Originally Posted by
halfcape
Thanks for sharing your trip report, it was extremely interesting and timely.
Hi
Halfcape, thank you for reading.
Originally Posted by
MaxVO
Awesome TR, I read the whole thing without a pause. Kudos to the author for pulling off such adventure, and sharing it with the world!
Hi
MaxVO, thanks for enduring through the whole thing! I really appreciate you reading through it.
Originally Posted by
Burj
"Kashgar International was a lot quieter than the station. The clientele was entirely Han and, but for a photo of a weird-looking guy hanging from the ceiling, I was the only Westerner there."
That is probably the most famous "white-monkey" in China! Check out this link for more info:
https://medium.com/better-marketing/...a-5cb04c977713
Thank you so much for sharing your adventures! I had hoped to do a similar trip this year but Covid-19 had other ideas!
Did you talk much with the Pakistani traders/business types? Were they the only other English speaking foreigners you met during your trip?
Hi
Burj, thanks for clearing out the Da Rucci man mystery!
In terms of foreigners, once I crossed into Xinjiang I met - besides the Pakistani traders - only a bus tour group of Israelis, none of whom appeared very interested in making small talk with me (I said hello and just got stares back) and... that was it! The majority of tourists, of whom there weren't a lot I should say, were Chinese. I shared a meal with a group of Shanghai overlanders, they were a great bunch and a great insight into how China is evolving, but that was pretty much about it. The Pakistanis were also an interesting group of guys. They went from Quetta/Lahore to Kashgar and Ürümqi to sell carpets and other high end textiles, apparently they're quite sought after, and they bring back electronic goods. They were saying that there used to be a direct flight to Ürümqi but that it'd gone and they went overland: Karakoram highway and then train. What a journey!