Jiaotong Hotel Turpan

... by the wind and turned into sultanas and raisins - depending on the variety of the grape.


Turpan has been an important town on the Silk Road since ancient times. Over the next day we visited the Emin Minaret, the largest ancient Islamic tower in Xinjiang- a wonderful use of bricks, making striking ...

... use of dead land, although I would not imagine the Chinese authorities would have to cope with the objections that western governments have with this form of power generation.

The night of the 31st was spent camping in the desert again, stunning sunsets and a stunning dawn made for a great stay. Later the following day we turned south and arrived at Dunhuang. Another nice faceless Chinese city. Still you know exactly what you are getting and it generally all works.

... had gotten through a couple of times, only to be cut off after a few seconds. The woman had been walking to a shop to get some water on the Tuesday (the 7th) and had seen a group of Han guys stop a public bus, pull the Uighur driver out and beat him to death. I felt sick. They were scared. LX was sad. The next stop was Jiaohe. It was brutally hot. It was so hot the tour guide asked us to listen to the guide in front of us, so that we would not have to wait around for them to finish ...

... 1491;בר שהיתה חלק מדרך המשי. ועל אף שהמדב 12; מקיף אותה, הודות להרים המושל 90;ים שנמצא 97;ם בצפו ...

... knowing how many centuries old it is.. Actually, we didn't really walk that far, we took a donkey cart and walked around the best bits.
As we approached Turpan we saw acres and acres of oil wells and then, surprisingly, huge plantings of grapes. Turpan, Grape Valley. Mmmmm, perhaps another night here.....
Pictures not possible today but watch for a huge upload in the next couple of days.

... of him-at the site designated by whoever designates such things as the 'perfect' place to look at the mountain, for a fee.

We weren't just after red mountains, though. Dan and I and our new travel buddy Rene who we'd met at the train station on arriving in Turpan, were off in a hired taxi to see a system of Buddhist grottoes and another ancient, ruined city.

The highway arched around the Flaming Mountain, and we saw some of the fire color ...

... Ruins' 2,000 years of history in forty minutes before their tour bus stranded them. Dan and I ignored them, entranced by black beetles crawling out of their hidey-holes as the shadows grew longer. I noticed that the smaller bugs came out first, then the bigger ones. Maybe that's how you get to be a big beetle, by being slow.

A map and historical description near the park's gate describe Jiaohe's high-sided rocky island as 'a willow leaf ...

... 40cent each (620ml!). Yes sofar everything has been rather cheap but am sure it will change soon, for now I dont mind spending 5 dollars for a meal, including a drink!! DAY 117 "too good to be true..." - Kettlefarm camp to Kokla (135km) This morning we were told that the ride was only going to be 120km instead of 125km, only!! yes little things make us happy and when we left camp it was flat and no wind...happy days. However soon the wind picked up and it became a slow ...

... gas I had left, since the next station was very far away. I guessed I had about 170km left. "Oh, okay, that's enough. Have a safe trip." I was in the desert once again. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the sun hung high in the air, baking the earth below. The landscape was brutal. I thought about the German I had met who wanted to walk through this. Each stretch of desert I've been through would take him at least five ...

... just starting to grow, which was a shame but the hundreds of different types of raisins made up for this,they were delicious. While down there I visited the Jiaohe Ruins which during the Han Dynasty were established by the Chinese as a garrison town. They are also the worlds oldest, largest and best preserved ancient city. They were really impressive and made even better by the fact that we stayed to watch the sunset over them ...