The wheels on the train go ker-clunck, ker-clunck
Slight change of plans (big suprise). The change of plans is that I have no idea how the hell I'm getting to Pakistan. I take a 9 hour train ride tonight and arrive tommarow morning in Lanzhou in the Gansu province. At that point I have to figure out whether I'm going to take the less traveled road or go to Urumqi and then to Kashgar (Kashi). I am at a loss about what to do so it may come down to a split second decision in a train station.
The "hard seat" that I rode on was much nicer than the last one sat in. It made the 11 hours bearable. Hopefully this will hold true in the future when I am forced to travel that way again.
I ended up doing the walk of shame in Yinchuan last night, meaning I walked around at night looking for a hotel. It all worked out but was a little trying. On my way to Yinchuan I sayed in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, which was made pleasant by the kindness of the people living there. It looks like I will be racing the clock to get to Pakistan over the next three weeks seeing that travel conditions and access are spotty at best.
Not much to report. I'm living mostly on trains right now, which means sleeping, eating, and reading. Bye for now.
The "hard seat" that I rode on was much nicer than the last one sat in. It made the 11 hours bearable. Hopefully this will hold true in the future when I am forced to travel that way again.
I ended up doing the walk of shame in Yinchuan last night, meaning I walked around at night looking for a hotel. It all worked out but was a little trying. On my way to Yinchuan I sayed in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, which was made pleasant by the kindness of the people living there. It looks like I will be racing the clock to get to Pakistan over the next three weeks seeing that travel conditions and access are spotty at best.
Not much to report. I'm living mostly on trains right now, which means sleeping, eating, and reading. Bye for now.
posted by Robert at 8/22/2005 12:49:00 AM
1 Comments:
Yeah for Xinjiang! Urumqi is another big Chinese city, with an increasing population of Han Chinese. If you stick around that area for a day or two go to the Heavenly Lake, though touristy, it's beautiful. You can even stay in a yurt.
Check out the Mosque and Uighur market in Kashgar. Ask about getting out of town to a local Uighurs farmers market; that for me was one of the highlights of the area. The towns along the southern rim of the Taklamakan desert should be mostly Uighur. Enjoy the bread, kebabs, palau (rice pilaf), and yoghurt w/sugar.
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