Rover Stands in Pakistan
Khunjerab Pass, Karakoram Highway - 24 October 2004
They say you should save the best for last and that is exactly what I have done, albeit inadvertantly. I left Chengdu (without a hitch this time!) on 15 October on a 50 hour train journey bound for the far west of China. Xinjiang province is home to the second largest desert in the world, the Taklamakan Desert (the name means 'He who goes in will not come out') and is surrounded on three sides by mountains. The Altay Mountains lie to the north, the Kunlun Mountains and the Karakoram Range are to the south, and the Pamirs high plateau region is to the west and southwest. This is China's largest province taking up one sixth of the country and borders eight other countries: Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afganistan, Pakistan and India. Needless to say it is very un-Chinese and its people and customs are a hotch-potch of all these other cultures. After three months in China I have discovered the best thing about it. I just wish I had more time.
Although the towns have some modern facilities, apart from its capital Urumqi, it is on the whole a very basic province; people still get about on carts pulled by donkeys and it is a bit like Mongolia - you feel as if you have stepped back in time a few centuries. As the bulk of the population are muslim, many of the women have their heads and sometimes faces covered and the men wear skullcaps.
So, having arrived in Urumqi I was very kindly dropped off at my hotel by a Chinese chap I met on the train and his driver. The Bogoda Binguan (hotel), the main traveller's haunt in this city, also appeared to be the Bogoda brothel. Those of us unlucky enough to be in a dorm had to go underground to a 'hairdressing salon' where we were allowed to use the very basic shower facilities - a tap sticking out of the wall or a hose pipe if the tap was busy. The shower area also doubled as a massage parlour. One poor guy who went for a shower didn't have the right change and was told that instead of change he could have something else instead! He wisely insisted on his change.
I was sharing the dorm with a very intrepid Columbian/Canadian brother and sister who had cycled the same distance I had covered on the train (a LONG way!), a German and a Dutch chap who both refused to see Scotland as a country and said it was a province of England (I soon put them right on that!) and a very nice man from Pakistan who was observing Ramadan and therefore had to set his alarm for 4am each morning to eat. Quite an eclectic bunch and we lay in bed for several nights having interesting conversations about the forthcoming US election (everyone wants Kerry), did Pakistan welcome travellers (yes, of course, except maybe Americans, but they love the British!) and the fact that the UK won't join the Euro, much to the chagrin of the continental contigent.
Next door was Caroline, a Scottish lassie who I befriended and have been travelling with this past week or so. We left Urumqi and took a 24 hour train to Kashgar at the south west of the Taklamakan - a famous Silk Road oasis visited by Marco Polo in the 13th century and the start of the Karakoram Highway, that famous road which you might have seen on Michael Palin's current Himalaya series. Ever since I started planning this trip I had had my heart set on travelling down the KKH and crossing the Khunjerab Pass into the very north of Pakistan for a couple of days. However, two things had put a spanner in the works; one was the fact that I forgot to get a Pakistan visa in Hong Kong - doh! - and the second was that I was running out of time after having to stay in Chengdu for those extra days. But, I was determined and I wasn't going to be beaten by the small problem of no visa so after a few hours of research I came across a man in Kashgar who said he could get me to the border without the visa and assured me that even though I was technically leaving China (the exit border point is before the Khunjerab Pass) it was not a problem. One of the dreams of my trip was realised.
Caroline and myself roped in a lovely couple we had met from Yorkshire - Carol and Richard - who have been traversing the globe for the past 15 years and have been just about everywhere - and a Belgian lady called Monique. We met the man with the plan, Greg, an American who has lived in Xinjiang for many years and runs a travel agency, and all agreed he was a trustworthy sort and handed over the money. True to his word our 4x4 was waiting at 8am the next morning and before long we had left Kashgar behind and were crossing high altitude desert en route to Tashkurgan, 3200 metres above sea level. The weather was not great, very cloudy, but we saw some of the Pamir range, a few of which reach a height of over 7000m.
After a few hours we reached Kara Kul Lake, set at 3700m and surrounded by mountains, where we stopped for lunch. The restaurant owner had a monopoly and so the prices were extortionate. While we were eating some local tradesmen brought out their wares and a camel arrived. I decided after my success with the horseriding back in Mongolia to give it a shot and jumped aboard. I was not on for long. About ten seconds after it stood up and began to walk I was begging to be let off which which everyone else found quite funny but I did not. Needless to say after expending the energy to get up a few moments previously, the camel was not very happy about having to sit down again and began snorting with derision but eventually it relented and I was back on terra firma.
Back on the road again, our driver pointed to our left and said, "Afghan". We were passing the Wakhan Corridor, the mountainous 47 mile border which separates China and Afghanistan. Apparently (I have just researched it on the internet!), it is one of the most inhospitable areas of the world, unless you are a mountain goat. Years ago the Russians began building a nuclear arsenal there to support Moscow in its war with Afghanistan. In 1993, they abandoned the site and Osama bin Laden took over although he is undoubtedly long since gone (dead?!). Even though we were many, many miles away on the Highway we could still see the mountains in the distance and I can't deny we all felt a wee bit of a thrill to pass by.
Our stopover that night was the New Traffic Hotel in Tashkurgan, which once had the magnificent title of 'The Worst Hotel in the World' but which was now boasting to be 'The Best Hotel in Tashkurgan'- not difficult in a town of only 6000 people! Monique was splashing out on a room of her own, but the rest of us shared a spartan dorm which felt sub-zero in temperature. We explored for a bit, playing some pool at the outdoor (??? it's freezing for heaven's sake!) pool hall, much to the amusement of the locals who all crowded round to watch, before deciding which of the four eateries to ply with our trade. After filling our tummies with samsas (a bit like mini cornish pasties but not so good) and nan bread, and drinking a bottle of not quite vintage and far too chilled red wine we retired to bed wearing all the clothes and thermals we possessed.
The next morning, after we all made use of Monique's shower we left for the border post, just outside Tashkurgan, with baited breath. The driver, who spoke no English, had disappeared with our passports the night before which we assumed was to complete whichever formalities had to be completed to ensure we reached the Khunjerab Pass. It was a magnificent day, an almost cloudless blue sky, so the scenery was spectacular. After an hour we reached a checkpoint and all trooped into the office to pass inspection. The border offical waived us through and we all cheered. The Highway on the Chinese side is undergoing massive reconstruction so it was a long and bumpy three hour ride until we started climing up hairpin bends (a bit like the Bealach at home!) to our destination. Finally we were there, albeit accompanied by a Chinese offical who jumped in just before the Pass to make sure we didn't stray to far, standing in Pakistan at 4800m, in the snow at minus 10c. It was incredible and I was ecstatic. We took some photos, chatted with a couple of friendly Pakistani guards and then it was time to go back. The Chinese don't give you long there and really we were priveliged to have reached it at all.
After a second night at the world famous Traffic Hotel we set off on the return to Kashgar, again stopping at Kara Kul Lake for lunch. The weather was glorious and there had been more snow so the lake glistened amidst the mountains - a photographer's dream although I'm sure I didn't do it justice. Didn't see Osama on the way back either so we can't claim the US$25m bounty from Georgie Bush and live a life of luxury!
So, five days of gruelling bus travel along the southern Silk Road of the Taklamakan lies ahead until I reach Golmud, apparently China's grimest city, where I catch the 24 hour bus over one of the highest roads in the world - reaching 5200m - to Tibet and Everest Base Camp.
NB Photos coming soon but PCs with a CD function are not easy to come by here!
