To Kashgar: flying/hitching/walking to Xinjiang.
Sep 3, 2020, 7:44 am
#46
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: SYD
Programs: Too many golds, no plat: OZ*G, AC*G, NZ*G, VA Gold, QF Gold, HH Gold, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 5,350
Sep 30, 2020, 11:52 am
#49
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: TK M&S, BAEC, EK
Posts: 257
Your section on Kashgar was a sobering account of the current atmosphere there, but it also brought back pleasant memories of my trip there in 1991. There seemed to be more going on around the Id Kah mosque then than in your picture and it was in Kashgar that I tasted my first fresh figs - the vendor had already thoughtfully peeled the skin off them.
I also met some young Pakistani traders, though that was on the bus to Tashkurgan. This was a wonderfully scenic ride by the way.
The flight back to Urumqi on a Tupolev 154 was delayed for 24 hours, but like you, I was lucky enough to get my room back at the hotel where I had been staying.
Hope you will get to Turpan another time. It was certainly worth a visit. The bus from Urumqi seemed to take a more interesting route than the train. At least that was the impression I had from comparing notes with other travellers. Please excuse the rather basic photo from that visit.
Look forward to reading future Trip Reports from you.
Sep 30, 2020, 4:58 pm
#50
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
Many thanks for a really interesting TR which I have only just caught up with.
Your section on Kashgar was a sobering account of the current atmosphere there, but it also brought back pleasant memories of my trip there in 1991. There seemed to be more going on around the Id Kah mosque then than in your picture and it was in Kashgar that I tasted my first fresh figs - the vendor had already thoughtfully peeled the skin off them.
I also met some young Pakistani traders, though that was on the bus to Tashkurgan. This was a wonderfully scenic ride by the way.
The flight back to Urumqi on a Tupolev 154 was delayed for 24 hours, but like you, I was lucky enough to get my room back at the hotel where I had been staying.
Hope you will get to Turpan another time. It was certainly worth a visit. The bus from Urumqi seemed to take a more interesting route than the train. At least that was the impression I had from comparing notes with other travellers. Please excuse the rather basic photo from that visit.
Look forward to reading future Trip Reports from you.
Your section on Kashgar was a sobering account of the current atmosphere there, but it also brought back pleasant memories of my trip there in 1991. There seemed to be more going on around the Id Kah mosque then than in your picture and it was in Kashgar that I tasted my first fresh figs - the vendor had already thoughtfully peeled the skin off them.
I also met some young Pakistani traders, though that was on the bus to Tashkurgan. This was a wonderfully scenic ride by the way.
The flight back to Urumqi on a Tupolev 154 was delayed for 24 hours, but like you, I was lucky enough to get my room back at the hotel where I had been staying.
Hope you will get to Turpan another time. It was certainly worth a visit. The bus from Urumqi seemed to take a more interesting route than the train. At least that was the impression I had from comparing notes with other travellers. Please excuse the rather basic photo from that visit.
Look forward to reading future Trip Reports from you.
In terms of trip reports, here is another one I just wrapped up. This time's about Chile.
Dec 29, 2020, 8:41 am
#53
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Rhineland-Palatinate
Programs: *A Gold (A3), HHonor Gold
Posts: 5,700
Thank you! Looking forward to hear if you liked it. Unfortunately the region has very little in the sense of sensibility for people with disabilities. Even things like ramps for wheelchairs are either non-existent or, if available, have some impossible gradients (like for overpasses/metro entrances).
Dec 29, 2020, 1:29 pm
#54
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
So I finally ordered your book. I am halfway through it and am hooked. I love the writing style and the way you narrate your travel, I have an atlas open while I am reading to follow. This is all very interesting and fascinating about a part of the world I know very little about (I have a Kazakh colleague but he is very dismissive about his country). It definitely motivates me to go there in the near future (well 2022 !) I am curious if you know what happened to the German pensioner you met in the Pamir, travelling overland to Bangkok. Did she make it ?
About the pensioner... well, who knows? Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. She was a great source of inspiration though! There should be more people like her in the world.
Sep 6, 2021, 6:25 am
#59
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
Programs: Amex Platinum, DL Diamond 2MM, PriorityPass, Hilton Honors Silver
Posts: 469
Hi 13901. Great TR. I travelled from Beijing to Urumqi, Kashi and to Karakul back in 2003. Things were different then, but not by much...
I am planning a trip for May 22: Karachi-Moenjodaro-Harappa-Lahore-Rawalpindi-Islamabad-Hunza-Swat-Islamabad. A diversion to Peshawar is on the cards, as is one to Skardu (but I know that I am not up to the trek to K2 basecamp). Does it interest you?
Having read your TR, I feel you would be a great person to travel with (sight unseen, of course). Hope to hear from you here and in PM.
Satya
I am planning a trip for May 22: Karachi-Moenjodaro-Harappa-Lahore-Rawalpindi-Islamabad-Hunza-Swat-Islamabad. A diversion to Peshawar is on the cards, as is one to Skardu (but I know that I am not up to the trek to K2 basecamp). Does it interest you?
Having read your TR, I feel you would be a great person to travel with (sight unseen, of course). Hope to hear from you here and in PM.
Satya
Sep 6, 2021, 8:37 am
#60
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 7,237
Hi 13901. Great TR. I travelled from Beijing to Urumqi, Kashi and to Karakul back in 2003. Things were different then, but not by much...
I am planning a trip for May 22: Karachi-Moenjodaro-Harappa-Lahore-Rawalpindi-Islamabad-Hunza-Swat-Islamabad. A diversion to Peshawar is on the cards, as is one to Skardu (but I know that I am not up to the trek to K2 basecamp). Does it interest you?
Having read your TR, I feel you would be a great person to travel with (sight unseen, of course). Hope to hear from you here and in PM.
Satya
I am planning a trip for May 22: Karachi-Moenjodaro-Harappa-Lahore-Rawalpindi-Islamabad-Hunza-Swat-Islamabad. A diversion to Peshawar is on the cards, as is one to Skardu (but I know that I am not up to the trek to K2 basecamp). Does it interest you?
Having read your TR, I feel you would be a great person to travel with (sight unseen, of course). Hope to hear from you here and in PM.
Satya
thank you and looking forwards to reading your TR here!