Flying back from Osaka Japan to Chengdu in China.
My plans have changed completely once again.
I wanted to cycle back from Japan across South Korea to China towards Beijing then cross into Mongolia and cycle to China.
But I realized I dont have enough time because I want to be in Central Asia in September to cross Pamir before the winter comes.
Maybe I could have dont this if I planned better , or just kept a faster pace.
But my journey across Japan was really slow pace and I wasnt going to be rushed anywhere :)
Back again to Chengdu.
Why Chengdu?
Well, this was the place I left China 3 months ago after I descended from high plateau and I wanted to continue my journey from there, with a plan to climb back to the plateau immediately and enjoy high altitude provinces in China (Sichuan, Qinghai) which I love.
First thing I needed to do was fix my front brake at some bike shop. I had dragging pistons for now very long time. I was avoiding fixing this in Japan knowing it will be cheaper in China.
Once again, I have to say I hate hydraulic brakes (which my current bike has ) and when I get back home from this trip I will change them back to mechanical brakes first thing.
But this issue with brakes seems to be more than usual because after bleeding my brake at a bike shop, this problem was not fixed.
Although I must say this mechanic didn’t go for proper bleed, but just tried to add little fluid in the brake in the process.
In the end, he was disappointed for not fixing my brake , not charging me anything and even giving me a gift (on form of rabbit meat on the picture).
This was a big piece of meat (almost a kilo), prepared, marinated and vacuumed.
I carried this back to my hotel and ate if for lunch. Taste was ok, maybe little too spicy for my likings (but I don’t like eating spicy food).
It took me a while to fine my old hotel (I stayed last time).
For some reason I was missing favorites I have saved on Amap (Chinese navigation). I knew approximately where this is suppose to be but I still was having troubles finding this neirbourghood that day.
Eventually I did find hotel and the owner was surprised seeing me again :)
I did planned to0 stay here for long but my reason I needed to get back to that hotel is that I have ordered many products from Taobao on this address.
I managed to pick all the items from my big Taobao order. Some itims were delivered at one pickup point, some at other in near street but in the end, it was all there.
On my journey in China I had several Taobao orders (4-5 I think) but this was the biggest, containing full rear wheel and a winter sleeping bag, foam sleeping mat, several dry bags and many small items.
New rear wheel
I needed a new wheel because last one I had (that was made on this journey in Thailand ) unfortunately developed little cracks around several spoke nipples, which I discovered in Japan (to my disappointment.)
It was supposed to be a strong rim ,as the owner of Triple Cats (bike shop in Chiang Mai) have persuaded me, but ended up with cracks around spoke nipples after maybe 7000 km , which is way less than expected.
Maybe spoke tension was too high at the time, but it didnt mater afterwards I have noticed since the damage was already done. I do remember wheel being and remained a perfectly straight.
In China, I decided to order a new wheel, because I didn’t want to deal with lacing the wheel and just wanted to get back on the road asap.
Found some mtb wheel which seemed decent, with 36 spokes so I was hoping it will be a good replacement ( spolier – it was not , as I will discover later on my journey :(
New sleeping bag
I started this journey with 10 C degree sleeping bag, which was suppose to eb good for first part of the journey which started in south east Asia (Thailand , Laos, Vietnam), and partially it was since its very warm there in winter, but I still had some coldish days when I was in the mountains.
But first proper cold cam in China when I was on high plateau in March over 3000m with navigation leading me even over 4000m.
I was definitely missing proper 0C sleeping bag when I was there.
The truth is I wasnt prepared well for China, or least what I ended up planning once I entered China.
Back then I didn’t know anything about China, nor I was planning going though high plateau.
I just had plan to cross China on my way to Japan.
So when I initially entered China I decided to buy another sleeping bg (15C synthetic sleeping bag in Dechatlon in Kunming) and combine it with my current 10C own sleeping bag for more warmth.
This worked ok for most of the time ,but I still had to avoid 4000m elevation my navigation was leading me when I was in China for the first time. It wasnt just of the lack of proper winter sleeping bag,, but also warm sleeping mat which I did not had, and more warm clothing.
This winter sleeping bag I order from Taobao looked quite warm. I was looking for appropriate model for while. Mainly finding sleeping bag which is long enough for me (as I am tall) and I found this model for which the seller agreed to customize the length for me for free.
So I chose 700 fill goose down sleeping bag which so far has been serving me nicely, but its too early to talk about long term experiences. It wasnt cheap though (about 180 euro) but still good price for European standards.
It definitely looks warmed than my zero C down sleeping bag I have at home.
Foam sleeping mat
Another item, unexpected purchase, but my air sleeping mat I started my journey with (Sea to Summit ultralight ) after half a year started to develop leaks around the baffles (indentations) which is prime sign its not usable anymore and I needed to new sleeping mat.
I don’t have god experiences with Sea to Summit air mats and their design, as always sooner than later it starts leaking (not from punctures but it starts delaminating) and its not possible to fix this because many new leaks appear everywhere as material fails.
I said to myself, next time I will buy this cheap air mat from Decathlon (which does not have this dimple design), and it much cheaper, even if it doesn’t last for years.
So after some thinking while I was in Japan, I decided to buy another foam mat (I already have one with me) and combining 2 foam mats for sleeping when it gets cold. I got this idea from discussion on cycling chat, otherwise I would probably never though of doing this because carrying 2 foam mats on a bicycle in very cumbersome and uses a lot of space.
But I liked the idea of simplicity that foam mats offer (and being tired of failing air mats over years) plus I dint went to buy another air mat that would potentially fail when I was in central Asia and the winter started to come.
I wanted something reliable to serve me on my way home.
So I ended up with another foam mat and not just any foam mat but this was the warmest I could find, claiming R value of 3.2.
After many uses I could really say it felt warm on its own, and enough comfortable to sleep on payment without complaints, which cannot be said for other foam mat from Decathlon which is still thick but not as thing as this one.
Dry bags
I needed some new dry bags,, since my old ones from Sea to Summit, called dry river bags , after 2 and a half years started leaking lightly and feeling quite damp inside after a larger rain.
And they were not cheap (about 40 euro for liter bag). Design was good though, having hooks for straps but I simply cannot afford paying this much for only several years of use.
This time I bough simple and cheap waterproof dry bags for water sports, which are completely waterproof after even the heaviest of rains. The drawback are they are little bit heaver and harder to fold, but otherwise this switch to such dry bags was in my mind for very long time now as I don’t like having damp clothes and other things in my dry bags after any larger rain.
Mangosteen fruit
Found a hairdresser in this cheap neighborhood I stayed who was very happy to see me.
It took some explaining how I want my hair to look (not hat it matters) but no problems in the end.
A simple haircut for my simple hair.
Female hairdresser was showing me video of her daughter learning and speaking English.
4 eur for a haircut. OI guess it would be more expensive if I was in modern center instead of this budget neighborhood in the outskirts of Chengdu.
Attempt number 2 to fix my front brake, visiting another mechanic in Chengdu.
This time bleeding went well and my brake returned to normal.
Still, hydraulic brake require much more money to maintain pistons clean and working well.
An autonomous vehicle (in red) I was several times in China. Autonomous meaning no drivers. Its just a van (or whatever you want to call it) equipped with cameras and auto navigation).
Its funny how it moves through the streets, feels a bit “lost” not really knowing where to go.
Not sure what is actual purpose of this vehicle, but it was funny seeing it :)
After few days in Chengdu it was time to move on and start climbing on high plateau.
It was very hot in Chengdu when I arrived (30+) and I was eagerly waiting to climb to higher altitudes for colder more enjoyable weather.
A Chinese cyclist carrying some bikepacking gear I met on my way up. He had some Chinese carbon bike.
I was very hot day I remember and we were hiding from the siun here for over an hour.
This was his first long distance trip and he said he only goes about 200 km.
I asked him is it normal to be so hot here (as we were already quite high over 2000m) and he was laughing and said yes :)
Big grapes sold here, more sweet that regular grapes, and of course more expensive.
I tried this once but later just kept buying regular grapes which was more than good enough, without the need for paying for this.
Also , dont like the idea of something being large like this, reminds me of using “unnatural methods” to get big which ends up being unhealthy, although I may be wrong of course, and this is just such sort of grapes which simply gets large.
But I don’t remember seeing such large grapes in Europe.
There were some very busy road here (G350) with many tunnels as I was climbing on the plateau.
And Chinese people drive very bad on open roads and overtaking even in tunnels.
Not sure what kind of animal is suppose to be on the left?
Green are plums (something that is familiar to me) and orange called loquats (taste like a mix of peach, citrus and apricot)
More fruit, buying plums at reasonable prices. Not sure cheap of course.
Found some cards on the side of the roads.
Interesting theme, no instructions on how to play this :)
Unfortunately there were some cards missing so I decided to no take them. Otherwise I would gladly taken them home :)
Climbing over some higher pass
Interesting landscapes here ,some big mountains (~ 4000 m)
OI had trouble finding wild camping spot that night I remember, lots of cars in both direction, but eventually ended up sleeping ok.
Balang mountain Pass
Funny translation (Four sister mountains), maybe its on purpose because later road went close to some big collection of mountains (some even 6000m)
And this was one of them Mt Siguaniang (6,250 meters ¸) much more impressive in person than on the photo.
There was even some opportunity for hiking here, as this ridge leading up to the mountain had some trails, visible in person.
But I wasnt really in the mood for stay now, I would need to stay overnight as it was getting late in the afternoon, find some food shop without going to far down (as road descended) and they maybe try hiking.
There was a parking lot here, since it offered great views of the mountain, with lots of Chinese tourists in their cars.
As often, people seem very interested in seeing me my bicycle, with usual questions where am I from and where I am going :)
I even ended up exchanging WeChat contacts (a Chinese social network app) with them , but not sure what is the purpose as we only met 10 minutes ago and will split afterwards.
But I guess it must be a common this amongst Chinese people.
They even gave some kind of souvenir called Hulu (guard) which represents luck here.
No, these are not real climbers but sculptures.
Funny there were quite a few of such sculptures here, from rock climbers to ice climbers.
As guess this area is known for offering opportunity for hiking and other mountain activities.
Although I never saw people actually doing it.
All Chinese tourists just drive in cars around and admire the views.
Climbing over another high pass, just below 4000 m
At the top many Chinese resting and enjoying nature.
Temperatures here were very pleasant even colder at moments as its quite high.
Lots of flowers
An accidental visit to monastery named Kangma’er temple located just above he road
Very beautiful and peaceful here
One of the first yack I saw in this area.
Little did I know later there will be abundance of them!
Funny sculptures of police cars next to the road.
Clearly you can see its not real, even from the distance :)
And it was not just the cars, there were also sculptures of policeman standing next to the road.
Wherever there are tourists, there is always somebody want to take a picture with you.
Which actually makes me happy!
One evening ended up sleeping next to public resting point / toilet by the road.
In this area (Aba country) it was actually hard to film wild camping sports because ever since nature became nothing but greenery pastures, it was all occupied by nomads and yurts where they live during summer months raising cattle.
That evening some young guys hanging in the resting area approached me and we quickly became frends.
They brought ice cream, and we all enjoyed massaging chairs which were placed in this room.
They lived closed by in yurts and one of them invited me to come to his house next day to ride a horse.
Funny how he “called” it a house ,but its just a big tent.
Next morning I gladly visited him and his family.
First of course lots of food, standard yack cheese and other amenities.
Inside of their yurt.
I remember it was on quite a slopy ground but they said there was no flat ground here after I asked them how they manage to sleep on such a slopy terrain.
Yack milk on the left, something else on the right.
It was time for a horse ride.
I don’t remember ever riding a horse (or I forgot).
Horse didn’t look the most healthy but they said it was ok.
So horse ride wasnt the most exiting but it was horse ride nevertheless :)
Also , because of the sloped ground, I think even horse was struggling to go faster.
Picture together with the family before I leave.
This part of the China was all greenery, started somewhere around Maqu county and landscapes were such almost all the way before descending to town of Xining.
Camping next to small stream.
Brown looking houses
Wild animals signs occasionally, including bears.
Locals also warn about bears and wolves often, but in reality its very rare to see them here in China.
Also, attacks on human are very rare.
Aba county with famous yack sign
Stopping at one fuel station resulted in workers wanted to take a picture with m e as often , people are impressed by my height.
Stopping in some small town , some pictures with monks
Big monastery on a small road.
I ended up on this road by accident since main road going north was closed, and I needed top find an alternative.
At first, of course I hate finding myself on closed road, being forced to come back, but in this case, taking this small road resulted in many nice human interactions and really quiet piece of road.
Nature that evening.
A rain was coming, that evening as night was approaching and nowhere to hide, as these green pastures have no shelters.
Only occasional yurt and option to ask locals.
That night I ended up finding shelter in one factory with workers (I think they work with sand or similar)
I came just before the rain and I really wanted to avoid sleeping outside.
Next day was also forecasted as rain mostly, which was rare in this part of China (despite being rain season in August when I was there) but on this high plateau rain was still rare (at least when I was there).
Workers gave me room to sleep, and fed me well!
I stayed there overnight and until the evening the next day when the rain finally stopped.
The boss (as I called him) was young, while most of workers were adults and older.
As always in these workers facilities, there are always few females whose job is to cook, and they coo well!
I ate really well these 2 days ,with lots of vegetables on the table, just as I like it!
Back on the road after whole day on sustained rain
It was actually the longest rain I experienced in my time in China here. All other days when rain was present it was mostly short moderate rain or sparkling.
It rains more often more east but here on high plateau rain seems to be quite rare.
Adventures never seem top end :)
That evening I encountered a bridge in construction.
River was quite high (because of the rains) so passing next to the bridge was not possible this time.
As I arrived locals were waiting there. Not sure what were their plans as the river is not going to withdrawal in few hours before the night comes.
And I did not want to wait of course. I have waited enough in workers factory.
Some people were walking across the bridge which was in construction. But they only had some bags in their hands.
But I had a loaded bike.
The biggest problem was steep stairs leading on and of the bridge itself on the other side.
I was too lazy to remove the bags from my bike and walk multiple times over the bridge but was eager to cross it before the nightfall.
So with the help of locals, we all together lifted my loaded bike up the stairs after which it was easy to push a bike across the bridge and then once again, with more help from locals I managed to lower my bike down the bridge on another side.
So in the end, I successfully crossed the bridge in no more than 10-15 minutes.
Little later, while I was standing on the side of the road ,admiring the nature, a man on thre motorcycle stopped and invited me to come to his house overnight.
As simple hand gestures go long way of showing sleep sign we all know so well (head resting on 2 hands :)
Few kilometers I followed his to next small town. I didn’t know what to expect. Something you get a big house , sometimes a small tent.
This time, a family lived in very basic conditions in what you can barely call a house, working with cattle.
When I came , I met his wife and 3 children.
The inside of the house was very basic, once room with wood stove for cooking, and partially raised floor for sitting, all covered in Tibetan carpets.
Other room similar style with raised floor for sleeping. No toilet, and no water, just electricity.
All very crude looking but also so comforting at the same time (because such basic living conditions require very little maitainance making life very simple, as I perceive it)
As I needed to go to then toilet, I asked where can I go to the toilet.
They answered anywhere I want around the house :)
It was funny to me at the time ,and weird at the same time , thinking how can they have no private toilet of sort.
But when you think about it more, area around the house was all pooped from the animals they have been working with, so I guess when they needed to go to the toilet, they used the same strategy :)
Yes, they lived in such conditions!
I had some tears in my eyes day, not as the sad though ( they living in such conditions), but for the happy though, they being so happy, by just having each other and minimal conditions for life, doing what they love (raising cattle).
Evening spend in their house, enjoying food and some conversations (with phone translator of course)
A man and his young son
Back on the road next day, avoiding endless yacks sometimes blocking the road :)
Fuel station at China were my frequent place to rest.
An opportunity to get water (almost all fuel station had this machines for boiling water). Since tap water is not safe to drink in China, you either have to buy bottle water or Chinese people often boil their water in a kettle or similar.
I would also charge my phone at fuel stations and asked for wifi, which was often present.
Descending from the plateau towards the town of Xining.
I spend few weeks on high plateau cycling from Chengdu towards Xining in the north in Qinghai province.
Landscapes have changed dramatically when I started descending.
I have used so much from greenery I have last few weeks that all looked weird :)
Some construction on the roads leading towards Xining I could not avoid.
The glory of public toilets in China after spending 3 months in Japan.
Only those who visited Japan know how toilets looks in there :)
You could literally sleep in public toilets in Japan how clean they were while here its disgusting even to go inside. And of course there is no toilet paper in Chinese toilets (something to think about before it gets too late :)
On the outskirts of Xining.
Chinese have the practice to “camp” on the side of the road, in quiet neighbourhood place a table with chairs, and often a tent for a daily rest and literally camp there during the day enjoying food and time together.
Town of Xining was weird in some way, very big with different looking parts, some very modern while some very oldschool.
I found myself in a hostel for a very much needed few days of rest.
I also needed to extend my visa in Xining for another 30 days.
Quickly met friendly Chinese travelers in a hostel.
We had a spic lunch, which is against my eating habits but you cannot refuse when you get invited to lunch together.
Another bike shoop in Xining which helper me change my from GRX 400 shifter level (I had to buy new one from Taobao since old failed to work because of tiny small spring which fell out of place in Japan initially then later again in China again after all my tries to fix it)
80$ later out of my pocket I had a new shifter.
Previous shifter was not old because these things last as the age of the bike and most of the time never brake, but warranty on the road is not existent and I could do nothing except buy a new one.
Lost count how many bike parts I had to replace on my trip so far, as I don’t want to think about iit anyway...
Dorm room in a hostel.
Pretty comfortable and big beds here, I slept well, which is not always the case in dorms of course.
After 3 days in Xining and extending my visa, it was time to more on and start cycling towards west.
I spend long time thinking about my next route towards Kyrgyzstan.
I needed to cross Taklamakan or Gobi desert.
This part of China is least interesting to me because it crosses a boring desert as I was told, its very hot, and Xijiang province in China has some issues (more on that later).
From Xining to reach Kyrgyzstan there is over 3000 km which is hard to cycle in a month.
My plan was to cycle part of it and skip another part with a train.
Some people take north route though bigger cities and Gobi desert.
I decided to take bottom route on the G314 road and Taklamakan desert.
First part from Xining to Golmud town was actually very interesting and I was still on the high plateau meaning temperatures were quite comfortable without being too hot.
G315 road bottom (red), G314 top (blue)
Around Qinghai lake I met quite a few cyclists. This was a popular tourist area.
There 2 were Chinese cyclists, and one of these guys was actually cycling to France.
Flat bread, a fine piece of bread popular here which was very cheap and I was eating on daily basis.
More Chinese fake police cars on the side of the road.
Not sure who are they suppose to scare, but Chinese roads are full of cameras , literally cameras are everywhere (even on the loneliest or roads) and I think people driving in China respect road traffic speed 100%.
In fact, I dont remember seeing Chinese drivers driving high speed like crazy like people doing in Europe.
Roads around Qinghai lake were quite busy, lots of cars, cyclists and everything else. Being peak of tourist season made this even worse.
I didnt particularly liked this section which is uite long, it takes about a day to cycle pass the lake area.
Another young Chinese cyclist riding an electric bike around the lake.
He shared a watermelon with me on a hot day.
Towards the evening temperatures drop rapidly, and it gets very cold.
So riding in the evening requires warm clothing.
Similar can be observed in the deserts here in Xinjiang which will come later.
Another Chinese cyclist I meat later after I passed the lake and started climbing again.
He was going towards Golmud city as well so we continued together for a few days.
It was nice having someone speaking Chinese, so whenever some talk needed to be done, I was just chilling while he was doing the conversation :)
Hiding under the bridge from hot sun.
But not always there was sunny weather.
Going over some pass I encountered heavy clouds, which hat first were great change from the desert sun, but later turned into a bit of rain and eventually I had to find cover under the bridge where I decided to spend the night because it was late and I was tired from whole day cycling.
Next day rain continued and I had to find shelter.
I saw a fuel station under construction where the workers accepted me in the containers where they were stationed next to fuel station.
As always, warm food on the menu on a cold day is super welcome!
Doesnt look like summer really but such days were rare.
Most of the time I was hiding from the sun.
I am still on high altitude here.
Beautiful nature here
Bakery in small random town
Everything start looking more and more like a desert as I am going west.
There crashed car remains are placed on the side of the road as a reminder to drivers to drive carefully.
Roads get slightly boring here (but nothing like it will become later).
There are still mountains on the left while desert reveal itself on the right.
Sleeping in the desert.
Evening are mostly calm but in the morning wind would usually pick up and often wake me up early around 5 am in the morning and started shaking my tent.
As there was nowhere to hide from the wind sometimes I would loose sleep because of it.
Eventually I found better places to hide overnight in this part.
There were passes under the road frequently and offered peaceful place to spent he night.
Even during the day you could rest here from the sun because there was nowhere else to hide from the sun otherwise.
Plus this was good place to hide from the police since here in Xinjiang province , police didn’t like travelers sleeping outside, and if they saw you most probably they would force you to go to the hotel.
Wearing complete protection from the sun including gloves.
And these are not sun gloves actually, those are just some relatively thin ternal gloves I have.
I didnt have luck finding sun gloves when I was around the lake Qinghai. I met a cyclist who had such gloves and I wanted to buy them to couldn’t find anywhere in stores.
But even using these warmer gloves its still better than being exposed to the sun.
Reaching the town of Golmud.
I havent spend much time here but this is still a nice area to be, surrounded by mountains and other attractions.
Here I met once more with Chinese cyclist I meat after the lake Qinghai.
His vacation was over so he had to go back.
He was a firefighter and really wanted to continue cycling further but his job was more important, which I understand completely.
Desert elements here make for a still relatively interesting landscapes but compared to Sahara, I was bored big time.
One day I was unpleasantly surprised with puncture in the middle 0f the desert road.
I don’t know what cut my tire like this in a second ,including inner tube.
I didn’t see anything on the road.
Those are Schwalbe Marathon, heavy duty touring tires and I have never experienced this on a touring tires.
Of course I dint have a spare.
I managed to put piece of plastic cut from water bottle from the inside and glue duck tape over it, which seemed good at first.
However after 2 days or riding my tire still started to deflate.
After removing the tire to inspect, you could see all this moving slightly inside the tire and the plastic cut inner tube.
I had to remove plastic and leave only duct page as “protection”
What kind of things truck drivers carry here is unbelievable :)
There is often a car attached to the top of the luggage on many truck, even if it doesn’t fit at all.
Desert sill relatively interesting but this is about to change.
I spend a day in a town of Mangnai in Qinghai province.
Here I decided to take a train to skip next 1000 km of the desert which looked very boring , not having towns or anything.
Boarding the trains in China even with a bicycle is relatively easy.
You just have to remove front wheel and bags from your bike, then wrap the bike in some cardboard or plastic bags.
Some train stations are more strict than others of course, but crossing large distances with a train in China in very easy (once you get a hang of packing your bicycle).
Many cyclist used this method to do visa runs in China (getting out of country to reset their visa and then immediately returning same day to get 30 day visa free again)
This was my first time using train in China. I was reluctant doing it before (although I have heard its easy) and it all very well.
Situation inside the train is chaotic at best.
There are no rules, everybody sits / lays down as it wants to :)
there are sleeper wagons which are quite good, but are always sold beforehand so if you want to get a bed in a sleeper wagon, you need to purchase a ticket long before, not just by appearing at train station before the train comes.
Continuing my journey through the boring desert and hiding from the police, and police checkpoints which become more and more frequent in this part of Xinjiang.
I was told by other cyclists it will be like this, but didn’t expect to be so bad.
Not only that but also sometimes you are being followed by unmarked police cars.
If they se you in the evening the will force you in the hotel (you wont be able to sleep outside in a tent)
After several days of non stop police checkpoint on the road, (which are unavoidable) and one day which culminated with crazy things happening I have had enough of this.
I was followed by many police cars through the day random appearing.
Sometimes you weren’t even sure iif this is police but strange behaving cars were often present.
One evening I escaped into the woods for a wild camp and as I was laying in my tent in the evening everything seemed normal at first, but then around 22:00 pm a big dron with a huge lights appears above the woods and started flying around.
At first, I didnt believe this was for me (spoiler: it was!)
I couldn’t sleep like this (and they would find me sooner or later) so II just got back on the road and started cycling again (despite being 23:00 pm).
Half an hour alter, another unmarked police stopped me.
Police:
“You shouldn’t be really cycling this late. Its dangerous. There are lots of cars on the road”
Me:
“Not really”
Police:
“Would you like to go to a hotel?”
Me:
“Can I sleep in a tent?”
Police:
“You shouldn’t be really sleeping in a tent. Its not really allowed. Its dangerous. Lots of wild animals.”
Me;
laughing :)
In the end, they offered me a free hotel, just to get me off the road.
Next day, I made an easy decision because I dint want to have any more of this nonsence.
Being in very boring desert didn’t help at all.
For the first time, I didn’t feel guilty skipping my way using public transport.
I took a train once again all the way to Kashgar city.
Luckily things got normal in Kashgar.
I didn’t know what to expect once I get there but no problems with police here.
Stayed in cheap hostel (5$) and waited once again for another Taobao order I had.
Since I was moving out of China next, this was my last chance to order from Taobao, which is very convenient in China (and it usually takes few days to arrive).
Only for this west part of China takes a bit longer (5-7 days) so you need to take this into account.
Curtains on the roof of the hostel were mesmerizing. Whenever there was slight breeze there were moving like waves.
Some nightlife photos from Kashgar.
City transforms big time from day to night.
During the day it seems like another boring brown desert city (as everything is brown here).
But when the night falls, crazy light appears everywhere and make for a complete different atmosphere.
Some daylight photos of Kashgar
Ancient city of Kashgar
A popular destination among tourist, bit I dint find it as being anything special.
Lots of souvenirs for sale… you know the story.
And just lots of people walking the streets but the scenery is similar as some of the streets close to my hostel.
Personally I didn’t like it because the middle in thin and it all dries so its just like eating a crust, only the sides remain slightly soft.
I like soft bread and found bread in the part of China not satisfying, plus there was no other choice.
I was mostly this kind of bread or slight variations.
But there was another thing in Kashgar I was told about.
It was a Sunday bazaar / marketplace where locals would sell goods.
This was opened every day, but on Sunday they sold cattle and other animals and this really made for an adventure to see.
I came there and had a great fun.
Met some young Chinese travelers and we explored the place together.
This is large tail sheep animal.
Horses for sale but also you could ride them.
I didn’t take my chance today.
Unlike usual souvenirs sold to tourists, I actually found this interesting.
This wasnt my idea but the young Chinese started this photo shoot and they asked me to do it as well :)
All kinds of food we tried that day, from rabbit meat (if I remember correctly) to different fruits etc...
Dried figs and strawberries.
Some of these fruits was stuffed with sugar, which I don’t like personally.
But here I was many things for sale that was not being sold elsewhere.
Fresh figs
Unlimited spices
This was dried mushrooms called Morel.
I am familiar with this type of mushroom but couldn’t remember the name when I saw it.
Recap
China remains on my list of one of the favorite countries I will come back too for sure, probably going over high plateau once again, through the areas I havent seen yet.
But there are also other areas of China to Explore.
It would be nice going through TAR (Tibet autonomous part) but this is restricted for foreigners and requires special permits and traveling with a guide so its not an attractive proposition, at least for me.
China seems to be so awesome in some things, and so bad in other.
Annoying things about China:
- restricted counties
- being rejected in some hotels
- Chinese drivers using too much horns in traffic and driving little bit on the dangerous side outside of cities. Strange because they seem to drive so nice in bigger cities.
Things I love about China
- friendly people
- cheap and affordable
- huge country with so many diversity (they will be something for everybody here)
- relax traffic, everything is allowed (riding in opposite direction, passing through red light, using mobile phone in traffic…) except of course reckless driving and speeding
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