Blogs from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, Asia - page 9

KASHGAR, CHINA - (June 2007) Fri 22nd - Fri 28th June - (Kashgar) After spending three weeks travelling with Hee it was strange to be travelling solo again. It was sad to see him go, unfortunately in the opposite direction to where I was heading. I had really enjoyed travelling with him and he had been really good company and had made the experience, even more fantastic. With Hee gone, I'd now have to do everything myself again without the aid of someone who could speak a bit of Chinese. It would mean that those long journeys through China and beyond would become very boring and tiresome again. From Urumqi to Kashgar (Kashi) was no exception. A 22 hour train journey in a train compartment where no one seemed to speak or understand English or even ... read more

For English Version please scroll down ! Deutsch Kashgar, Karakol See und der Karakoram Highway Kashgar, gelegen am westlichen Ende der Taklamakan Wueste, war frueher eine wichtige Oase an der Seidenstrasse. Der Kontrast zwischen der modernen "chinesischen Stadt" und der alten "uhigurischen Stadt" ist gross. Die Einwohner sind zum Grossteil muslimische Uhiguren, die mit den Chinesen nur wenig gemeinsam haben... In Kashgar ist jeden Sonntag Markttag, Tausende Menschen aus der Umgebung kommen um Waren und Tiere zu kaufen oder zu verkaufen. Auf dem Tiermarkt gab es Ziegen, Schafe, Kuehe, Kamele und Esel. Eine staubige aber sehr spannende Angelegenheit ! Habe einem Schafhaendler bei einem Deal ueber die Schulter gesehen, er hat 2 Schafe fuer Euro 70,- verkauft. Der Kaeufer hat die Tiere zunaechst genau begutachtet (Gebiss, Muskulatur und keine Ahnung was noch... read more

Thursday September 7th I was supposed to meet with Aaron, the irish guy from yesterday at 10PM Beijing as we were planning to go to the International bus station to get our ticket to Sost, in Pakistan. I actually woke up earlier than that but I went around town trying to find a Pakistani guidebook. I had been told on Thorn Tree that there was one on Carre Cafe in some hotel. I wasn't too sure where was the Carre cafe but ended up finding it and they indeed had one used guidebook. I tried to bargain the price down but didn't manage to get it decreased by much. He had me by the balls and he knew it. I walked back to John's Cafe and arrived a bit late. Aaron, the british and the swiss ... read more

Ni hao! We are thoroughly enjoying China. As I write this, we are in the far West of China - in Kashgar, a Silk Road trade route city near the borders with Kyrgyzstan (where we are going soon), Pakistan and India. This is the most westerly city in China, and it is genuinely a world away from Beijing, where we spent four action-packed days this week. After Beijing we spent a day in Urumqi, the capital of Xin Jiang province. It is the furthest city in the world from the ocean, and it was hot and dry. We'd hoped to spend several days in and around Urumqi, but transport problems put paid to that plan! Wonderful country, wonderful food Beijing is the biggest city I have ever seen. With almost 14 million inhabitants, it is a ... read more

Kashgar is an amazing place to just wander... Here are some images from a day at the Livestock market and the backstreets of its Old Town. ... read more