Originally Posted by
paehk
@Jamoldo: Thank you so much for your incredibly detailed reply. Kashgar sounds infinitely more appealing to me and I'll look into going there. If I see an Iraqi or Afgan note, I'll let you know!
You needn't limit yourself to Kashgar (Kashi) because there are so many cool spots to visit out there. Just be sure to get around (whether you head north, west, or south from Wulumuqi). For me, the transportation part of the travel experience was half the fun.
Feel free to PM me if you want ideas and also check out my Xinjiang trip report (you can search for it here, and probably even on google).