Day 20 : I spend a half a day in Kargilik to explore a bit more of the town. I walked around looking for a 15th century mosque that I couldn't find the previous day. So I set out on the general direction that was given to by the hotel staff in the previous day. After walking for over 40 mins I reached what look liked a mosque. A very tall, beautiful and old building, but locked from outside clearly, so as the receptionist said for 'some' reason it was closed. I enjoyed the beauty and took a snap on my cell phone and chose to walk back to my hotel to pack up and leave.
As I got back I noticed something on one of the alleyways which caught my attention again just like the previous evening. It was a Guitar hung with two traditional instruments along side. I looked at it for a while and took a snap and decided to try taking a walk in that alley. And just like the previous day it greeted me with some beautiful scenes and some of my favourite snaps of the trip to Kargilik.
I left Kargilik that afternoon to head back to Hotan in time for the Sunday Market. I got back pretty late in the evening around 7 and was very lazy to get out, but another half of me wanted to explore. I checked wikitravel to get more details of some good place to eat, so there I found the number of this Malaysian restaurant called "Marco's Dream Cafe" run by this Malaysian Couple. I talked to the owner who runs the cafe with her husband and she told me the direction to get to the cafe. I was excited about the idea of having some different flavour to eat that day and set off in search of the Café.
Nicely tucked away in one corner of the main peoples square I managed to find them by the direction I was given. I was greeted by the warm and friendly owner of the cafe and the first thing that struck me was the beautiful ambience of the place. I had a nice talk with the owner about how he landed in Hotan and about a lot of things like that and order some rice with some nice Malaysian Curry. It tasted heavenly, I thoroughly enjoyed the curry and their hospitality so I spend the evening there till they closed talking to them about Xinjiang and learning from their experiences. They shared a lot of tips about some of the best places to eat Polo and Kebabs, some of the best things to see around, more about the market and a lot of details like that. It was a very fulfilling day and I said good night for the day and left, with a thought of going back to them before I left. :)
As I got back I noticed something on one of the alleyways which caught my attention again just like the previous evening. It was a Guitar hung with two traditional instruments along side. I looked at it for a while and took a snap and decided to try taking a walk in that alley. And just like the previous day it greeted me with some beautiful scenes and some of my favourite snaps of the trip to Kargilik.
I left Kargilik that afternoon to head back to Hotan in time for the Sunday Market. I got back pretty late in the evening around 7 and was very lazy to get out, but another half of me wanted to explore. I checked wikitravel to get more details of some good place to eat, so there I found the number of this Malaysian restaurant called "Marco's Dream Cafe" run by this Malaysian Couple. I talked to the owner who runs the cafe with her husband and she told me the direction to get to the cafe. I was excited about the idea of having some different flavour to eat that day and set off in search of the Café.
Nicely tucked away in one corner of the main peoples square I managed to find them by the direction I was given. I was greeted by the warm and friendly owner of the cafe and the first thing that struck me was the beautiful ambience of the place. I had a nice talk with the owner about how he landed in Hotan and about a lot of things like that and order some rice with some nice Malaysian Curry. It tasted heavenly, I thoroughly enjoyed the curry and their hospitality so I spend the evening there till they closed talking to them about Xinjiang and learning from their experiences. They shared a lot of tips about some of the best places to eat Polo and Kebabs, some of the best things to see around, more about the market and a lot of details like that. It was a very fulfilling day and I said good night for the day and left, with a thought of going back to them before I left. :)
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| The old and beautiful mosque, since it was closed this was the only snap I could manage. |
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The meeting of genres...the scene that caught my eye and tempted me to explore...
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| A lone nan maker with his unsure smile....he was making nan right in the courtyard of his house... |
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| As I walked the street I was in the lenses of local security men called Bao an in Chinese. They were a very curious and the most friendly bunch whom I came across in Xinjiang, they even cheerfully posed for a picture with me....I wonder if I made it to the PSB records as a foreigner drifting around with his camera :P |
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| Scene from the market...They greeted me with a smile and with the obvious question of my nationality so couldnt resist to click... |
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| From the market again...he was more curious about Shahrukh Khan when he knew my nationality.... |
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A family of bread makers...when I stopped for a samsa this family's beautiful smile greeted me...another favourite from the day...
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