China Pak Oct05

Day 1 29 Sep Thu Lahore: The flight to Lahore was at 130pm with a couple of transit hours in Bangkok. We only arrived in Lahore at 11pm, after which we promptly left the luggage the hotel before making our way to "Food Street". This is a short stretch of local restaurants that is very popular among locals that stays open past midnight. We had a sampling of the local cuisine including some lamb "testicles".
Day 2 Rawalpindi: After breakfast we visited the UNESCO listed Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque. As time was short, we aborted the plan for a walk in the Old City and proceeded to lunch at the exclusive Village Restaurant. The buffet spread of the foods of Pakistan led many to overeat. The Khewra Salt Mines, our next destination, is the second largest in the world with beautiful crystal caves and colourful caverns. We arrived in Rawalpindi at about 9pm and once again, went looking and found a popular local eatery with very good food. At this rate, I will have to watch my waistline very carefully!
Day 3Taxila Buddhist Centre then Besham: Near Islamabad is the UNESCO ancient site of Taxila, once a sprawling center for Buddhism. The museum has very interesting exhibits of "caucasian" Buddha figurines. It was from India and also Pakistan, that the religion spread to China. Then its off to Besham 270 kms 6hrs, a convenient midway stop between Islamabad and Gilgit.
Day 4 Gilgit: There are virtually thousands of Buddhist incriptions and rock carvings on the way to Gilgit 370km 9hr. This is a scenic long journey with many photo stops to view the Nanga Parbat, Chilas/Shatial rock carvings and the Indus River. Parts of the ancient silk road trails can also be seen on the mountains and some are still in use by the local villagers.
Day 5 Karimabad: We spent the morning in Gilgit town for a quick look before heading on to Karimabad 98km 3hr away. There were adverse reports of fighting among the local shiites and sunnis in Gilgit and so I opted to spend more time in the more-progressive Ismaelis northern areas. We got into Karimabad in the early afternoon and walked up to UNESCO listed Baltit Fort, the abode of the former Hunza Kings. Later I took the group to the source of the village water channels located at the base of the Ultit Glacier. These water channels have been in use for centuries bringing water from the snow mountains to the lush fields and orchards. Many of these channels are carved out of solid rock and located high up on the mountain slopes.
Day 6 Nagar Valley & Hoper Glacier: We squeezed into the local jeeps and traveled along narrow dirt roads to the village of Nagar 3hr. This mountain village is richly cultivated and the base for a trek "down" to Hoper Glacier. Locals were there ready to "rent" a hand for those in need, especially on the return-up. Nagar Valley is also home to conservative Shiite muslims who do not take kindly to their photographs being taken. Zoom-lens to the rescue! By early afternoon we were back in Karimabad and our local guide Karim, took the group to a village cooperative that makes carpets. The group went on a long village walk up to late evening. At night Karim organised a local traditional band for a couple of hours of great music, songs and dance.
Day 7 Gulmit & Passu Glacier: We bade farewell to beautiful Karimabad and drove on to Gulmit 52km 1.5hr and lunched there. A couple of kilometers down the road is Hussaini Vilage and the site of two suspension bridges, one of which is broken and unsable. The group had a mini-adventure crossing the bridge that had rather wide gaps, averaging about two feet apart. Locals use these bridges regularly and you should see some of the loads that they carry. Our next activity was a rather strenous trek up Passu Glacier. There is a great photo point on the road where one can view the Passu Catherals, so named because the high jagged peaks resembles churches and also the largest alluvial flats in the world. Only 3 pax made it up to Passu Glacier because part of the trail appeared to have been badly worn out.
Day 8 Ghulkin Village & Gulmit: In the morning the group were given time off to wander small village Gulmit. Many spent time at the local schools with the exceptionally friendly school children and teachers. In the afternoon we visited Borit Lake, reachable after an hour of zig-zagging up a small hill. We spent the rest of the day visiting Ghulkin, the village and home of our much-loved local guide Karim.

Day 9 Top of the Karakoram Highway: After the formalities at the border town Sost, we crossed into China via the Khunjerab Pass at 4730m, the highest highway in the world. The scenery changed from colourful autumn to snow-covered grounds to spartan grasslands during this day long trip. We were met at the Tashkurgan immigration and custom building by our Chinese guide, an Uighur muslim named Yusuf.
Day 10 Karakul Lake & Kashgar: There were many numerous photo stops on the way to Kashgar including the alpine Karakul Lake inhabited by the Krygz minorities. The road on the high Pamir Plateau is lined with snow mountains and glaciers, passing quaint villages with its rows of poplar trees and donkey carts. We arrived in Kashgar at 4pm. The group proceeded for a visit to the Id Kah Mosque and the surrounding Old City. Later we dined at the local night market on great roast lamb, chicken and fried fish.
Day 11 Sunday Market Kashgar: I organised for two horse carts to take us on the backroads of Kashgar to the Sunday Market. This famous market has been around since the beginning of the Silk Road and it was from here that the Road branched into India, Pakistan and the rest of China. The ride through the small villages of Kashgar was a surprise treat. We first visited the slightly "fragrant" animal market followed by time spend at the Sunday Market proper. While some opted to visit the Fragrant Concubine's Tomb, others preferred to spend more time. Yet others simply did their own thing.
Day 12 Hotan: On the way to Hotan 520km 8hr, we stopped at Yensigar, where the best knives in Xinjiang are made. Once again, we pass numerous small villages with the typical donkey carts and poplar-lined streets. It was a long day and we arrived rather late in Hotan. The group went to the most popular local Uighur eatery in town and typically, we were the only foreign group in the place.
Day 13 Minfeng: In the morning we toured Hotan which produces the finest carpets in China. Their carpets once adorned the Imperial Palace in Beijing. We visited the government-run carpet and silk weaving factories. Then its a short 290km 4hr hop to the small town of Minfeng for our overnight stop.
Day 14 Cross the Taklamakan Desert: An early start for this long journey began with a 530km 6hr on the new arrow-straight Desert Highway crossing the second biggest desert in China after the Gobi. The scenery is breath-taking with its vast areas of dunes and desert sands. Surprisingly it was very cold on account of a cold front that hit the whole of Northern China. After crossing over, we headed towards Korla.
Day 15 Korla then Turpan: We spent the morning browsing the local wet market in Korla. The fragrant pears here are famous in China and we also sampled the various local food. Many shopped for nuts and foodstuff at this market. We were "privilaged" in that there were no other visitors. We then left for Turpan 510km 7hr.
Day 16 Turpan: This town is China's grape capital and also an important town on the old Silk Route. Our first stop on this full day trip was the Flaming mountains. I opted for a trek up the mountain for great views of Turpan Valley. This took a large part of the day and we had to rush to visit the rest of Turpan, Jiaohe Ancient City, and the Karez Wells.

Day 17 Lake Tianchi: The group spent a couple of hours walking about the Grape Valley. We then made our way to the beautiful Lake Tianchi, dubbed the Switzerland of China 3hr. On arrival, I brought the group up to the viewpoint that entailed an uphill trek of about an hour. Then it was a pleasant walk down to our Kazakh tents or yurts strategically located beside the lake. It was basic but nothing beats the scenery from where we stayed.
Day 18 Horse trekking: We spent almost the whole day in the mountains, horse-trekking along the alpine river that feeds Tianchi Lake. The way up is lined with pine and beech trees, some of which were showing off their early autumn colours. Our final destination was a high altitude grassland area, used in warmer months to graze horses.
Day 19 Urumqi: After breakfast, we headed towards Urumqi, the provincial capital of Xinjaing. Our hotel was located in the Old City, a stone-throw away from the very popular Mall and ethnic Erdaoqiao Market. There one finds KFC and Carrefour among the local shops. At night I brought the group to the night market, which was half-closed this time of the year because of the cold weather.
Day 20 More Urumqi: In the early morning, group ventured to the People's Park for people-watching. The locals have a host of activities including martial arts, taichi, modern as well as traditional dances. Other places visted are the tacky Hongshan Park and the Museum with its collection of caucasian mummies.
Day 21 Wed 19 Sep Fly to Chengdu: A morning domestic flight took us to Chengdu Szechuan Province. Then its off on Thai Airways flight to Bangkok and KL.