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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
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Oct 04, 2010 02:00 PM I am in depression...
Do not worry, my dear Friends. I am still in a good mood and excited by the new adventures. But Turpan where I am is in the desert depresion: 154 m below sea level - they say... Temperatere during the day reaches 32 deg Celsius - I have a hard time visiting the area. Emin Hoja Mosque from 1777 (known fr locals as Sugong Tower) is the main attraction of the town - located some 3 kms on the outskirts of the town. In the Lonely Planet guide they do not write that bus 102 (1 youan) goes there. Museums are free in China but unfortunately China authorities charge quite a lot for the entry to the monuments. Here it is 50 yuan - and no discounts!~ Think twice - for me the outside pictures were enough. Sorry, I am the budget traveller!
On the Takla Makan Desert around Turpan there are interesting spots like Flaming Mts, ruins of Jahoe ancient town and Buddha caves. The best solution is to take a tour to get there: they will take you to all places for 80 yuan. The desert scenery around the caves is just great and you have a chance to ride camels there if you like!
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Oct 03, 2010 02:00 PM ... by slow train through China...
First stage of my railway journey takes me from most-western Kashgar to Turpan. Not a joke - it is 1445 kms! Most of the time we had a desert or high mountains on the other side of the window. But sorry - the window were very dirty and my pictures will be poor. Shame on the China Railway! You cannot open the windows of course. We tried to get of on the station on the route to clean at least one window but the response of the guard was strict: MEYO! This universal word I am listening here very often: it means don't, not allowed, you can't etc...
China Railway are not always on time - we arrived with one hour delay. It is 43 kms from the train station to the city of Turpan: shared taxi cost 20 yuan pp or you can walk 500 m to the bus station and pay just 8.50 per ride... I am on the other side of the Takla Makan Desert!
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Oct 02, 2010 02:00 PM Kashgar after years...
It is still exciting place on the crossroads of the East. Years ago it fascinates me. Now Kashgar is much "nicer" - painted and cleaned... Chairman Mao still stands on the main square. But from the old, stylish quarter around the Id Kah mosque only 2-3 streets remained unspoiled by the cleaners...
Copper,silver workshops still work there, but is is better to come early in the morning, before tourists goups will come to "improve" the landscape.
In the afrernoon my great railway journey will start - I know that the new railway station is out of the town, but you can get there by public bus paing just 1 yuan...
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Oct 01, 2010 02:00 PM Wild West of China?
This was very hard day. I started from Hotan early in the morning and they promised that after 7 hours on the Silk Road we will reach Kashgar. Now I know that 7 hours means 10 hours in China. Can you imagine 10 hours in the stinky, dirty, cramped bus with crying kids, broken seats on the bumpy road? Desert on the other side of the window... Takla Makan.
They built a new road from Kashgar to Hotan but the speed of development here, in the Wild West of China is quite different that in the East!. They built also railroad, but is seems that works are stopped somewhere in the midway of this 500-kms stretch... I arrived to historic Kashgar at 7.30. Motocycle-taxis work here (2 yuan per ride) so it was easy to get to the well known Chini Bagh hotel. From the first look I see that Sinnce my first visit Kashgar changed a lot. Years ago I have been here on my way to Khunjerab Pass. But the food stalls on the streets still work! Bon apetit!
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Sep 30, 2010 02:00 PM On the edge of Takla Makan Desert
Just near the Hotan bus station I found a room in the Jiaotong Hotel. Single room cost 140 yuan, but there is limited choice of the cheapies in this old town, located just on the egde of the desert. No, no camels on the streets but dondey carts are poular... Hotan is famous for the jade stone, silk workshops and carpet workshops. Tours are offered but if you are on the budget like me you can take the bus 10 just for one juan to get to the other side of the river and visit for free impessive carpet factory and silk workshop.
Today is a national holiday here but I was lucky - the workshops worked anyway! People are nice and helpful regardless the language barrier. I took a lot of pictures. Jade stone you can find just on the streets of Hotan - there are many sellers, but it is necessady to bargain. Fruts and vegies (tomatoes, apples, bananas, grapes) cost all about 4 juan per kilo - I enjoy very much thich chep fruit diet! Yes, you can join the camel tour throu the desert if you want to ride the camel and sleep on the sand, but this will cost you minimim 50 USD per day and you must complete a group...
I tried desert thek in the past so it is not for me...
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Sep 29, 2010 02:00 PM Embarking the bus take your shoes off!!
It takes 18 hours to get from Urumchi to Hotan (Ho-tien) throgh the Takla Makan desert. I bought the ticket 2 days in advance to make sure that I will get the space. It cost 360 yuan. There are strict security procedures at the South Bus Station in Urumchi. The bus was waiting. I soon recognized that it is sleeping bus. At the begining they ask me to get off the shoes. They provide plastic bags for them!
What do you think: what is the average height of the Chinese? 150 cm? Well, I am 182 cm and the bunks is the bus were OK for the Chinese, not for me. Too short! Little comfort...
We started with one hour delay. Nobody knows why...
The journey was attractive regarding the landscape: mountains, gorges, then the desert with a great sunset. It was my first time on Takla Makan desert... The road crossing the desert is OK, but narrow. Very few settlements on the way. Finally after 18 hours we reached Hot-an - the old town on the southern branch of the Silk Road. Lets have a rest!
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Sep 28, 2010 02:00 PM Back on the Silk Road
Urumchi where I stay is on the famous Silk Road. They have here a great museum (free entry) where you can study the history of the region, excavations and the culture of the nationalities living in the west of China: Ujgurs. Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks... The museum is definitely worth a visit.
Urumchi today is a modern town with more then 2 million inhabitants, it is hard to move around - fortunately city bus ride costs just 1 yuan (they pay 6,22 yuan per USD) so you can use them assuming that you know the bus number... It is not easy for the foreigner to comunicate with locals, phrasebook is worth to bring... I stay in the centrally located youth hostel Maitian - just near Parkson Shopping center. They charge 55 yuans per bed in 4-bed room.
Tomorrow I will try to cross Takla Makan Desert...
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Sep 27, 2010 02:00 PM Quick transfer to China
Brrrr。。。。 My 2000-kms sailing down the huge Yenissey was exciting but I will tell you the true： I have enough of cold，snow and FSB。S7 airlines （former Siberian）took me to the Western China。They offer quite good web tarrifs！ I already safely landed in Urumchi。It is 18 degrees here!
I stay in 他和 youth hostel 安顿覅好沟通我 安顿 and -as you can see - I fight with the Chinese i呢色 keyboard and software ：））
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Sep 26, 2010 02:00 PM Norilsk - gulags, precious metals,snow...
There is not much to see in polar Dudinka except the museum and the new orthodox church。 Dudinka works as the port for the nearby rich Norilsk。 Twice a day there are public bus going from Dudinka to Norilsk， it costs 220 roubles one way。The first part ofthe 100kms road built on the permafrost is horrible to drive。 It is hard to maintain this polar road -they say it is northernmost highway of the world. Bumps, bumps and very strange landcape of tundra with ice on the ponds and waterholes.
Yes, I saw Norilsk - itis huge， 200 000-people town - probably the biggest in Arctica。 Mines， industrial blocks and
towers。And a lot of pollution。 Snow，below zero。Norilsk has also his sad story：thay say that during Stalin times more that half a million people died here due the harsh conditions and terror， also Poles。I visited Norilsk's Golgota - monument built at the bottom of the mountain to remember them。In the mouintain there are still plenty of nikel， platinium， gold。。
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Sep 25, 2010 02:00 PM I crossed again the Polar Circle
We crossed Polar Circle in the middle of the night near the little village of Kuryeika。Captain said that there is no reason towait for the circle because there is no single sign on the bank of the river。Kuryeika itself is famous because in the past Stalin spent there some time in exile. Soon he escaped. Today the thick forest of taiga slowly dissappeared. Then I saw only tundra. We reached Dudinka at 9 pm in the dark... Dudinka is closed town. I was surprised because on arrival nobody except the captain checked my permit issued by FSB. Probably it does not happened at all that the foreigners arrive to this remote place...
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