Ramada Urumqi

... a cold a blustery autumn day. We were glad we had gloves and scarves! There were a few families out walking, and more appeared as the sun came out. <br> <br>There was some confusion about our hotel. The one we were supposed to stay at had been pulled down a year ago! It was half way through a complete re-build.<br><br>But we were 'upgraded' to a 5* hotel, which was fine - nothing special; a typical 'business' hotel - could have been ...

... A route of over 4000 kilometres.<br><br>The Chinese are brilliant at building roads through incredibly difficult terrain - as we saw when we travelled on the Karakorum Highway from China to Pakistan in 2007.<br><br>For this entry I will let the photos tell the story!

... so much beauty... I was not ready to leave. I was glad I hadn't listened to the people who told me to stay away and glad that I had not been scared off. I had gambled and it had paid off. Xinjiang is one of the best places I have been to. But perhaps most of all, I was really bummed to have to say goodbye to LX. Somewhere along the line, he went from being my student to being my friend. A good friend. And goodbyes always suck. Goodbye Xinjiang. Hello Sichuan.

... Chinese people show their affection through food. She was pretty keen on me and wouldn't take no for an answer. After I got back, LX and his friend Ma Jun (who is Hui) took me to a Hui market area selling traditional foods. The food was good but we got harassed continuously by two wasps that were pretty keen on sharing our meal with us. Plus I got stared at a lot again. After being mistaken for being Kazak or Russian (?!) for the past few days, I was not particularly phased, but I ...

... shop (as tours in China so often do) I sat down for a free consultation with a Chinese medical doctor. LX told him I had bumped my head. I told him I thought I had been a bit dizzy before that. He felt me pulse, pressed my fingernails, looked at my tongue and then told me the bump on the head had nothing to do with it. While I was not seriously ill, my pulse was weak and I was exhausted. If this continued for too long, it would make it difficult for me to sleep and may lead to heart ...

... Shanghai. And then the flight took us over the Gobi Desert on the edge of Mongolia, flanked by the mighty Taklamakan Desert, its name meaning "you go in, you don't come out". Having spent some days on our 2007 trip travelling by train and bus through this massive desert, the ominous name is quite appropriate. The flight then passes further over the massive arid Tian Shan Mountain range that soars in huge parallel waves well above the tree line toward the ...

... Air China auf der Tokyo-Beijing Route) geflogen, der Flug war mit 1110 Yuan auch nicht zu teuer. Die Chinesen haben 99% aller Fluggaeste ausgemacht, und sie waren typisch chinesisch. Die meisten haben das Entertainment System nicht begriffen, beim Landeanflug haben sie das Gepaeck aus dem Staufach geholt und im Gang gestapelt (um es dann wieder verstauen zu duerfen) und dann beim Aussteigen gedraengelt (das liebe ich an China, hier darf man ...

... Region, the largest province in China, in the far northwest of the country. (The map pin is wrong - can't workout how to shift it to the right place!) We now feel much closer to central Asia as many people here are from "ethnic minorities", most of them moslem - among them uighurs, kazakhs, mongols living in yurts. The city is nothing much - a typical smoggy Chinese industrial city, but the surrounding area is a fascinating contrast of barren ...

KFC in China is so wunderbar. Clean & quality toilets. Toilet paper & hand soap. Warm in cold weather, cool in hot weather. We just had a short layover here, and having seen everything we wanted to see in Wulumuqi, we spent a goodly amount of time in KFC. Of course I first ate, but ...

... the hook, but it makes weird noises. Consequently we get another offer at 1 o'clock, which DP answers firmly in the negative. Decide to leave it off the hook, in spite of the occasional flashing blue light and Chinese coming out of the handset, probably telling us to hang it up. MP up during the night for a few toilet stops, and turn off the alarm, having decided that a trip to Tian Chi (Heaven Lake, two and a half hours away) in our ...