No local SIM? Worry about that later, there’s so much to feast our eyes upon. Just the mouth-watering array of dried goods, candies and clothing there were so many unusual goods calling for our attention from every direction! Urumqi in the summer was one of a kind where everyone seemed out till late as the sun only sets at 2100hr local time. We walked and shopped amongst the crowd well into the night with the sun still high in the sky. Prices were observed to be a little on the high side compared to other Chinese provinces, with a main dish costing no less than 10 yuan. Security was everywhere, at schools, markets and shopping centres were barricaded with automated security gates and bag checks. Police frequently patrol the streets and guarded areas where crowds gathered. We passed a kindergarten where there were kids performing within the school compound, it was their Graduation Show Day and the area was condoned off and guarded by about ten uniformed police who distanced themselves along the perimeter of the school grounds. Everything seemed systematic and orderly and we moved without fear. Interestingly, to prevent theft in supermarkets, all carry on items will be sealed in a cotton bag upon entry which would subsequently be unlocked by the cashier when we make payments. Some stores for example the famous Chinese discount chain Huohuli (火狐狸批发城 ) requests for customers to leave all bags with security which was understandable but made us uncomfortable, we left after looking longingly at all its discount signs.

There was an overwhelming sense of generousity with the store owners’ smiles and samples, I felt as if I could sample almost everything and there will be no one would to stop me as they believed customers would not take more than necessary. They even allowed photos, with genuine smiles even if you decide not to buy anything after it all.

 Later that day, we were finding our way around and became stranded under a flyover. As we had a destination in mind, we held out hands out expecting to flag down a cab but were instead, picked up by a private hire driver. As there were two of us and another lady customer in his front seat, we decidedly boarded.  The experience was smooth but not without risks for although the cost was significantly cheaper than cabbing, there was no say on whether roadside private hires were illegal or not. “It’s all up to your discernment.” our private hire driver answered. For  subsequent rides around the city, we hailed cabs with each ride costing around 10 yuan. Most, if not all cab drivers in Urumqi are Chinese. We managed to strike a conversation with one who had previously worked as a teacher in his native Gansu province. He shared that he had earned around 4000 yuan as the lead of a team of teachers (领导) which was incomparable to the 6000-7000 yuan he currently earns as a cab driver in Urumqi. Majority of these Chinese cab drivers in Xinjiang typically hail from the neighbouring Chinese provinces of Gansu and Henan.

There were no prayer calls from the Grand Mosque throughout that day. Our stay in Xinjiang coincided with the period of Ramandan (5 May – 4 June 2019), where the Uighyurs would supposedly observe fast (斋月). The city seemed as per normal during the fasting period, government offices closed at around 1630hr and shops were open till the sun sets at around 2100hr. It was our first day and the genuinity of the local made already made a favourable impression on us. There was no attempt to hard sell, the stall owners and supermarket assistants were generous with their smiles and samples.