Back to China

As this PC does not allow me to type in Japanese, let me write in English.

It was in Ulumqi when I wrote the last diary, and again I am in Ulumqi now.
I am actually back from Kazakhstan yesterday, because I had to wait for a lot of days for Visa arrangement. On the day of arrival in Almaty, Kazakhstan, I went to the Uzbekistan embassy for Visa and they said that I need a Turkmenistan Visa to get a Uzbek Visa issued. There is no Turkmen embassy in Almaty, so the only option left was that I go to other contry to get a Turkmen Visa and come back.

What a stupid system?

Well, this is the Russian bureaucracy. There is no exception allowed for anyone.
I had to give up for the Turkmen Visa. Now what could I do? The hotel costs 3800 tenge, about 40 US dollars per night. Foods are just as expensive as Japan and Australia. I had a meal at 'Mc Burger' shop ( not McDonalds!) and they served quite shitty and premitive burger set..., which cost me 6 dollars.

I thought, 'Should I stay in this country, or go to somewhere else and have fun? Why would I have to suffer from pain of not being able to read and speak Russian???'
Well, why not go back to China and head to Hong Kong because I know the city. The Visa allows me to stay in China up to 14 days. Ok, the next city is Xi'an, where the tomb of one Dynasty lies with thousand of soldier sculptures.

Let's go to Xi'an.