Day 5 of the Silk Trip

September 21: A Change of Plans

The original plan had been to visit the Institute of Ethnic Minorities but we didn't have all the right papers so we went to an orphanage instead.  The orphanage had around 400 kids in it, ranging in age from 0ish to their twenties.  Most of the kids were mentally or physically disabled so the orphanage tries to teach them skills and crafts that they can use in society.  I feel like this orphanage was so nice it didn't really represent the true orphanage situation in China.  They had foreign and domestic funding as well as donations so the facilities were all very nice.

From there we went to the Urumqi Museum where there were three mummies on display.  It was creepy how preserved they were, their clothes were intact and you could still see face paint from when they were buried.  The desert's make up is ideal for preservation, I believe it has a high salt content.  I really didn't want to take pictures of them but I did so that I could share them with you.

The main attraction for the Chinese tourists was the Minorities exhibit.  I found it very odd, it was like a people zoo with wax figures.  There are apparently around 400 Tartars in China, also about 12,000 Russians.  There is also a minority that commonly has rams stopping by to say hello.

From the museum we went to a marketplace to buy some food for the train later.  We walked into this building thinking it was a super market.

On the way into the train station we, being Wai Guo Ren, foreigners, got the special treatment.  First they lined us up in our own line in the holding area outside the train station while the entire train of people stared t us.  It was only a few minutes until some official with a loud speaker came out yelling at all the Chinese lines to move back and then at us to go inside.  We got our own door, our own security check, and we were allowed to wait on the second floor instead of the third.  Now, I am standing in an overly crowded train station with a bunch of confused Uygers staring at me.  They are confused because every time they try to talk to me I stare at them and start speaking Chinese instead of Uyger.  A group of Uyger girls set up camp right next to me and are looking at my shorts and giving me the stink eye for being the "bad Uyger"

Car 8, Row 14, Middle Bed.
My sheets have weird stains on them...and as a bonus I get to watch the cuddle fest all night.

All the lights on the train turned off without warning and when everybody had just gotten to sleep the train stopped, people got on screaming about how the lights were off and when things finally calmed down as people found their spots the lights all turned on.  It was a rough night.