Saturday 23rd, June 2018
4 pm
We stopped just outside of Tokkuztara (巩留) to rest over a watermelon. Two friendly looking old men sitting under the trees called us over and one said we can go into his house to rest.
Initially we wanted to rest for a few minutes but after he let us in his house we were in awe how big it was. He then showed us a spare room with a massive bed we were allowed to sleep in.
We asked where we could camp and they insisted that we stay the night — no need to set up camp. We immediately smiled and said thank you.
4:30 pm
After munching on the watermelon we had our siesta.
6 pm
We woke up and noticed a washing machine in the room. We asked if we could wash some clothes and they said we could use their big plastic tubs to hand wash our clothes – I guess there's a first for everything.
The yellow bucket on the left contains some grey murky water from previous washes…eeek
After washing our biohazardous clothes 5 rounds, the water became clear signalling the job is done. The bigger sister came to chat to us and asked if we've had 手抓饭 (see Dear Food Diary #2) before. We said "yes, in Ürümqi" and indicated home meal always come out on top.
7 pm
The grandpa that originally invited us to stay said to Matt that we should register at the police station because he may get in trouble¹. We sent our Taiwanese friend with all our passports to sweet talk them into allowing us to stay. They left and we entertained the family with our travel stories, showing our cycling route on Google Earth, our home in New Zealand and our future plan once in France.
8 pm
After what felt like an eternity our Taiwanese friend and the grandpa returned. The outcome was what we had feared — we cannot stay here. Two policeman accompanied them back too. They explained to us the situation and did this weird registration thing using their phone and taking a picture of us holding our passport.
"Say cheese…and leave" said the officer
The grandpa, smiley as ever, asked the police to let us stay for dinner before leaving. The police allowed us saying we must leave soon after. We started packing up our things.
8:30 pm
Dinner arrives! (Time in Xinjiang is bizarrely different³)
They brought in a massive plate of 手抓饭 and we dug in like kids for lollies under a smashed piñata. They would say…
多吃啊，还有很多饭。吃饱啊
Eat plenty, there's still more. Eat til you're full.
手抓饭 (Rice cooked with lamb) and a side salad
9 pm
We finished our meal and wrote a postcard thanking them for their kind hospitality. Although they've already offered a lot to us, they kept apologizing about the current situation…
真的不好意思！你们住这里一个星期没事，但是我们就没办法。
I'm very sorry about this! You're welcomed to stay here for a week, not a problem, but we really can't do anything about it.
The sister said a week, the grandpa said a month! As the grandpa apologized to us, we could see in his eyes there were some things he could not say. It was like the eyes of a paralysed patient in a hospital bed — his tears painted a thousand words. We told him we understand the situation, and he responded with "good that you know, as I can't say more".
9:30 pm
We're almost done packing and the grandpa appears agitated. He tells us the police just called to check if we've left, he told them we're about to go, very soon. We picked up the pace and set off after taking a few photos⁴.
10 pm
After searching several side streets, we found a good spot away from the main road so the cops can't see us. We slept through the night peacefully.
… Next Morning
We went back to see the family once more to say goodbye. Our Taiwanese friend left a towel so that gave us a reason to visit. This time we only saw the grandma and bigger sister.
Did anything happen after we left?
After you left the police called to say they're coming. They came and checked the place, then left after. Nothing else happened.
Did they take grandpa away?
No he's okay, they didn't take him away.
We were glad to hear that, however they appeared really scared to see us again. It'll be hard to know if what was said was true but they were scared, or under duress as instructed by the cops.
If we ever visit Xinjiang again, we will revisit this family again say hello.
¹ In China, foreign tourist must check into special hotels where they get registered into the government system. The state says it's for our safety because this region isn't safe, but we suspect it is for tracking us.
³ Xinjiang is the western most point of China, meaning it's actually three to four timezones away from Beijing Standard Time. With the tight territorial grip, every region follows Beijing time, even when it becomes really silly. Work/school starts at 9am, and ends at 8pm.
⁴ For the safety of the family, we won't post their pictures up here. If anything were to happen to them because of us, we'd feel extremely guilty.