July 8, 2006
Pakistan
I decided to take the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Bangkok to Islamabad because of its schedule (overnight) and relatively lower price. With the connecting flight to Gilgit (seat couldn’t be confirmed in Bangkok) it’s totally less than 13,000 baht. The flight took off at 1 am. About one hour after takeoff when the airplane was in the sky of the Thai-Myanmar border area, the airplane suddenly moved up and down and the coffee on my hand splashed to my shirt. Many people in the airplane screamed. The same thing happened again one minute later. A Pakistani American lady jumped next to my seat and tried to talk to me to calm herself down. This was the scariest experience I’ve had so far on an airplane.
The airplane arrived on time (about 4 am Islamabad Time). Immigration and customers were quite straightforward – no questions asked or onward ticket checked. My next job was to try to get the ticket to Gilgit confirmed. Everybody can buy a ticket from Islamabad to Gilgit in advance but it can only be confirmed at Islamabad 1 day before. There were two flights on that day – one at 6:15 am and another one around 9 am. I went to the PIA domestic counter and they put me on the list of the 6:15 am flight. I was mentally prepared by the guidebooks how difficult to get a seat on this route (50% cancellations, etc.) so I didn’t expect too much. After waiting for about an hour, I went to the counter again and was told “not sure yet”. It was only 30 minutes before the departure time and there were quite 10-20 people standing around the counter hoping to get a seat. After the staff cleared all the confirmed tickets, they started to give the very limited number of seats to the “RQ” people. Perhaps because I had only one person or perhaps because I am a foreigner, they gave me a seat just 10 minutes before departure. I felt a big relief when that happened – not only because that prevented me from taking the 16 hour bus from Islamabad to Gilgit, but it would also save me one day so I could see more places in Xinjiang.
The aircraft was the 44 seat Fokker F-27. Shortly after takeoff, it entered the mountain area and it was quite scenic. While the airplane approached Gilgit, it finally entered the valley and flied between the mountains since there is no way for the F-27 to go on top of the mountains. It was quite exciting. The only similar experience I had was in Bhutan where the airport in Paro is also in the valley. The airplane arrived in the hill town of Gilgit safely just a little bit over one hour after departure. You may notice my wording is a little bit strange and there is a reason. Two days after I arrived in Xinjiang I watched the news on TV and learned a PIA Fokker F-27 crashed 3 minutes after takeoff near Multan and killed all the people abroad. Since PIA only had 7 Fokker F-27, I was not sure if that was the one I took. The president of Pakistan ordered all the F-27 be grounded. Obviously I was among the last passengers using that type of aircraft.
The first thing I noticed after getting off the airplane was heavy military appearance that reminded me I was in the Pakistani-administered Kashmir. After some easy bargaining (from 80 to 60 rupees), I hired a car to the bus station. There were not a lot of people on the streets that made the troops more outstanding. The whole town is surrounded by snow mountains and looks quite laid-back.
The “bus station” was just a parking lot where buses and minivans going to the north and the region depart. Although it was not 8 am yet, the scheduled bus to Sust already left (probably at 7:30 am) but I was told there was a minivan going later in the morning. After having some nan and milk tea at a near restaurant (if you call it a restaurant), I waited under the sun and almost fainted. Although Gilgit is at 1,500 meters above the sea level, it’s probably not high enough and it was unbearably hot on that July morning. The minivan finally left around 9 am. When the minivan started to move, I started to feel better due to the wind generated.
Another reason I felt better was that I finally started my journey on the Karakoram Hignway. This highway is from Islamabad in Pakistan to Kashgar in China and is the highest international highway in the world. The Pakistani part of the highway runs mostly along the Indus River with mountains appearing in three colors – green at the bottom, gray in the middle and snow white at the top. Although the minivan was not very comfortable, I didn’t feel too tired due to the outside beauty and the Pakistani music the driver played. With a lunch break (spicy chicken!), the minivan arrived in Sust about 5.5 hours later.
Sust is basically a one street town - 100 meters from one end to another. There are about 10 hotels and some trading companies from China along the street. The rest are all general stores. Since I didn’t sleep on the airplane and the heat in Gilgit almost killed me, I decided to give myself a treat – staying at the high-end Hotel Riveria – for 1,000 rupees. This is one of the two high-end hotels in town but is just moderate by city standard. It’s quite clean although there are no air-conditioners. I did a quick walk to the Hunza River and had a glimpse of the Khudabad village across the river before returning to my hotel to have a nap. The town is very boring and I ended up having all my meals in the restaurant attached to my hotel (I was probably the only guest there).
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| Along the Karakoram Highway |
July 9, 2006
Pakistan to China
The PDTC bus from Sust to Tashkurgan in China leaves at 9 am although I was asked to be at the bus station at 8:30 am. This bus is for foreigners only and cost 1,500 rupees. There were only 3 foreigners on that day (anther couple from Argentina). Fortunately, they didn’t transfer us to the NATCO bus for the local Pakistanis. Contrary to the guidebooks, all the foreigners’ luggages were checked. Customs and immigration didn’t take a long time and the bus left the immigration office around 10 am and started the 5 hour journey on the highest part of KKH between the two immigration posts (I was technically outside both countries during the bus trip).
Before boarding the bus, I packed some food from the restaurant attached to my hotel. This proved to be helpful although you don’t eat a lot on the plateau. The scenery on the KKH after Sust is not too much different with rivers and snow mountains around all the way. About one hour later, we stopped for the Khunjerab National Park fee (240 ruppes or US$4) although you don’t feel too much different in the national park.
Just about halfway (2.5 hours from departure), the bus arrived at the border area quietly (I didn’t even notice it). It’s quite a large flat field with snow mountains surrounded. You only know it’s a border when you see the flags of Pakistan and China. At 4,800 meter above the see lever, I didn’t feel anything (this amazed me – I still remember how I felt when I was in Daocheng of China 2 years ago and that is only 3,900 meters high). The bus driver let us get off for a few minutes and I had a chance to stand on the highest point of KKH to celebrate the end of my quick visit to Northern Pakistan in less than 48 hours.
After passing Zero Point, we entered the Chinese territory. Although this is Xinjiang where most people are minorities, the custom checkpoint people are all Han Chinese – they are actually part of the military personnel. One person is even from Xishiku, Beijing. Again they checked everybody’s luggage, including all the foreigners', very carefully. They even asked me to take the pill I claimed to be for sore throat right away. After the checkpoint, one person with the military uniform got on the bus and accompanied the passengers all the way to the immigration post 1 km before the town of Kashkurgan.
At the immigration post, everybody’s luggage was checked carefully once again. For some reason, the lady at the passport control asked for my ID card. They do this for the Pakistani business people but to me this was quite confusing. Finally her supervisor sorted it out and I was able to leave the immigration.
Tashkurgan is a small town of mostly Tajiks. However, it’s much bigger and interesting than Sust with many shops, restaurants, beauty salons and massage parlors. After checking in at Traffic Hotel (just next to the bus station) for 80 yuan, I decided to see Stone City, the only sight in town, before dinner.
Due to the actual time difference between Xinjiang and Beijing (2-3 hours), even at Beijing Time 10 pm, it’s not dark in Tashkurgan yet. Actually it’s just sunset and the best time to see the Stone City. There was nobody at the entrance (on a side road after the Pamir Hotel). The wall of the “city” looked gorgeous with the sunset. It took me only one minute to climb to the top of the “city”. Once I walked to the other side of the “city” (another minute), I saw a big field of grassland with dotted yurts – it was splendid.
I had dinner around 11:00 pm Beijing Time and the old story happened to me again – I asked them to make it “not spicy” for a normally spicy dish and it turned out to be very spicy. This gave me a first touch of eating in Xinjing. In my all week long journey in Xinjiang, I had spicy food everyday – something I didn’t expect before the trip (I didn’t get sick amazingly – this again proved the magic of traveling).
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| Stone City |
July 10, 2006
Kashgar
The bus from Tashkurgan to Kashgar leaves at 9:00 am but I was advised to be in the ticket office at 8:30 am to get a seat. There are actually 2 buses. The smaller bus is supposed to run faster although the fare is the same (46 yuan). You need to tell them which bus you would like to take. I didn’t know this and ended up getting the bigger bus. The bus was not full and left the station around 9:30 am. As the bus left the small town, it entered a basin with the 7,534 meter high Mutztagh Ata behind. About one hour later, the bus stopped at a tiny local restaurant where I had my first (and last) nang and lamb soup (5 yuan) in Xinjiang. The nang was too hard to break using my hands so I just used my teeth to break it into pieces and put into the soup. It was interesting and delicious. After about another hour, the bus passed the beautiful Kara Kuli Lake. The water is crystal clear with green fields in the front and snow mountains in the back. After the lake, the bus entered a valley with red landscape and the 7,720 meter high Mount Kongur. It was quite exiting. Part of the road was damaged by floods and they were still repairing it. One hour after the lake the bus passed a checkpoint where IDs or passports are checked. In reality they were rarely checked at least for the Chinese. Perhaps because of my looks, I just passed through the office without showing any documents. Another hour after the checkpoint the bus entered the plains and passed a major town on the route – Upal. Upal looks like a big market, with all the people, donkey carts and sheep. The bus finally arrived at a small terminal in southern Kashgar after the 6 hour journey on the last part of the KKH.
Mini-bus No. 9 was waiting opposite the terminal taking you to the city center and passing the major International Bus Station. In the past few days, most of the time I was with mountains and small towns. Kashgar looked quite big to me at first glance. It’s also very clean. The streets are very wide and there are definitely no traffic jams. All the bus stops are clearly marked in Uyghur, Chinese and English. The Uyghurs speak soft and lovely Mandarin. The Big Cross (Dashizi) and People’s Square are in the city center. I dropped by an air ticket office and bought my ticket from Urumqi to Yining two days later for 560 yuan (40% off normal price), then went to the nearby Bank of China to exchange some Renminbi (yuan). All the places are within 5 minute walk to the Big Cross. I then walked one bus stop north to see the Idkah Mosque, the biggest mosque and religious center in Xinjiang and Central Asia. There is a big square in front of the mosque with many shops around. The entrance fee is 10 yuan and no photos are allowed inside the mosque. It actually looks quite simple inside and there is a nice park before the praying area. After seeing the Idkah Mosque, I crossed the street to have a glimpse of the old city – it’s amazing. It may not be as exciting as the Sunday Market but still attractive enough. People sell all kinds of stuff there but mostly Uyghur crafts and various nuts, most of which I couldn’t name. I bought a big slice of watermelon for just 0.50 yuan – a delight for myself under the July sun in Southern Xinjiang.
Another mini-bus along the main Jiefang North Road took me to the International Bus Station (3 stops north of Idkah Mosque). The buses to Urumqi run hourly with the last leaving at 9:00 pm Beijing Time. I bought the 7:00 pm one for 266 yuan. Interestingly, the time printed on the ticket were in Xinjiang Time (17:00) and this was the only occasion I saw through my journey in Xinjiang – not surprisingly since Kashgar is indeed very Xinjiang style (the only runner-up is probably Turpan on the last day of my journey to Xinjiang).
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| Idkah Mosque |
July 11, 2006
Kashgar to Urumqi
I spent the whole day on the sleeper bus for the 25 hour journey from Kashgar to Urumqi. On the bus there are 3 rows from left to right and 2 levels. My berth was the first lower berth in the middle row. I was very happy to be assigned this berth. The middle berth gave me more space to stretch my legs and arms and the front location gave me the best view of the sceneries. 95% of the passengers were Urghurs. The road is pretty good. Most of the journey is along the Tianshan Range with mountains on the north and occasionally railways on the south. The bus made occasional stops for toilet breaks and meals (don’t expect too much). Only Uyghur food is available along the way. One common food I tried was the spicy Banmian - lamb/beef plus vegetables and noodles served separately and you need to mix them together. Although it’s spicy, it’s tasteful and there are indeed a lot of vegetables (carrots, beans, etc.). For the last 6 hours (after Korla) the bus entered the Tianshan Range on a newly built highway and it’s quite scenic. It also passes the Dabancheng area where a lot of windmills stand on both sides of the highway (the buses between Urumqi and Turpan also use the same highway). The bus arrived at the Southern Bus Station in Urumqi around 8 pm Beijing Time - just the start of the evening. Urumqi looks bigger but older than Kashgar. All the bus stops are also marked in Uyghur, Chinese and English. There are definitely more Han Chinese here (more than 50%). There is a local bus depot right next the Southern Bus Station called Santunbei where bus No. 51 will take you to the airport for 1 yuan (1.5 yuan in late evenings). The bus also passes the city center. I ended up staying at Northwest Hotel (80 yuan) – a rundown hotel but at the excellent location (right in front of Xihonglu bus stop and 10 minute walk to People’s Park).
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| Kashgar to Urumqi Bus |
July 12, 2006
Tianshan
Today is the day for Tianshan, the No. 1 site near Urumqi. Tourist buses leave in front of the north entrance to People’s Park around 9:20 am. The fare doesn’t seem to be fixed – I paid 40 yuan for the 2.5 hour journey and back. This is the most economic way for independent travelers although they do stop at two shops on the way back.
The entrance fee to the Tianshan Park area is 90 yuan. You can climb the mountain for 1 to 2 hours. I decided to use the cable car for 20 yuan one way (shuttle buses are also available for the same price). After the cable car, trolley buses are waiting for you to take you to the lake for 5 yuan. I decided to take the short walk (about 20 minutes) and it’s quite pleasant. When I finally saw the lake, it’s really – stunning. The lake is surrounded by mountains including the 5,445 meter high Mt. Bogda. An around the lake boat trip (20 yuan) takes you to the Xiwangmu Temple (10 yuan), a famous Tao temple in the area. It’s helpful to bring a jacket – it can be chilly on the boat. Food in the park is limited and quite expensive. Near the pier, there is a road leading to a waterfall and all the way down the hill. It’s a good way to go down (and avoid 20 yuan for the cable car or the shuttle bus). Along the way is the Dongxiaotianchi (a smaller version of Tianchi but nothing special). It takes about one hour to walk downhill. Our bus left shortly after 5 pm.
On arriving in Urumqi, I first went to my hotel to get my bag checked there (5 yuan) then boarded a No. 51 bus in front of the hotel to the airport. Although it was rush hour, the roads were not congested and it took less than one hour. The bus actually terminates in the residential area of the airport, about 1 km from the terminal. Motorcycles take you to the actual airport for 3 yuan. Remember to buy some water and food (if needed) before you get on the motorcycle. It will cost you 5 yuan to buy a bottle of water and 38 yuan for a bowl of noodle inside the terminal. A slightly cheaper option is Best Food (Baifu Kaoji) – a famous fast food chain in Xinjiang that offers grilled chicken dishes.
My flight was the last one to Yining on the dayZhafan, departing at 9:55 pm. The journey takes about one hour and passes on top of some scenic mountains. Yes you can still see the mountains on this flight because they use Beijing Time.
When the airplane arrived at Yining at 11:00 pm it was already dark. A metered taxi (around 15 yuan) took me to the bus station and I stayed at a hotel just next to the station on a small road for 80 yuan. The room is very clean.
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| Tianchi |
July 13, 2006
Yining to Buerjin
I got up early (8:00 am) to buy the direct bus ticket to Buerjin leaving at 3 pm but it was sold out unfortunately. I then bought the ticket for the first bus to Kuitun leaving at 9:40 am (77 yuan). I had only 30 minutes for a quick breakfast. One restaurant owners near the bus station greeted me and I ended up having a Zhuafan (5 yuan) and Naicha (milk tea, 1 yuan) there. Zhuafan is another famous Uyghur food with oily rice mixed with beef, carrots and raisins. It was big and very delicious.
For most buses in Xinjiang, you get a number when you buy the ticket and you need to sit (or sleep) at that number marked in the bus. I was very lucky to be assigned a number on the left side near the window of this bus that gave me a chance to see the famous Sayram Lake clearly. Shortly after the bus left Yining (or Ily to the locals), it entered a plain with high white birches next to the road. After about two hours, it entered the Ily Valley, a famous area prompted by many travel guides. Although it’s pleasant to pass through, there is nothing too special. After the valley (about 30 minutes later), the bus entered the Sayram Lake area. This lake is huge, with mountain range in the back and green fields with sheep and cows in the front. You can see the lake on the bus for 5 minutes non-stop. After the lake, the view is not so dramatic and the bus arrived at Kuitun just before 5 pm. Luckily enough, there was an extra bus to Habahe that passes Buerjin on that day leaving at 8 pm (54 yuan). Although it’s not a sleeper bus, I felt very lucky already as I got one of the last seats available and I heard it’s not uncommon that people cannot get a ticket of the same day departure bus for this route.
I had 3 hours to explore Kuitun. It’s basically a Han Chinese city with most of signs marked in Chinese only. During my 3 hour stay, I only saw one Uyghur. Kuitun is one of the many places in Northern Xinjiang where the Han Chinese migrated under some kind of military administrations. The good thing for me is the food. I ended up eating twice – one time for Xialongbao and another time for a chicken rice dish at a fast food restaurant. Having eaten so many spicy dishes since I started the journey, I felt like in the heaven. Combined with the Zhuafan I tried in the morning, this day was the best day in my entire journey in terms of food.
The bus to Habahe left on time and passed Karamai about 2 hours later where you can see many oil drilling machines on both sides of the road. Karamai is one of the most famous places in Xinjiang to ordinary Chinese because of the oil. The bus stopped for meal just before midnight. After the break, three Tuwa Mongolians got on the bus and sat besides me. That made me just a little bit more excited before I fell half-asleep shortly.
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| Sayram Lake |
July 14, 2006
Kanas
When I was still half-asleep, I heard the driver shouted “Buerjin, Buerjin…”. The bus arrived in Buerjin already and it was 3:30 am. About 1 minute after I got off the bus, a taxi driver offered to take me to Kanas for 200 yuan. Fearing I couldn’t get a ticket to Urumqi when I return from Hanas, I rejected him politely and entered a small hotel next to the bus station for a few hours sleep (20 yuan). I got up early in the morning (around 8 am) and bought a bus ticket to Urumqi for the next day for 137.6 yuan (berth No. 1) before getting on a car heading for Kanas. The vehicle can only get to Jiadengyu, at the entrance to the park. The journey takes about 2.5 hours and the standard fare for car-share is 40 yuan per person. The trip to Jiadengyu passes some scenic plains and mountains. Half the way we saw the site that will be the future Hanas Airport supposed to be finished in 2008. The area is mainly Hazakhs with some Tuwa Mongolians, Uyghurs, Han Chinese and occasionally Russians. Jiadengyu will be the future base for tourists to Hanas. All the hotels will be moved here from inside the park next year. At the entrance, everybody is required to buy a ticket to the park for 130 yuan and another ticket for the shuttle bus for 80 yuan. The shuttle bus will drop you at designated sites and you can take the next one after sightseeing. Hanas is beautiful, if not as superb as Jiuzhaigou. Highlights are Hanas River and the most photographed Hanas Lake. The bus passes 3 sites along the river, Wolong Bay, Moon Bay and Shenxian Bay before passing Pingtai (the platform) where most hotels and restaurants are located. The last stop is Zongzhan (the terminus) where you can catch another bus to Guanyuting.
After carrying my bag three times for the three bays, I felt really exhausted and finally got off at Pingtai. To my surprise, I had big trouble finding a hotel that was still available – most of them were full due to package tours. I finally got one (Fengwu Shanzhuang), the farthest hotel in the area for 300 yuan. Having had a plain fried Chinese cabbage in the same hotel (20 yuan), I left the hotel and continued my adventure to the Hanas Lake. The shuttle bus to Guangyuting cost 20 yuan one way and I was told it’s 10 km if I walked back (that’s probably true if you use the road used by the shuttle bus). The bus uses the curved road to climb the mountain and takes about 15 minutes. There is still a 20-30 minute climb on well maintained (but steep) steps after the bus terminus. Bring some energy food and water! The view of the lake from Guangyuting (Fish Watching Pavilion) at 2,030 meters is exactly what you see from the postal cards and brochures with 3 curves of the lake clearly visible. I spent 15 minutes there. The view is dramatic but it’s also interesting to watch people. Everyone who climbed to Guangyuting claimed victory first then started to shoot pictures and have himself/herself shot. The road down the hill from Guanyuting to the lake took longer than what I expected (about 1.5 hours) but it’s good exercise and there is a lot of fresh air. You can see the lake along the way most of the time. After about one hour, the steps suddenly disappeared but by following the path in the plain and watch the directions, you will finally see the lake. I ended up with the other side of the lake where a lot of houses and piers were still being built. I paid 10 yuan to cross the lake to the main pier where you can take a boat for 100 yuan per person (officially the boat can only take you to see the 3 curves you can see from Guanyuting but rumors are the boatman can take you to see the other 3 curves with additional charges on request). There is also rafting service down the river for 200 yuan per person. I didn’t pay any of the extremely expensive services. Instead I walked alone the lake and then the river all the way to a bridge near Zongzhai for about an hour and it was quite pleasant (there are also shuttle buses available from the pier to Pingtai).
From Zongzhai to Pingtai is a short walk (although shuttle buses are also available). It was about 8 pm and time for dinner. I had my most relaxed dinner during the trip at a buffet restaurant for 30 yuan. There were 10 dishes (5 meats, 5 vegetables) and half of them were spicy – never mind as long as it can feed my stomach.
Nights in Hanas are a little bit chilly but the comforters in the hotel room are thick enough to provide the necessary warm. There is not a lot to do the next day so I could have a long sleep.
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| Hanas Lake |
July 15, 2006
Hanas to Buerjin
I planned to get up at 11:30 am, just to have enough time to check out before noon. Unfortunately from 10 am someone started to knock on my door and asked me to get up so she could clean the room. I told her to come later but she just kept reminding me by knocking on the door heavily. I finally checked out at 11:55 am and had my lunch at a nearby cafeteria. For 18 yuan, the Zhuafan I ordered had a little bit meat, a little bit carrots and no raisins (not even close to the one I had near the bus station in Yining).
The next few hours were just boring – taking the shuttle bus back to the park entrance and taking another vehicle back to Buerjin for 40 yuan. The only interesting thing was on the way I tried horse milk for the first time in my life. Horse milk is one of the major drinks of the local Hazakhs. It’s a little sour but interesting and healthy – I believe (I didn’t have any stomach upset after drinking it and felt quite energetic).
We arrived in Buerjin around 4:30 pm, just to have enough time to visit a newly opened and heavily advertised park where you can see Yadan Landscape. It’s about 18km from Buerjin city and I hired a car for 60 yuan (asked for 80 yuan). The park is strangely named “Rainbow Beach” and priced at 50 yuan. Although a little bit pricey for such a small park, it’s worth seeing especially if you don’t have a chance to see Yadan Landscape in other parts of Xinjiang. The Ertix river (the only river in China that flows to the Artic Ocean) along the landscape is a definite bonus. In Chinese the park is called “Five Color Beach”. You can actually see more than five colors in the park. Be aware of the strong sunshine and the mosquitoes. The loop walk takes less than one hour.
The bus for Urumqi is scheduled to leave at 7:00 pm There were actually two buses on that day (so many people on the weekend) and our bus left 30 minutes behind the schedule.
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| Ertix River with Yadan Landscape |
July 16, 2006
Turpan
Our bus arrived in the main bus station in Urumqi before 8 am. The bus station is not open yet (again because it’s 8 am Beijing Time). I checked some hotels near the bus station, they were either not open yet (people were still sleeping) or too expensive (120 yuan up) or full. Finally I went to another street where the famous bus No. 51 passes and found there were a few family hotels in a residential community. I pressed a bell of one that provides a unit number and was told “not available until noon”. I asked him if I could leave my bag first and was let in. It’s actually a 4 bedroom condominium. The smart owner from northern China made it a hotel and charges 60-70 yuan per room per night. I took a small room for 60 yuan. It’s very small but with TV and shower. After giving my bag to the owner, I left the hotel and boarded a No. 51 bus to Southern Bus Station. Buses to Turpan leave every 30 minutes and take about 2 to 2.5 hours to get there. My bus stopped once for toilet break along the highway and arrived at Turpan just at noon.
I have heard so many times how hot Turpan (the hottest and driest spot in China) is so I was a little bit surprised it’s not as hot as I expected when I was actually there. The bus station is more international (with English on the building) than its Urumqi counterpart. Turpan is actually a Uyghur town but there are also many tourists from other parts of China and around the world.
My first site in Turpan was the Emin Minaret (Su Gong Ta). City bus No. 102 (0.50 yuan) terminates there and passes the bus station. The sub-road leading to the tower is actually from the second last bus stop but you never know it since there are no bus stop signs after the bus leaves the city center. Never mind – just walk back for 300 meters. There is no sign of any kind about the tower – better ask or watch for the grape trellises. The sub-road is on the left side if you walk from the bus terminus. There is another 200 meters to the entrance of the tower where you pay the 30 yuan entrance fee. The tower is indeed a unique Uyghur architecture and worth seeing. The inside is again quite simple and I doubt how many people are still praying there. After admiring the tower, I took city bus No. 5 to Grape Valley only to find out you need to pay 60 yuan and there are some 7-8 km between the sites inside the valley. Having seen many grape trellises throughout Turpan and tired of the tourism traps (most sites are not related to grapes), I decided to drop this spot. Back to the bus station, I had my lunch at a very crowded restaurant in the upstairs of a shop next to the bus station before boarding a minibus for the Flaming Mountains (6.5 yuan). The bus took 40 minutes to arrive at the tiny bus station where you can see the Flaming Mountains right in front of the station. As soon as I got off the bus, a few Uyghurs greeted me and offered their transportation services. I selected one motorized tricycle that looked better than others for 30 yuan to go to 3 sites.
The first site I visited was the Ancient Astana Tombs (20 yuan). Only 3 tombs are open to visitors. One tomb contains the corps of a couple and the other two are paintings – some good history lessons learned.
Continue to the Gaochang Ruins (30 yuan). It’s a huge field and once was the capital of the Uyghurs over 1,000 years ago. While the site has its historical significance, I was more impressed by the area outside the entrance to the ruins. It was just amazing: Shops were playing Uyghur music, Uyghur children were dancing with the music, tourists were wiping the sweat and I was busy eating the Hami melon - one of many good reasons to visit Xinjiang.
After paying respect to the Ancient City of Gaochang, I got back to the tricycle for my last site in Turpan, the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. It’s another 5 km off the highway from the Flaming Mountains bus station and our tricycle started to have some difficulties climbing the mountains. It finally made it. The caves (only 6 are open to tourists, 20 yuan) are not very interesting compared to those in - Dunhuang - for example. But the trip itself is worth it. It allows you to have a look at the other side of the Flaming Mountains (not quite the same as those along the highway).
The highway in front of the Flaming Mountains bus station is a major highway from Hami to Urumqi and you may get a long distance bus passing by. While I was waiting for a bus coming, a small truck stopped and offered to take me to Turpan for 10 yuan. Why not? I got on the truck. The Urghur driver speaks perfect Mandarin and joked around with two other Urghur ladies (in Urghur of course) all the time.
I took the 7:55 pm bus back to Urumqi (last bus leaves at 8:30 pm) and arrived in the capital just before 11:00 pm. I treated myself with 20 dumplings for 4 yuan at a restaurant near my hotel and felt again like in the heaven. It’s half price compared to that in Bangkok and both the number of the dumplings and the size of the dumplings doubled (about 8 times value for the same price).
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| Flaming Mountains |
July 17, 2006
Urumqi to Chengdu
I got up early (by Xinjiang standard) in the morning around 8 am and once again took bus No. 51 to the airport. My flight departed at 10:30 am on time and that marked the end of my week-long adventure in Xinjinag. I arrived in Chengdu 3 hours later and entered a different world. Chengdu is the biggest city in Southwest China and this was the 3rd time I visited this lovely city. Everything was so familiar. I spent the whole afternoon doing my “businesses” on this last day in China – opened a bank account, bought a local cell phone number and bought an electric pressure cooker before having my dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant chain. I had some trouble getting a taxi to the airport after dinner but finally got one after 30 minutes of trying. This was the end of my trip – My flight to Bangkok was to leave at 0:20 am - just after the midnight.
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| Chunxi Road, Chengdu |
Overview
While some people say Pakistan is not a safe country, I don’t agree. Safety is relative and my short stay in Northern Pakistan was absolutely very safe. People are friendly (no hassles at all) and the mountain views are splendid. Xinjiang is a destination you shouldn’t miss next time you visit China. Its huge landscape, beautiful lakes and vivid Urghur culture make the trip unforgettable. Be aware Xinjiang is a Muslim region (although not very strict) and pork is quite limited (although in the cities this is not a problem but they call it “big meet” instead of pork in Chinese). Most Xinjiang food is spicy although Zhuafan is an exception and very delicious. Contrary to some guidebooks, vegetables are not difficult to find. Fruits are everywhere, especially watermelons, Hami melons and peaches. Despite the actual 2 hour time differences from Beijing, all the official organizations including bus stations and airports use Beijing Time (the bus station in Kashgar is an exception). Most places are open from 10 am until around 8 pm in the summer. It’s actually an amazing experience to me as I could do many things, including sightseeing, in the evenings.
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