Classic Safari Challenge 2017: Day 31 Sunday 25th September 2011 Kashgar

After an ordinary breakfast we took a taxi to the Animal Market on the outskirts of town.

This is where the farmers bring their sheep & cattle to sell. Lots of fat-tail sheep & well fed cattle, a few horses & donkeys. There were also a few stalls selling harnesses & other bits & pieces. There were no yaks or camels as it apparently isn’t the season to be selling them.

The sellers brought their animals in all kinds of transport, from motor bikes, trucks, carts, to walking them along the road.

We then took another taxi back into town to the Sunday Market. This was really a larger version of Vic Market, selling fruit, nuts, rows & rows of shoes, business shirts, carpets, hardware & tacky souvenirs & everything else.

Nearby is the partially demolished historical site of the old city. Not much left but you can imagine this place being the crossroads for the Silk Road.

The usual mode of transport here is electric motor bikes. Apparently fully charged they will do 60-80 kilometres. They are very silent and you don’t hear them coming up behind you. This is the only type of motor bike allowed in the city.

It is frightening to see mothers riding the bikes, often with a young child standing in the front & another seated behind & hanging on. I saw one such with a child no more than 18 months with his back to his mother & holding on to the rear. No harnesses or helmets in sight. Use of mobile phones whilst driving is also very common. There are lots of pedestrian crossings across the very wide streets but they don’t mean a thing to the drivers.

Whilst we were walking around today I commented that I hadn’t seen a hair salon since we arrived here. Then, here was one. After a bit of hesitation, I decided to get a haircut. After the dirt & dust of the past few weeks, we were both looking a bit shabby. I was wrapped in a Toni & Guy coverall! First the dry wash which went on forever. Then head, neck & shoulder massage. This part was spine tingling & gave me goose bumps but the attendant knew what she was doing. Then the cut. A bit of pointing here & there & I can now face the mirror!

Since we’ve been here in Kashgar, there seem to be many wedding processions each evening. A utility has a drum band in the back (about 4 players) & I was told it is the procession taking the bride to the groom’s house. Flower decorated cars follow with family members.

Late in the afternoon we went along to the shipping place to see how the crate was progressing. Not much had happened & the cross frame at the front was measured incorrectly so the front tyres weren’t held in place. The $480 they were charging for the crating was looking like a bit of a disaster at this point, even the measuring was wrong.

It’s a very frustrating place to be…you have to be persistent to get anything done. Although the buildings are not that old, everything seems to be falling apart. The first room we were given had a leaking toilet & the proprietor wanted to know whether I wanted fresh slippers to walk over the leak!. The shower bracket came off in my hand, we had to ask to have the room made up & cleaned,. It seems everyone works to a higher authority & no initiative is shown by any of the workers.

It is indeed a frustrating place, how can this country be a world power with people who show no initiative or desire to get things done, well I suppose they do get things done, but in their own way and time frame.