Our trip was delayed by a few days due to 9/11. After the second day we just went to the airport and waited. When a flight became available we flew to San Francisco, but were again delayed flying out with rumors of some guy in a boat with a shotgun in the harbor. Invariably, the Chinese expressed their concern and dismay with what had happened in NYC, even in the most remote parts of Northwestern China.
Many highlights on this trip, but what comes to mind is the feeling of how exotic it was to sit with the Uygur (pronounced "wee-gore) tour guide and driver in an all night Urumqi market. We ate lamb from a common bowl with our fingers. They told me a joke which was at the expense of the Han, the majority ethnic group in China. I looked around and saw no refrigeration and the next day I was very sick. I spent the day looking for the next toilet, which either were slit trenches or squat holes in the tile. For the next three days I ate only a rice soup. The girl in the bottom left photo is in traditional Uygur dress. Note that she looks Caucasian. They are a Muslim ethnic minority that were refugees from Genghis Khan.
Many highlights on this trip, but what comes to mind is the feeling of how exotic it was to sit with the Uygur (pronounced "wee-gore) tour guide and driver in an all night Urumqi market. We ate lamb from a common bowl with our fingers. They told me a joke which was at the expense of the Han, the majority ethnic group in China. I looked around and saw no refrigeration and the next day I was very sick. I spent the day looking for the next toilet, which either were slit trenches or squat holes in the tile. For the next three days I ate only a rice soup. The girl in the bottom left photo is in traditional Uygur dress. Note that she looks Caucasian. They are a Muslim ethnic minority that were refugees from Genghis Khan.
