I was watching too much CNN coverage of the Trump administration in my hotel room, so I reached out for comfort food. I discovered Ürümqi has one Tex-Mex restaurant, so I made a pilgrimage.
It was closed.
I immediately thought “Of course it’s closed. This is the night before Chinese New Year.” For the Chinese, it’s like Christmas Eve & New Year’s Eve put together. Everyone is huddled at home with their families.
And then I had the chilling realization that I wasn’t going to be able to find a taxi back to the hotel. I wandered for blocks and blocks in the freezing cold and had a genuine pang of fear that I might freeze to death.
Finally, I found a guy getting out of a taxi and I lept in before the cabbie could refuse to take me. We had a nice chat about America, China, and Trump.