May 20, 2005 - Yining

Things never go too smoothly, as you will by now be aware, and when we stop in a small town to drop off a passenger, the driver decides that he won't be going any further and pays another sleeper bus driver to take us the remaining three hours to Yining. ... Here, at a rather dull section of the river, sits Yining (a. ... Keeping a low profile is easier after dark, and I spend a very enjoyable evening witnessing what passes for Friday night entertainment in Yining. ... There are no sights in Yining, of course, and the one attraction that Lonely Planet directs you to is the river, which is far less interesting here than it is nearer its source. ... I had planned to decide in Yining whether to bus or fly the 600km back to Urumqi. ...