Turpan – Urumqi & Meeting M

We’re 2 weeks into October. Oh my god 2020 is going too fast! I barely looked back these days. Every day comes in as a separate experience from the past. I’m still trying to continue my blog posts somehow in this mess…gonna have to pick up from where I left it 2 months ago 😂 this was the start of some very unexpected things began to happen 👀

On the last morning in Turpan we planned to go to the Museum for the time left in between the journey to the train station. The Turpan Museum had lockers for our bagpacks and stuff. As usual there were security checks and you can only bring your passport and valuables inside. It was a fun and educational hour spent. We made it just in time for Urumqi Train Station and approached the counters for boarding passes.

Everything went smoothly until the security area. We were queueing for the metal detectors when the female officer signaled to take off my headscarf which never happened throughout the first leg of the trip so I was shocked. I tried to ask her to allow a personal check with a female officer. After some frantic hand gesture she understood and led me to their desks and conduct the security check there instead. It wasn’t fully obscured view but it was reasonable enough for us. After that, another security check awaits. We had like 8 minutes to get through downstairs and embark! At this checkpoint they recheck every content of our hand carry bags (luckily bagpacks were excluded since it passed imaging process) but it still took some time to lay everything out and then put it back again. Both of us were getting anxious and irritated. We can’t miss the train!!

When we finally embarked it was like we were the last ones and it shot up to speed a minute later. Phew.

Here the train conductors looked Russian?Kazakh? Idk I meant they looked unlike how Chinese people would look like. I was so ignorant 😅 I gotta remind myself China stretches from the east to west. From being in Turpan the signages are available in both Uyghur and Mandarin. We started seeing more locals who looked like the above, if they were in traditional clothing and you can tell they’re the Uyghur minority of China after some asking around. In Xi’an Hui people is common(?) and they have more typical Chinese features compared to Uyghurs. So I have a picture of what to expect in Urumqi as the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. I didn’t know anything much, yet.

Urumqi lunch hour traffic was rather bad. Other than that everything around looks like any other major city. Lots of people with a mix of ethnicities but still NO foreigners. We were getting used to it but hey it’d be nice to meet other travelers. My friend and I had a random video of us walking and faced the camera to the crowd around us. Just to record how unrelenting stares we get wherever we went 😅 we were the ONLY headscarf wearing people out here. For a region with a known sizeable Muslim people we did wondered why was that? It could be completely cultural. Apart from old ladies with a tied scarf no other headscarf can be found. We found a few shops selling headscarves though. It was nice stuff I bought some of the best headscarf that I still wear now.

Meeting M and her mother

Around 4pm we looked for a place to eat. We found a restaurant with a proper ‘Muslim Food’ sign outside and stepped inside, ordered our food and sat down in the middle of the room. Again, many eyes on us , if not most. A full table of Kim Kardashian looking (they’re gorgeous) and dressed young women sat 3 tables apart looked directly at us and at this point we were close to approach them lol do you have anything to say or….? loool at no point it clicked into my mind why the obvious observation by practically everyone. I was about to go to offensive mode when I notice a young woman (not Kim K table) actually sat up and came to our table. Hmmm.

Woman: Hello^^ I saw you here I thought to come and say hi. Is it okay if I sit at your table?

Me: ??? Oh it’s okay <smiles> (I wonder about her really good English and accent. No offence but it was only the second time we talked with someone who can)

Woman: Thank you^^ I’m an English teacher <gave out her hand to me>

Me: (still ????) <accept the handshake> Oh okay I can guess from your command of English! <awkward pause>

Woman: <smiling all the way through> Sorry if you feel awkward!! I heard you guys talking and your headscarf. I wanna ask if you’re Malaysian? Ive been to Malaysia last year. Beautiful country!

Me: (((Ooooh okayy)))

So that was how it went at the beginning. I’m prepared for a nice light conversation with this stranger about our travels, I thought to myself as she led the other woman who sat with her to our table. She introduced the older woman, her mother to us. The mother was a lot more reserved and just nodded with a little smile. They stayed through the entire meal and exchanged stories of their trip to my country and us in China so far.

Let’s called her as initials M. M revealed she’s Muslim as well, from Hui ethnicity. I was happy to know. Until M started telling me how they can’t wear headscarf or any head cover here, and stressed that she’d totally wear it if she could. But she can’t. I remembered feeling huh I didn’t know that you can’t.

Me: As if in, banned?

M leaned forward and shushed-signaled me.

M: You can’t talk about this in public. You need to speak slowly. (to which I don’t know what to say) Did you noticed people are looking at you? Like the girls from the other table. (we turned abruptly to them to find those eyes hurriedly looking away from us lol)

I know it was weird but I didn’t know it was like, banned. Illegal.

I’m starting to freak out if we were being completely obvious with an illegal act! I asked her about the security checks, she said it’s how it is only in the recent year. I was like I didn’t know! That’s crazy.

M: Now you know. I’m telling you this because it’s my experience as a local as well. (a sigh) If you looked at me from the outside would you even know I’m Muslim, like you? I wear all this and looked like everyone else here. We all looked the same. They didn’t let us wear it to make us all looked the same.

Me: Do people who wore it get into trouble?

M: Yes, you can even go to jail for it. That’s why no one dared to. They only allow older ladies to wear it, like my mom (who had a tied headscarf).

Her mother avoided eye contact but looked approving of what M said. Her mother lightened up a bit when we realized we were of the same age and I commented on how younger M looked compared to us. I think we were being calm enough after the meal ended and processing the whole conversation. I didn’t try to fight the stares anymore though. We were walking around with something illegal above our heads for the last few hours.

…continue writing later it’s 12.24am where Im at 😅..

One time I was in China

Hello cursed 2020! My country is also in a nationwide quarantine. Like almost the entire world. I feel a kind of connection with people unlike any other time. It’s always tragedy that brings us together right? Well since people are on social media often it’s like an endless block of neighbors in one place. So anyway, flicking through pictures of my 2018 China trip made me feel sooo omg I havent been travelling like that for a long time. In 2019 I focused on other things financially. I was like 2020 will be the Year. Who wouldve foreseen such a disastrous year??! Especially travelling security and finances. It would be a full 2 years from the beginning of the trip today.

I was only attracted to China for the western part of it. Im lame like that, I think that famous places are overrated so I tend to research on places that arent mainstream in my effort to feel special loool I get to see the things in my own eyes and decide how I feel about it. Famous destinations already has so many being talked about them so I lose interest in it. Lmao. Im drawn to central Asia since I follow a few insta influencers that was from those countries. Then I made the research about the Silk Road and read more about colorful histories of the middle kingdoms that oversaw so many cultural exchanges throughout centuries.

I realized China should be my first stop if I ever want to venture to the -stan countries tho. It took fairly a year to research and book everything that could be done pre flight date. Talked to my best friend/travelbuddy about it and convinced her to take a 2 week long holiday. We went flying north to Xi’an where it’ll be our base city before going westward.

Checked in a Xi’an modest hotel in an alleyway. We arrived around 11pm local time and had to pay 150cny just for a ride to the hotel. Post trip I realized it was a LOT but then again we had no choice. It was late and we were concerned abt safety.

I was still in my head, I didnt think we really made it to China. I just never dreamed of wanting to go here like in my childhood or anything lol it was a recent yearning that I have, and nurtured. Now that Im here I have to make sense of it. My friend and I toured the area around it the next day looking for a local breakfast. But holy shit my taste palette just.cant.take. the herbs in their noodles! It was tongue numbing and hunger cancelling. We tried to not be wasteful and munch our way through and looking squarely at each other. Continuing the walk about 20mins we reached a major area of the morning market. It’s near to Xi’an Muslim Street where all the tourists and locals come for halal food. The vendors are from Hui Chinese although there were some other different races spotted. At the time, I was so foolish and arent aware about Uyghurs or anything. Ive read about it but news are just news until you saw it yourself…

We were 100% touristy at that day, just sampling and eating everything we could get our hands on, and checked out Xi’an Mosque. It was beautiful but it wasn’t open to females. This is kinda weird but we talked to its staff and they allowed us to use and look around the prayer hall. There was no one inside except some religious school kids and their imams. We were greeted warmly to just see a Quran class went by.

To punctuate such a pleasant day, we end up ordering a dish of meat and rice that we couldnt finish (again) because of the damned tongue numbing herbs (again!) since we couldnt speak Mandarin we left it at that. I swear local waiters could see our faces swelled when we realized what we’re eating.