With our visit in Urumqi we were in the capital of Xinjiang -- a province as big as Alaska. David was impressed with the 5-star hotel. A 3 hour drive through the country took us to Heaven's Lake, where we enjoyed a gondola ride up mountain and boat ride on the lake. Then a night trip by air to Kashgar. Today we are taking it a little easy (opting out of the morning excursion) and catching up on things (including our blog.) Kashgar is listed on some maps as Kashi -- the Chinese name. Some pictures from our trip outside Urumqi [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday we went to Heaven's Lake. It took 3 hours to get there, but it all paid off with a Gondola ride up the steep mountain. Then we ate at a local hotel restaurant. After, we were picked up by what looked like golf carts and driven to Heaven Lake. My first impression was the water: it looked really clear, maybe the clearest water I've ever seen ( of course, the water was melted glaciers ). Lucky for me, we took a boat ride. It was very enjoyable, but soon enough, I was in the bus on my way to the [View Full Entry]

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Today we visited the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the site of the Qin Dynasty's Emperor's Tomb. It is truly an 8th wonder of the world -- both physically and in its impact. This was the first emperor of China. He was so arrogant of his power and sure of his eternal glory (not to mention murderous to his people) that he employed 3/4 million people (slaves) for nearly 40 years to guard him in the afterlife so he could be ruler there forever. Instead he ruled on Earth for less than 40 years, and the warriors and his construction were destroyed [View Full Entry]

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Last night, I had a full sleep ( finally ): 9 1/2 hours. We visited the Terra Cotta Soldier Museum and this time I wasn't sleepy, so I was ready to see the Soilders! All of the Soldiers were taller than my grandpa, and they looked pretty nice considering they were underground for a LONG time. The Soldiers were there to protect the Emperor's tomb. We watched a Cinemax movie after. It explained about how the Emperor made the Soldiers and the tomb. After that museum, we went to another museum that was built around a prehistoric village. The village was [View Full Entry]

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DAVID: I'm finally in China after the LONG plane trip: 13 hours straight. It wasn't fun at all, but at least I'm out of that plane. I don't really feel so well at the moment, and i don't like Chinese food all the time. I really miss everyone at home badly!!! LOU: Yes indeed we are tired, and, as you can tell, David is a bit overwhelmed. He was surprised to learn that we would be eating Chinese food at every meal! -- So I took him for a pre-supper at McDonalds. The city is very large (8 million) noisty, crowded [View Full Entry]

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THE PLANETARY SOCIETY CHINA’S SILK ROAD & HUNZA TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE EXPEDITION July 17 - August 3, 2008 DAILY ITINERARY See map on May 31 entry DAYS 1/2 USA TO HONG KONG Thurs/Fri July 17/18 Expedition members on group flight check in at Los Angeles International Airport for Cathay Pacific flight #883 to Hong Kong. 11:45 pm Los Angeles passengers depart on CX#883 for Hong Kong. (Meals aloft) DAY 3 ARRIVE HONG KONG & FLY TO XI’AN Sat July 19 5:25 am Cathay Pacific Los Angeles flight arrives in Hong Kong. Check in for flight Hong Kong to Xi’an. Be at [View Full Entry]

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I enter China high in the Tian Shan mountains, through the Torugart Pass. At 3700m above sea level it's about 2.5 times the height of Ben Nevis, and you can really feel it. The scenery however is spectacular. I'd heard the Chinese border crossing can be difficult, but less than an hour later I'm heading down, out of the moutnains, to the Uighar city of Kashgar. The Uighars are descendents of middle-eastern muslim merchants (sorry for the alliteration) who have traded along the Silk Road for more than a millenia. The far Western province of Xinjiang was once part of the [View Full Entry]

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I love getting into the Sunday NY Times. Today, they had an article by Helene Cooper about engagement vs. isolation (in politics). article The subject of engagement is a big part of my trip. Engaging with China is an important issue for the world, and for the space program; and being a tourist at this time of Tibetan rights, human rights issues, Islam - secular mixes all in the part of the world we are visiting focuses us on that issue. Political engagement is also an issue in the American presidential campaign. Some fear it (don’t talk to the evil guys), [View Full Entry]

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We are getting ready for our trip and today is David's first entry. I asked him -- are you excited and what are you looking forward to? ======> I am looking forward to seeing a solar eclipse, nice scenery, and foreign people. And yes, I am pretty excited!!! :) I'm nervous about getting sick on the plane though... [View Full Entry]

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morning guys ..ladies too please ..kinda new to this computer stuff old hippie living in the woods of alaska ..radio link to web ..learning to type ..got a bad habit called k2 ..get some extra dollars in my pocket ..well that's where i head ..pakistan was safer a decade ago ..china side very demanding treck ..lotz of fun ..camels ..shaskam river valley ..local camel men ..great guys ..smoked all my cigerrets ..well got out to road with a few to spare ..gonna cut it short here ..see about getting out and back in again ..kinda flag my way out and back [View Full Entry]

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