China Pak Oct06

Yong Lee Min writes: The extensive and well-written piece was kindly contributed by Ooi Chwee Hoon aka Mama, much loved and respected by all who had the pleasure of being her travel companion. This was her third Yongo trip in 3 years having been to Zhangjiajie and Guizhou. So thank you Mama and appreciate the time taken to come out with this write-up.

21st Century Pakistan Silk Route Nomads

A motley crew of 24 Yongo travelers traversed more than 4,000 kms on the modern day Pakistan Silk Route , as close as one can get to the original ancient Silk Route , a significant route that existed more than 2,200 years ago. The Silk Route in the days of antiquity was that very important link between East and West bringing exotic products such as silk, paper, etc to Ancient Greece. Some of the famed travelers included people like Fa Hsien, the monk who traveled around 200 BC to bring Buddhist scriptures from India to China , Marco Polo, his father and uncle in 1200 AD who traveled from Venice to China and in the end traveled 24 years before returning to Venice . There are also Sven Hedin and Aurel Stein in the 18 th century who retraced the Silk Route in more modern times.

Our 21 st century travelers took the modern day caravan, the coach sans camels and hence we were able to cover a lot of ground in 21 days and not in 21 months and more.

Day 1 - Thursday 28/09/06 KL/Bangkok/Lahore

24 adventurers flew into the newly opened Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on the first day of its opening. As with any new operation, there were a number of hiccups - for one, our flight out of Bangkok to Lahore was delayed and at Lahore airport, one of our backpacks did not arrive until 2 days later!

We spent our first night at the National Hotel in Lahore , a tired, grim, cockroach infested joint which we were sure was never cleaned in the 20 years or so of its existence. It had a minus 10 star rating – more a hotel for cockroaches and other creepy crawlies. Our hearts sank and we silently prayed for better things to come….

Somehow, the tough travelers survived, laughed about it and chalked it down as one of those unforgettable experiences.

Day 2 - Friday 29/09/06 Lahore

Our guides, Karim and Abbas shepherded us to the historic Lahore Fort, the Royal Mosque, Shish Mahal, and the Palace of Mirrors – all sites steeped in the Moghul, Sikh, Colonial and contemporary history of power, culture and architecture. Unfortunately, the Lahore Museum was closed for Ramadan.

We endured another night in Lahore , but by then the intrepid travelers had swiftly gotten used to cockroaches and all for company.

Autumn colours of Khunjerab Pass / Top of Khunjerab

Day 3 - Saturday 30/09/06 Rawalpindi/Islamabad/Besham

Driving like mad is a term we would get to know well in the days to come, starting Day 3. Early in the morning, we drove to the Salt Mine, the second largest in the world. The Salt Lickers amongst us got their act together, licking the salt walls (and there are 17 levels of walls in the mine) for love to come by - a common belief there. What some of us can do in the name of love! Interestingly, the mine was first discovered by Alexander the Great's horse when it stopped to get his fill of salt!

Next stop, the Buddhist Gandhara Monastery ruins in Taxila dating more than 2,000 years. The long 5 hour drive was worth it as the magnificent ruins with the remains of terracotta stupas, Buddha figurines and carvings had a glorious history to tell – they spoke to us across the years. It was one of the resting places of the Buddhist travelers on the Silk Route .

Everyone lined up to stick their middle finger into the Healing Buddha's navel to make a wish that would surely come true! And then we hopped onto our mechanical camels and drove to Besham, some few hours away. O/N Besham.

Day 4 - Sunday 01/10/06 Besham/Gilgit

Traveled 10 hours in the bus along the 8 th Wonder of the World, the Karakoram Highway - the highest and probably the most treacherous highway in the world but the one that will be remembered for some of the most spectacular mountain scenery. Our guide, Karim sensationalized and bullshitted us, telling us the Karakoram Highway was 9,000 km long and for every km, a man died bringing the death toll to more than 9,000 lives lost in building the highway. The statistics were sobering even though the facts were no less staggering when corrected 6 days later by Yousef, our Uighur guide on the China side of the highway. He factually pointed out the Karakoram was really some 872 km long and there was no such record of such high death toll from the Chinese road works records. The statement, “We have been had!” was good naturedly and liberally used from here on! O/N Gilgit

Day 5 - Monday 02/10/06 Gilgit/Karimabad

This part of the journey was the beginning of the majestic snow capped peaks comprising Lady Finger, Utra1 & 2, Naga Prhaphat, Golden Peak , Rakaposhi, etc. We saw where the 2 gigantic Teutonic plates met and the juxtaposition showed where the Asian and the Indian mountain ranges collided. Magnificent geography lesson for all. Karakoram took on a special significance when it was explained that Kara means black and koram, forbidding. Now we understand what the Karakoram mountains means - black, grim, forbidding and unforgiving!

As we headed for Gilgit, we came by some Buddhist rock face sculptures - evidence that more than 2,000 years ago, Buddhists monks, scholars and travelers on the Silk Route had traversed with their caravans of yore as we now did. At Karimabad, we stayed at the “Top of the Hill” Hotel enjoying the views of the spectacular Karakoram Mountains .

Uighur Song & Dance / Kashgar Sunday Market

Day 6 - Tuesday 03/10/06 Gilgit

A blurry eyed but energetic lot woke up at 3.30 am to trundle into 4 wheel drives to catch a glimpse of sunrise over the magnificent mountain ranges. We returned for breakfast and headed out for a walk on the Hopper Glacier. We were happily surprised and delighted to see the meadows and the fields in between bleak, barren mountain slopes. Magnificent spectacular scenery - breathtaking. This time of the year, the green and silver poplar trees turned golden, as did the mulberry trees, birches, etc - they were all ready to celebrate autumn in full glory.

By late afternoon, the group headed off for a beautiful walk up the imposing Baltic Fort, the former palace of the Mirs (rulers) of the Hunza Valley from the 13 th Century to 1960. It is a must to see how the history and the culture of the Hunza Valley people is conserved in this Fort, now converted into a tremendously exciting museum surrounded by people who still live in much the same way their ancestors did in the days long gone. After a very full day, all were glad to hit the sack.

Day 7 - Wednesday 04/10/06 Karimabad/Gulmit

A more leisurely paced day with just an hour long drive towards Gulmit Village in Upper Hunza . A beautiful scenic drive to a glacier that looked black, caked with dirt and another that looked white. Is there such a thing as a black glacier and a white glacier or a male and a female glacier?

Our hotel in Gulmit with flowers growing all around was a welcome sight for dusty travelers. It boasted a panoramic view of the river and the mountains.

The food kept getting more palatable here onwards, so it seemed.

We visited the second longest suspension bridge in the world located in the Hussaini Valley . This 280 meter long bridge built 200 years ago is in use to this day. Next to it was the broken bridge built in more recent times with the best modern technology and at a lot of Pakistani government expense. The locals insisted the new bridge could not withstand the force of the winds but the experts did not believe them. In the end, the 200 year old bridge continues to be used whilst the other is abandoned and literally in tatters.

Stopped to observe evidence of the original Silk Route etched in the rocks. There were animals drawings and writings in 11 languages dating more than 2,200 years. We saw the site where the 18 th century adventurer, Lord Kitchener on the Old Silk Route fell off his horse into the river 500 meters below. He miraculously survived, swam ashore but was killed instantly by a stone that rolled down the slope as he emerged from the river. The fickle finger of fate at work. O/N Gulmit.

Two faces of Tianchi

Day 8 - Thursday 05/10/06 Gulmit/Ghulkin Village Excursion

Managed a 5 hour walk from Gulmit Lodge (our hotel) to the town of Ghulkin , walking through fields and 700 year old pathways to a school in Gulmit. We visited the school and were privileged to have the Headmaster walk us around and meet the students in classrooms where they are taught in English, Urdu and Wahili. This was a model private school in a poor area. Government schools are apparently hopeless. We brought with us gifts of books, educational DVDs and a DVD player donated by the last Yongo group. Everyone was encouraged to donate generously. The travelers can donate also in kind when the next Yongo group comes by.

Pressed on to Ghulkin to visit the home of our guide Karim where we were invited for tea and cakes by his family in his newly built traditional Hunza home. Then it was a long walk back to the hotel. Some of us preferred to get into the jeep rather than walk. Within a few minutes of reaching the hotel, the adventurers rallied and headed for Borith Lake an alpine lake nestled at the top of the mountains a drive away. Another 40 minute walk up and another 40 minutes down and then we were whisked to our humble local eatery that had never had so many customers at one go. We dined on the best they had - chicken bryiani rice washed down with a cup of “cai” (tea) before heading back to the hotel.

That same evening our guides arranged a surprise for us - 3 Hunza traditional musicians entertained us with music and our guides, bus drivers, hotel staff and even the Chief of Police in that area danced for us! A resounding evening.

Day 9 - Friday 06/10/06 Gulmit/Sost/Tashikurgan

Gulmit to Sost, the border town on the Pakistan side - it was another spectacular drive. At Sost we went through the Pakistan checkpoint which checks for narcotics and anti smuggling before the immigration checkpoint.

The next 20 km after Sost, we were technically still in Pakistan - it was what was considered no man's land - the land was too high up and uninhabitable. The Kunjerab Pass was more than 7,000 km above sea level - very cold. It was also part of the Kunjerab National Park and we saw yaks and Marco Polo Sheep grazing in the distance.

The 5 hour coach ride from Sost to Tashikurgan was freezingly cold but the scenery, beautiful. And almost suddenly, we were in Tashikurgan, on the Chinese side of the border, a frontier town with a population of 50,000 exporting mineral water and nothing else. Everything else was imported into this town. That night we splurged on a 7 course dinner - the best we had in 9 days.

The scenery was fantastic. Fall had come and the mountain slopes were gold, red and russet. The weather was excellent and the sky, picture postcard blue.

It was more than 1 ½ hours to get through the meticulous Chinese immigration at Tashikurgan. Since there were only 10,000 travelers passing through this outpost each year and since there was nothing much to do, the immigration officers took their time to curiously inspect our belongings!

Day 10 - Saturday 07/10/06 Tasihkurgan/Kashgar

Passed beautiful sand dunes. Some of us with more imagination visualized camel caravans traversing the sand dunes. Dusty quaint villages with poplar trees and donkey carts flew by. On arrival at the hotel at 4 pm , we quickly visited the magnificent Idkah Mosque which dates back to the 1400's and was expanded in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The adjoining city square was colorful with local people sitting around, soaking in the sun. Some of us were enchanted by a local Uighur dance troupe in the city square.

Next stop, the beautiful tomb of Apak Hoja (Xiang Fei Tomb) which is the burial ground of 5 generations of Apak Hoja descendants. The beautiful and dignified tomb sits in front of a rose garden. It was built with local blue and white ceramic and green glazed tiles.

Caught a glimpse of the old market, the old town and the Kashgar Bazaar. How exotic. Immediately we looked forward to the next morning at the bazaar!

Barber in Kashgar Market / Tianchi Lake residents

Day 11 - Sunday 08/10/06 Kashgar

All of us were fascinated by the morning visit to the animal livestock market – the largest in the region. Donkeys, cows, goats and sheep were sold along with an assortment of accessories. If you are buying a donkey, make sure it has good teeth! What a sight! There it was off to the Kashgar silk trade market and bazaar where they sell just about everything. The brocade street in the Bazaar was my favorite – the most colorful, the richest, the most exotic and the most scintillating. I thought of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves….

At lunch, we were entertained to a Uighur music and dance performance.

Then it was a free and easy self discovery tour of the 2,000 year old Kashgar Old City on the ancient Silk Route . Today it is a UNESCO protected site and is being reconstructed. A must for everyone. They say if you have been to Xinjiang and not been in Kashgar you have not seen Xinjiang at all; and, if you have been to Kashgar and not to the Old City , you have not been in Kashgar at all!

Day 12 – Monday 09/10/06 Kashgar/Hotan

From exotic Kashgar we headed towards Hotan 10 hours away by bus. In between we stopped at Yensigar town, famous for the manufacture of the best knives in Xinjiang. The scenery was mostly flat semi desert land and dunes. We passed by dusty villages and lots of donkey carts trotting along poplar lined streets.

Kebab is the favorite Uighur food, so we found out!

Day 13 - Tuesday 10/10/06 Hotan/Minfeng

This was amongst our best touring day ever with an exciting morning at the newly opened (1 month old to be exact) Hotan Museum which told us the history of Hotan from the Stone Age (5000 BC) through the years on the Silk Route . One of the best museums in archeological antiquities. Got us all very excited when we noticed there are 13 archeological sites in the region. This museum visit made Hotan one of the most important towns we had come across.

We drove across the Tarim River , the longest inland river in China and we saw people looking for white jade on the river, an activity that has been going on for at least 2,000 years! Hotan has been famous for its jades for that long!

Minfeng is a small overnight town at the edge of the Great Takhlaman Desert that we will cross tomorrow! Today we spent 6 hours on the bus.

Day 14 - Wednesday 11/10/06 Minfeng/Korla

An early getaway as we had a 12 hour travel on the new arrow straight desert highway across the Takhlaman, the second biggest desert in China after the Gobi Desert. Breathtaking scenery of shifting sand dunes as we headed for Korla, which means, “Beautiful Grasslands”. We had a truck stop lunch. Toilets as usual were not salubrious and we continued to prefer the immodest but more hygienic open air toilets of the sand dunes and the grasslands.

Day 15 - Thursday 12/10/06 Korla/Turpan

Instead of browsing the local wet market in Korla we somehow ended up in a small little bazaar. Then it was on to Turpan – driving from 2,000 meters about sea level downwards to 140 meters below sea level! A 7 hour drive to Turpan with views of the Tian Shan Ranges stretching 2,000 km. We traveled through bare rock badlands with sand dunes on some of these bald hills - quite spectacular. Sometimes the road ahead disappeared into the horizon. We experienced a sand haze, quite different from the haze we have in Malaysia ! We were happy to reach Turpan with its 200,000 population - a small town well known for its grape corridors.

Two faces of Taklamakan Desert

Day 16 - Friday 13/10/06 Turpan

After early morning breakfast, we drove one hour to the Flaming Mountain made famous by the tales of the Monkey God and his travels with the monk Fa Hsien and his traveling companions on the Silk Route .

Climbed 1,308 steps up the face of this part of the Tian Shan Mountains which are flaming red when the sun catches the mountain at certain angles. A challenging climb. The way down was worse - some of us had wobbly knees long after we managed to get down! Undaunted, the energetic nomads visited the nearby Bekzlik Thousand Caves , an important historical monument and cultural relic site now under state protection. Its has 83 caves, more than 40 of them once painted with frescoes totaling 1,200 sq meters hewn out of 1 km long cliff on the West Bank of the Muton Valley in the Flaming Mountains. The cave complex was built in 499 - 640 AD and called the Ning Rong Temple during the Tang Dynasty. The temples were abandoned in the 15th century and much of it was destroyed with the spread of Islam. Unfortunately, we were disappointed with what we saw as so much was destroyed that there was hardly anything left to see. We will not recommend visiting this site.

Back to Turpan for lunch and then a visit to the famous Karez wells comprising 5,000 km of underground water system to bring water to the region. It was built a staggering 3,000 years ago and work continued until the 1980's. Today, the wells still bring water to Turpan and the region. The amazing Karez well system is as important and spectacular as the Great Wall of China in Chinese history except that it is all underground!

The spectacular Jia He ruins was next, built on a plateau surround on 2 sides by water; it housed 35 - 40,000 people and was built in 108 BC - more than 2,000 years ago! It was truly magnificent - another city on the ancient Silk Route .

Day 17 - Saturday 14/10/06 Turpan/Tian Chi Lake

On the way to Tian Chi Lake as we neared Urumqi , we saw a wind farm at work. There were so many tall steel structures with 3 giant blades each, all ready to catch the wind and turn it into wind energy. It was a fantastic sight.

Tian Chi is the Switzerland of China so they say but it is really very different. We made a 6 hour bus trip from Turpan to Tian Chi with our back packs equipped for an overnight stay at Tian Chi Lake, staying at Rahshit's Yurts (technically they should be called felts) at the lakeside. We had 4 tents housing 6 in each tent. Views were beautiful.

Took advantage of the good weather that afternoon and 17 of us went horse trekking up the pine covered mountains, sometimes going up 70 degree slopes. Autumn was around us. It was not easy for the horses going up the mountain slopes but frightening as it was, the magnificent views made it all worthwhile. Sometimes we got off the horses and climbed up part of the way as it was too dangerous for the horse and the rider. At times, we walked down the steep slopes before getting on the horses again. Now we know what it means to have your heart in your mouth!

On our return to the yurts, it drizzled and the rain turned into snow. It snowed the whole night and the next day, we were treated to a White Christmas.

Horse trekking Tianchi Lake / Fresh snows in Tianchi

Day 18 - Sunday 15/10/06 Tian Chi Lake/Urumqi

In the morning, 5 went riding whilst some walked down to the base where we then got on the bus that that took us to Urumqi in 1 ½ hours. Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang with a population of 3.5 million.

Our hotel was well appointed. By afternoon we were exploring the city, milling with people on a Sunday afternoon. Carrefour was on our target visit list. In the evening we dined in style and were entertained to the most wonderful evening of Urumqi music and dance. Not to be missed!

Day 19 - Monday 16/10/06 Urumqi

Morning at one of the most significant museums in China . It was even more significant than the Hotan Museum ! It displayed a fantastic record of the history of China from the Paleolithic Age, 8,000 years ago to the Neolithic age 5,000 years ago to 3,000 years to 2,000 years. We also understood the long reach and impact of the great Chinese dynasties on the Xinjiang region.

There were so many magnificent archeological sites in Xinjiang and one of the excavations yielded the 4,000 year old Caucausian (Russian) man in Jiao He - the mummy was well preserved as was the 2,000 year old Lou Lan woman. Some of us spent more than 2 hours in the museum enthralled and would have spent more had we had more time. This museum is an enthusiastic must for visitors!

Earlier in the morning, some of us went to see people exercising in the early hours of the morning in Urumqi Park but they had to pay to get in!

The museum excursion ended with a good jiao zi lunch. The special treat was having our tea poured by a waiter swinging a pot of boiling water around and around and then pouring the boiling hot water into each of our tea cups through the long spout. It was a kung fu art form!

After lunch, the taxi took us to the wholesale garment market while some of us went crazy buying DVDs. Some took a long slow walk back to the hotel, visiting every single shop and bazaar on the way back. Shop till you drop - our last shopping day in Urumqi .

We bid farewell to one of our fellow traveler who gaily went off to Tibet .

Day 20 - Tuesday 17/10/06 Urumqi to Kunming

Early in the morning we drove to the Urumqi airport to fly to Kunming via Chongqin. A small handful of enthusiastic shoppers managed to transport some 16 kg of raisins amongst many other purchases. Malaysians really boleh!

The Camellia Hotel in this City of Eternal Spring, the garden city of China deserves special mention. The best we have had throughout the entire trip!

Now it is getting hotter.

Once we were ensconced, we quickly followed our guide Jonathan for a very long walk across the city to our dinner place for everyone's “last supper” followed by a stop at a sports gear shop half way across the most beautiful Kunming shopping square and also the less well lit parts of this shopping city. Most everyone purchased travel gear except for a few frustrated folks who could only fit into the non existent XXS sizes!

Day 21 - Wednesday 18/1/06 Kunming/Bangkok

Another early morning start followed by a walk to the Kunming Flower Market and the Handicraft market. Last minute shopping frenzy for some and people trickled back to the hotel assembling again to get on the bus to the airport for our final flight to Malaysia , transiting in Bangkok .

4 remained in Kunming for an extended 2 week Yunnan adventure whilst 2 disembarked in Bangkok for a chill out. The rest headed for home sweet home.

Satisfied, the 21st century nomads disappeared until the next expedition.

Riding in the snow at Tianchi / Tianchi in the morning

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