CROSSING CHINA
After Hong Kong, crossing China seemed the next logical thing to do. In fact, we had been dreaming about doing a really long train ride during our trip, so this was our chance. In 50 hours we crossed China east to west, from Gunagzhou to Urumqi. Next, were two weeks of exploring the dusty towns and fabled cities of the old silk route in Xingjiang, China’s ‘wild west’. And while names like Kashgar, Hotan and Yarkand had since long time evoked romatic thoughts of ancient explorers, the reality proved to be quite different…
Time spent in China
Three weeks
Kilometers travelled
several thousand… somewhere between 4 – 5000
Favorite mode of transportation
The train of course! See also Matthieu’s article on National Geographic here.
Favorite food
Laghman, Hotpot, Dumpling soup… we feasted and loved it all!
Observations
Speaking Turkish can be useful when in China. (Especially when traveling in Xinjiang which is mostly populated by Uyghur people)
Lessons learned
Don’t let children play with revolving doors!
When crossing a desert in an old train, believe the locals that there is a reason why they want to close all the curtains. (I found myself covered in 5mm of fine sand when I woke from my nap…)
Never trust anyones information about what time the bus/train will get there. Once we settled in a sleeper bus to arrive at 7am the next morning only to get kicked out at midnight – we had already arrived!
Assume that even though you think communication was clear and successful that actually noone has a clue what you were talking about!
Lasting impressions
We’ll give you the outcome of the family survey at the end of our India leg.
China in one word
Vast
Old Stomping Grounds
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REFLECTIONS – MONTH 7: Way West
Coming back ‘home’ to Hong Kong (for the first time in 5 years as a complete family) was part culture shock, part break, part welcome to the real world. Consumerism slapped us from all sides, grinning at our unpreparedness. From the moment I got our high-speed 4G, 5GB... read more
Episode 6 – Samsa in Kashgar
Slowly becoming a street food expert, Iluka explores the culinary delights of Western China… read more