Sometimes it’s stressful trying to speak the language, use public transport in a new city, order food, take taxis, walk along the street without getting yelled at, walk along the streets without getting hit with a wall of dust that sticks to your sweat, and so forth.
Night and day you’d wander around the town wearing yourself down with the trials — like those listed above — and then walk through the big green doors for the Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel and immediately feel at ease.
The courtyard: Nothing like open-air seating (both with and without cover) and floor pillows that make a hostel feel comfortable. We spent many an hour lounging around, using the FREE WIFI, reading books, chatting with other travelers. Pat and I met so many interesting travelers in this courtyard and may or may not have been converted to Muslims, unknowingly, in the process. Not sure about that one.
The beer fridge: In Kashgar, alcohol is not easy to come by, so it was nice that this hostel made sure to have their beer fridge stocked… stocked with 620 ml bottles of local beer. Even better: They only cost us 70 cents!
English-speaking help: Even though it was iffy at times, there was the ability to communicate in basic English in the hostel. We even met a girl that moved to our hostel from another because she simply couldn’t communicate in English to them.
Travel help: The owner, Moon, was super helpful and could book trains, planes, and tours for us. When our train to Urumqi was canceled, he helped us figure out how to get a refund, which would have been a nightmare on our own!
We were thankful to be staying at this hostel while in Kashgar, even if the beds were of typical Chinese “firmness” and with rice pillows. It was our little refuge during our time in Western China!
Brooke
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