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10am, Kashgar wakes up…Vibrant, colorful, multicultural, Kashgar well deserved its reputation of “gate to Central Asia”. The name of the city had somehow always brought up a sense of adventure, mysterious journey where nomads & traders stop in this oasis before heading to the Taklamakan desert in the east or down west toward Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Nowadays, Kashgar still plays its role as an oasis along the Silk Road and is a live testimony of past and present glory. Grabbing the now usual freshly baked nan on the way to the old town, I was quickly to
lose sense of direction walking inside narrow alleyways and discovering at every step a bit more of the ancient Kashgar.
Women covered in
long brown veils or simply wearing a
colorful head scarf would be leaving their hundred years old earth house for shopping, kids playing in those alleys where the sun light comes in by intermittence, local Uyghur on donkey kart coming at slow speed and somehow surprised when I say hello in their language (something that sound like Yardsamesis - don’t ask me about the exact spelling…) in a word…
a never ending ballet where every corner reveals new surprises full of colors and light.
As I exit one of the alley (never really know where it starts/ ends …), I end up right next to
the majestic Id Kah mosque. Bright yellow, with massive wooden doors and green color entrance foyer, it is
a true oasis of tranquility after the short walk on the adjacent street.
Far from being a tiny one though as it is actually
the largest mosque in China with every day thousands of worshippers coming to pray, somehow my luck was still with me as I ended up having the entire mosque for myself (really starting to enjoy the ‘time difference’) and thus had plenty of time to chill out under the pine trees in the central courtyard before moving toward the hall of prayer. The great thing about being alone is that I could actually enter the hall in itself, walking on the carpets, and admiring the colorful ceiling and walls which for women would normally not be allowed when worshippers are inside. Sweet!
Early afternoon, getting so warm! More walking around,
a five senses experience everywhere I look… spices & dry fruits, copper tea pots, gold necklaces,
exotic fruits, roses, silk and colorful carpets…
feel like walking in a gigantic bazaar when in reality this is simply Kashgar bustling with activity.
Back to the hotel & John café where I found plenty of books and info to map out the trip along the Karakoram highway all the way to the Pakistani border, first real black coffee since Shanghai, great chat with Jack the owner a local Chinese with impeccable English before heading up to the bus station.
Well…Xinjiang might not feel like China but still is…so, ended up going through three different bus stations, each of them sending me to the next one as their last bus for Karakul had already left before finally being told (at the third station…) that all the buses leave in the morning and my only option was to share a car with locals going to the same area followed by a short explanation in pretty poor Chinese on how to reach the pickup place!
Sounds already like an adventure!
So for the one of you who might end up in the same situation…bus 9 heading west (down XiYu Road) all the way to the last stop (pretty
much in the middle of nowhere..) and then walk the way you came in, pass the gas station, and keep walking for additional 5 mn down the main road, you will then see SUV parked on the side of the road. Pffff…
Short price negotiation with one of the driver who happened to have one seat left and was ready to drop me by the Karakul lake, ended up paying RMB 50 (roughly 5 Euros) for this three hours drive, not bad especially at that time of the day!
Threw my bag on the top of the SUV, tighted it up & met my fellow passengers...six Kyrgyz origin workers…mmm…not too sure who was the most surprised, them or me but already knew the journey was going to be interesting!
Next: Karakoram highway, through the Pamir mountains, accross sand and snow storms all the way to the Pakistani border!
Trip around Xinjiang
PART 1: Xinjiang Southern Pastures: Kazakh, horses, snow & yurts!
PART 2: Hundreds years of dust...welcome to the Gobi Desert!
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