There is nothing more fun than getting dressed up, making a meal for good friends and drinking loads. The Brothel played host to Gin, Peister and Hugo yesterday and I got to experiment with a couple of dishes. Starters consisted of grilled tomatos and squash, olives in pesto and salmon mousse paced with Hoegaardens.

Peister in her fancy work clothes …and Casio calculator watch

Main dish was a summery pasta made of mint, parsley, lemon and egg yolks (Which is didn’t tell the girls because of their semonella fears…however u spell it), with a good mix of diced squash and tomatoes. Garnished with grilled shrimp and batter-fried Japanese smelt. Very very yummy!!! (but picture not so good…eh) And drunk with a 2005 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir - excellent stuff.

Gin looking pleased since we allowed her to tabasco everything…I even had to run out to buy a NEW bottle of tabasco to service her hot sauce fetish. See, tabasco in picture!

Dessert joint effort: without an oven, one can only make frozen cheesecake. Peister did the decorations - reminescent of our Christmas cake actually, but this time with fresh and large strawberries.

And geometric prints are in, as well as 60’s style dresses. I love my new print dress Viva la mode!

Finally. Kashgar - the one pitstop that I have been waiting for. For all its mystique, it is a relatively quiet city that is split between the old and new city. Heartland of the Uighurs, it was a refreshing change to finally start seeing a minority of Han Chinese and a majority of Uighurs.

While nothing glaringly fantastic today, it is possible for one to imagine how bustling Kashgar used to be and how it is one of the final stops in China on the silk road, before branching off into Persia and Europe beyond.

Scenes from the old city: Id Kah Mosque

and i fall in love again…this time with a 7 year old boy:

What rocks is this yoghurt ice drink. Something similar to the rayeb in Morroco but this has a crushed ice with a fancy, masterful twirl that only an ice master is capable of!

Kashgar has always been a city of trade. and Trade we must…everyone is engaged in the making and trading of something.

Making steam wicker baskets:

The largest market in Xinjiang and possibly China - the Sunday market in Kashgar is a sight to behold. Walking the entire strip which is neatly organized into everything from hunting equipment, homewares, to shoes and facial products makes for easy shopping.

The traders know best:

Even bollywood stars are traded here:

achetez! buy buy buy, bought and eaten, and then some:

Kashgar is famous for its laghman (hand made noodles): only 2 RMB

Of all the sights I have travelled endlessly for, this one was clearly worth it. We enter into the sharp-ridged, red sandstone string of mountains. The sun has been strongly hitting against the bumpy car as we travel 73km Northeast of Kuqa. This is one 3 hour walk that I highly recommend everyone attempt…I only get lost twice and find every reason to climb every random rope, even if one must wear their beautiful Chloe sunglasses simultenously…

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On the car ride, Mr Liu, our driver expounds on the greatness of Mao and his liberation movement. He felt strongly that if not for the entrance of the Han Chinese (of which, he is one and 2nd generation Xinjiangnese), Xinjiang’s economy would not have propelled forward. Despite my arguments for preservation of local culture, respect of other religions and perhaps just a different way of life, Mr Liu was pretty adamant on his viewpoint, but then, that is the only way we justify our choices in life perhaps…

The fearsome 3: Danika, me and Chu

As a leadoff to our discussion, we pass by a Uighur village and I get the opportunity to take numerous snaps of traditional village life. Unlike Morroco, the people here are enamoured by photography and digital photography more so. While many asked me to send me their photos, equally bizarre is that not any of them knew their addresses - making any kind of postage an impossibility. And I suddenly realize how remote life can be.

Next stop: Kashgar. Almost to the end of The Silk Road in China…and the feeling of immensity, enormity and historical weight leaves me tired but satisfied. Having a couple of great shots makes it damn worthwhile too.

Ok, finally started posting my pics up. Here is the installment from just Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia.

The larger set is always on my Flickr profile, with a smaller set available on facebook.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sideshowjudy/

Enjoy…:D

If there was anything like divine intervention, this was it. I meet a like-minded traveller in Danika, a Korean girl who is the same age as me, who had quit her job at the family business to travel for 6 months. We had the exactly same itiniary and frankly, i was getting quickly tired of being alone and having to battle Chinese men at all junctures. Some girl karma was very much needed. Cost sharing was also highly welcomed at this point, given how overspent i was and how China was turning out to be massively expensive.

We find out that there is a night train to Kuqa, something the Lonely Planet did not write about and it was cheaper than taking the overnight scary bus. Overnight sleeper buses in CHina are well…not fun, just because people smoke on the bus, throw their peanut shells on the floor and they play loud movie videos all night. It’s to say the least, horrid. And the bathroom stops are erratic. However, in getting to the train station, i lose my phone and my ipod - bad bad bad - having left it at our hotel, which was 10 min away from the trains station, but given that our train left in 15min…what was I to do?

Thankfully, my look of desperation (and the fact that our train ends up being 30 min late) prompted one of the chinese men to help us and we call the hotel and convince them to deliver my phone and ipod to me safely…all for 20 RMB. thank god, cos i would not know what to do without music. seriously. i might as well cut my throat and call it a day.

Our overnight sleeper train is cramped but nice. We meet a bunch of wonderful travellers and pick up Chu, who also has the same itiniary all the way to Kashgar. Nice, our little group of 2 has just expanded to 3. I was looking forward to my little adventure now.

My cramped middle bunk - only for vertical movement and nothing else:

And the power of economies of scale lands us this sweet hotel room!! for 50 RMB each, we check into the posh Golden something hotel. big beds, hot shower and great weather.

yes it be all ours!

Kuqa is something of a transit town, not many pass through here although there are a great many sights. My attempt at mailing a parcel home to Singapore was rejected since Kuqa was too small a town to do international parcels. I was told the nearest post office would be at Aksu - 300km away. Right….guess not.

There isn’t anything in Kuqa but one can rent a cab to take a tour around Kuqa to catch the sights. Most of the sights are about 70km north and west to Kuqa - at a rushed pace, one can cover it in about 2 days. The car rental should cost about 200-240 RMB for 1 day.

There are about 5 Thousand year old caves outside of Kuqa - all charge a different entrance fee. Of course, we went for the cheapest gig, being the cheap-ass backpackers that we were. So, we headed to the Kizil Grottos for 35 RMB. Once a monestary and place of meditation in the 5 to 7 century, the grottos are famous of its wall frescos - a lot of which are faded now. Although there are 236 grottos, only 7 are open to the public…meaning the rest of the grottos and frescos have completely been destroyed during the Islamic wars.

Buddihism was introduced to China sometime 2nd century BC, via the Silk Road. The Kizil Grottos housed Kumajiva, a scholar who translated all the buddist scriptures into mandarin, thereby spreading the faith, especially with the Sui and Tang dynasties that further propagated the faith to the public.

Treelined park:

What I do love about Kuqa is how dry and arid the land is. Of course us being the tourists that we were were all decked out in flip flops, only to get strange stares from the locals whom are surprised at how we were attempting to challenge the weather. And frankly, they win, just because my feet are an absolute disgrace.

Cracked soil: somewhat akin to my feet

i love my bright red skirt, bought from an uighur market:

The Subashi Ancient Ruins, which are split between an East and West bank are but a scratched plot of ruins of mud and rock. Nothing particulary arresting but this sign was great. It basically says that history is for the learned. Give an unlearned man an ancient rock, he will say its a rock, give a learned man an ancient rock and he will say its treasure. That’s about right.

Boy at Subashi Ancient ruins: so adorable - i could kiss him: fancy colours!!!

Parting shot:

I finally make it to Tien Chi, bad weather and everything. The sky is amazingly bright and the clouds a fluffy white. It had been snowing the night before and in approaching Tien Chi, i realize how bitingly cold it is. The snow is fast melting, set against a breathtaking backdrop of clear crystal waters and snowy mountains.

Tien Chi is completely worthwhile overnight stay. It costs about 40 to 50 RMB to stay in a Kazak ger/ yurt and it is possible to trek the snowline in the morning. Of course, getting there is a pain, having to deal with all manner of Chinese tour groups telling you that 1) it is cheaper via tour 2) it is not fun to stay overnight…3) everything is extremely "far" and "impassable to hike". I have come to realize that when doing anything in China, never 1) ask if something is fun. The chinese have a strange idea of fun - which almost always includes whisky, karaoke and shopping 2) never ask if it’s a tough walk. Most chinese have the patience of a guppie - they walk 2 minutes and sit down for a bowl of noodles 3) if it is cheap because it is invariably cheaper to go via tour groups, minus the fact that one gets stuck in jade shops, and have literally 1 hour at any tourist site, which includes noodle eating time of course.

Hiking in any part of a Chinese mountain means seeing the locals enjoy themselves…gambling in any odd spot, no doubt.

Afternoon forest walk:

Pretty snowline:

In leaving Tien Chi, I get embroiled into a traumatic conversation with a Chinese lawyer who is not only proud of China, all things Chinese but has a passion for Chairman Mao. Upon asking "Do you think Mao Tse Dong is a great man." His answer:" WIthout a doubt. Chairman Mao is a great great man." We start fighting about the nebulous and dispassion of Chinese politics. His viewpoint that Chairman Mao’s liberation and revolution was China’s salvation - my viewpoint that the revolution accomplished little other than giving poor people hope and the right to continue being poor, just like religion. His viewpoint that China today is taking an active stance in sharing best practices at achieving economic wealth, entering into countries like Africa. My viewpoint that China’s lack of respect for human rights and its freewheeling development banks are resulting in monetary abuse and promotion of the bourgesie or mafia - whichever comes first. His viewpoint that the U.S and G8 is belligerant. My viewpoint that their model is not for the world but it’s a wonderful opportunity to affect and impact any other developing nation positively and still be environmentally concious, if not respecting the country’s norms and human rights. I don’t think about changing the world but perhaps, it’s good to hope for change, or am I wrong? He gets exesperated but still asks me if he can call me and be like…friends. What is up with these CHinese men. strange lot.

Parting shot: freezing. really!!!