Just near the Hotan bus station I found a room in the Jiaotong Hotel. Single room cost 140 yuan, but there is limited choice of the cheapies in this old town, located just on the egde of the desert. No, no camels on the streets but dondey carts are poular… Hotan is famous for the jade stone, silk workshops and carpet workshops. Tours are offered but if you are on the budget like me you can take the bus 10 just for one juan to get to the other side of the river and visit for free impessive carpet factory and silk workshop.
Today is a national holiday here but I was lucky – the workshops worked anyway! People are nice and helpful regardless the language barrier. I took a lot of pictures. Jade stone you can find just on the streets of Hotan – there are many sellers, but it is necessady to bargain. Fruts and vegies (tomatoes, apples, bananas, grapes) cost all about 4 juan per kilo – I enjoy very much thich chep fruit diet! Yes, you can join the camel tour throu the desert if you want to ride the camel and sleep on the sand, but this will cost you minimim 50 USD per day and you must complete a group…
I tried desert thek in the past so it is not for me…
