on their land, after all. 

Kashgar at 10am.

The architecture in the old quarters resemble those in central Asia if I am not wrong, as it is much nearer to Central Asia than to Beijing itself. 

After a 20 minutes walk, we finally arrived the plaza in front of Id Kah Mosque. Since there were not much people yet, we took the opportunity to take a few snap shots before the crowds started to throng. 

Posing with the camels.

The 700 years old Id Kah mosque still stands majestically in the centre of Kashgar's old quarters. It is said to be the biggest mosque in Xinjiang province, if not the oldest. It should be packed to the max during Friday prayers. Nonetheless, for someone who has grown up in Malaysia, I'm not a bit interested to see how packed it will be during prayers time.

Id Kah Mosque.

Well it's still empty.

Since we had some time to spare, we decided to venture further to some spots outside the Old Quarters. Public transportation in China is exceptionally easy and convenient; it only took us less than a day to get used to it. We hopped on a bus and head towards the Grand Bazaar, which I think it was a bit too commercialised and touristy for my liking. After a short stroll and no photos, we furthered towards the next attraction in Kashgar.

Local nasi briyani. Too greasy for me.

Apak Hoja or the fragrant concubine, was rumoured to be an exotically beautiful lady whose body emits a strange fragrance. Sounds like some inborn errors of metabolism to me. Anyway, she was sent over to Beijing as a gift to the Chinese Emperor back then and somehow revolted. Anyway, the locals revered her and had this Mausoleum built for her and her family. 

Saw this somewhere while walking through the new area. Hail, Chairman!

Now where's the bus?

Apak Hoja Mausoleum

Back in the old quarters, we started venture within the labyrinthine streets of the Old Quarters. The food bazaar was packed with all sorts of street food; despite my fear for traveller's diarrhoea, I finally buffed up my courage to sit down and try some local delicacies instead. After satisfying my belly, we headed back to the hotel to pack as we will be heading down to the border the next day!

Old quarters

Lamb skewer and honeydew melon.