I step off the train on to the platform in Urumqi, sighing. My muscles ache. The icy air feels good, biting, refreshing upon my face. Colin grabs me and we walk briskly to the exit. Colin keeps telling me, "Watch out, be careful! There are a lot of bad men here they will theft you. Keep your thing to close for you, by your self. I'm not kidding! You will see!" We reach the exit gates. "Hurry. We must go." Exhaustion heightens my paranoia so I switch the backpack from my back to my front. Colin had my other bag along with his. Like waves off the shore. we smash into the crowd through the gates, out into the city. Light snow is falling, it's dusk. People are everywhere all in a hurry. Everyone moving in every direction. A flood of people spill into the streets colliding into hundreds people waiting for their arrival on the other side of the barrier. Cab drivers, thieves, and beggars, converge upon us like a school of piranha. Everyone talking at us all at once. It's confusing. Touching, breathing, grabbing at the bags, Colin says, "This way, now!" He turns and says something very quickly to two bearded men in light faux leather jackets, who are attempting to take our bags. They hesitate and back off. They stare at me. I don't look back. For a moment I feel strange, alone, uncomfortable. We wind our way through the crowded street over the ice to find a cab and head off to the bus station. I'm starving. Colin says, "There are many delicious foods here. Do you like eating sheeps meat? Are you hungry? We must eat before we take the bus. It is a long way maybe fifteen hours, a lot of snow on zhis ground." The cab driver says something to me in Uyghur (Weegar). He stops in front of the bus station and lets us out. We climb over a snow barrier and head off to buy tickets for the night ride to Yining.
In retrospect, now that I am sitting here in the warm comfort of my apartment, I feel, maybe, I let the moment slip by me too quickly. I am on the edge of the knife here. I can feel the tension. Yet there is no time to savor all the sights, sounds and smells. There is no time to take pictures. I passed up many opportunities this trip to document what I saw. Sometimes that happens. I had to keep moving. Colin tells me there will be time to rest when we get to Yining. He is twenty. He forgets I am older and maybe a step slower.Time to man up. Things are now down to minutes. Now, we are moment to moment, minute to minute. Intense. I walk fast trying to keep up with Colin as he makes a bee line to the bus station. He is on a mission. I am just along for the ride.
The bus station is wretched. Sawdust covers the floor. Everyone looks disheveled and beat. Sweaty people smells fill the air. Cigarette smoke mingles with bad breath. People are yelling in ten different languages. It all sounds like static. People are tired. They are tense. It's crowded and stuffy. It's never a matter of wanting to take the bus, it's always about needing to. Comfort is never an option. These people know it, accept it. They stand in a line resigned, waiting for their turn to buy a ticket. Colin buys our tickets and then says, " let us eat." Great! I'm starving!
I left Wuxi with a bit of a stomach bug and now I am needing to fill the beast up. I am hoping to get through the ride before I need the bathroom again. I never learned to squat and now is not the time. It's a damn uncomfortable feeling. But I don't care I am up for delicious sheeps meat and rice. We head on over to Colins favorite Uyghur restaurant across from the bus station. We walk in and all stare at us. I thought for a moment I was back in the middle east. These people could be my long lost relatives! I am being sized up. Colin pays no never mind and begins to order in Urgar. He orders noodles and meat with vegetables. He orders the rice for me. Things then got complicated. The rice came with sheep meat and veggies but it was dry, no sauce. I wanted what Colin had which was noodles with meat and veggies in a tomato sauce that looked more delicious. So I ordered one of his. I couldn't order just the veggies and sauce I have to order the whole plate. He took the noodles I took the vegetables with tomatoes. I liked it so much I had two! Did I mention I was hungry. When we finished we took off to the bus station to wait for our bus.
The place was packed. People heading out for the holidays. Boxes and bags heaped upon the chairs with their owners heaped along side them. We all looked like we had already been some place else and this was the last leg. It felt like the last leg. Now I am full and tired and I'm thinking a quiet bus ride on plush seats, get to watch TV... so says Colin, I am almost looking forward to the trip. Our bus is called we rush to the gate, every one rushes all the time even if they know they are not going anywhere. We wait, and wait, the bus is late, snow is falling. My bags feel like giant bricks. They open the gate and we rush, again to the bus. I step up and whoa! What is this? Cots, Three rows... Oh no, It's a SLEEPER BUS!!! This is not my idea of plush. To make matters worse Colin says, "the bus is dirty." Great... just wonderful... can't wait... geeze... so much for comfort.
Now, all that just seems like a dream. Gone, history, done is done. I wake up. The clock on the bus says eight. We roll to a stop. We are on the outskirts of Yining at the check point. Oh man! we made it!! We are finally here. The journey is over. I can relax. I am excited. No more travel for a while. I feel relived. Colin wakes up and announces we are here. The bus door opens. Colin tells me to give him my passport. He heads to the front and comes back. A moment later, a policeman enters the bus, points his finger at me and says "Steven, Steven, Come with me."