Back in Shanghai. I had a good time in Xinjiang - I am so glad I went! China is so diverse - such different languages, cultures, climates, scenery, etc. Shanghai is like no other part of China. I was so fooled when I thought Shanghai is "China". Xinjiang was dry, and parts very cold. The first time I've worn more than one layer outside. The trip back from Kashgar took almost 9 hours (I had a connecting flight). It's humid and hot here and my hair was frizzy again. I got a perm today, a straight perm, that is. I am [View Full Entry]

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We took a day trip 200 km from Kashgar to Karakul Lake. The drive along the China-Pakistan highway took more than 4 hours since we stopped to admire scenery, go to the bathroom, etc. Karakul lake is 3600 meters above sea level, and located 200 km east of Pakistan. Although the lake was our destination, the drive there was actually the highlight of the trip. I was a little concerned about the high altitude of Karakul lake. It is at 3600 m and the highest alpine lake in the world! Considering I was ill from the altitude of 9,000 ft at [View Full Entry]

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We headed out from the hotel at 7:30 am Xinjiang time and the sun was just starting to rise. The streets were very quiet and had a particular smell. Kashgar smells different. I can't describe it. A little musty, a little smelly. Kashgar is probably one of the most major stops in the ancient Silk Road, since it is so far West and convenient entry from neighboring countries. We first visited Id Kah Mosque (built in 1442). This is Xinjiang and Central Asia's largest mosque. Despite being the largest, the size did not impress me. However, this is the first time [View Full Entry]

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We head via bus 3+ hours to Urumqi from Turpan. Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang province. On our drive over, there is nice scenery - view of the snow on Heavenly Mt, large salinized lake, wind farms, and mountains. Quite a nice drive. Except for... ok, this is gross, beware: We stopped at a rest stop and I had to go to the bathroom since I had two cups of coffee with breakfast - it was the most horrrrrrendous facility I've ever seen in my life. As I walked towards the women's entrance there was already urine, toilet paper, feces [View Full Entry]

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Our local Uighur tour guide Aiysha met us at the Turpan train station. We then headed to our hotel for breakfast. Turpan is pretty difficult to get to - the train station is quite far from the city center, and the closest airport is in Urumqi, three hours away. Xinjiang is China's most western province, close to Pakistan, north of Tibet. However, the official time used in Xinjiang is Beijing time. The sun rises at 8:30 am or later in Xinjiang. So unofficially, Xinjiang is 2 hours behind Beijing. Very confusing. Flights and train schedules use Beijing time, but local restaurants, [View Full Entry]

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I headed over to Gansu Province to meet the rest of the tour group. The aiport was quite busy on Saturday, as it was the beginning of a holiday week! I had to transfer flights through Lanzhou and got to sit next to these two young Nanjing girls. They looked 25 years old but both were working professionals in their mid-30s and each had children over 8 year old! Sheesh. Anyway, it was fun for them to talk in English, and good for me to practice my Mandarin. They both said that they dreamed that their English was as good as [View Full Entry]

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I saw an old friend from school today! We went to the same elementary, middle, and high schools together. Couldn't follow her to college though; she went on to Stanford. :) J is currently living in Tokyo with her husband for the next few months. Sounds like such an adventure! I met her at the Westin and we went to Shanghai Uncle for lunch. Shanghai Uncle gets pretty good reviews. It has better Shanghainese food than other places, but it's not what it's hyped to be. After lunch we walked Nanjing Lu and sat and had iced tea and shaved ice [View Full Entry]

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So I did something a little selfish and flakey. For the past few weeks I've been volunteer teaching English to a group of adults. When I signed up to do this in June, I had the intention to study Mandarin in Shanghai through October. I have enjoyed the class and it's been an awesome experience. I did say that I would teach the class, but I also said that I wanted to travel in upcoming months. However, in June, "October" seemed awhile away. Although I don't have definite plans yet of when and where, but I decided to release myself from [View Full Entry]

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Last week CL and I were thinking about going to the Propaganda Poster Art Center on 868 Huashan Lu. It was a little out of the way, so we skipped it, but I ventured out there today. This place is very unique. It's a bit hard to find - amongst a bunch of apartment buildings. Anyway, it's the fourth building in the basement. As you walk through the gate the guard points you in the right direction. The exhibit is very small, but the collector and owner of the posters is there to collect your Y20 entry ticket. The collector (Mr. [View Full Entry]

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I brought about 8 books with me to Shanghai. Someone gave me one more, I borrowed two more, and I bought one. That's a lot of books for me to read. I am embarassed to admit I've probably read less than 10 books in the past 5 years. Anyway, I've insisted on reading them all before returning home. I refuse to have them take up space in my suitcases. Books I'm reading/have read during my trip: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown - I started this book probably years ago, and have not been able to finish it for some reason. [View Full Entry]

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