Kashgar Trip

It makes you feel that the place was left unchanged in the past few decades and many craftsman of old trades can be found. I even saw a horse being shoed and it was so wonderful. My feeling however, is that the sights will not last as you can find Chinese icons on the main thoroughfare leading to Id Kah Mosque. This will probably become even more domineering in the days to come.Local food consists of mainly, mutton or sheep, naan (a hard bread familiar to Indian dishes too) and even pigeons if you are adventurous.

The smell of mutton kebabs being grilled on wood smoke is delightful and by now Binni says I smell of goat from all the nice kebabs. I thought of it as a compliment since I felt real macho.That’s me outside the mutton shop in the picture on the left.That’s Binni at a stall selling a local dessert made of yoghurt, ice and dates. It cost 1 RMB without and 2 RMB with the dates. On Sunday, a sprawling marketplace forms and you will find wonderful sections selling lifestock, farm produce, handiwork etc. According to Lonely Planet, this is one of the largest if not The Largest in Asia. To Binni and I it was a disappointment. I guess for us Asians, we are pretty accustomed to such marketplaces which we will find elsewhere such as Thailand, Korea etc. It is the most colourful to me, however.

Kashgar is an ideal place to hop on to the Karakoram Highway or the nearer Tashkurgan. You can also loop round to the Southern Silkroad and attempt to cross the Taklamakan or aim for Golmud. From what I heard, both are really wild.We stayed at the Chini Bagh Hotel and then moved on to Seman Binguan. The latter is much more friendly and affordable although there is only 2 toilets and 1 shower on every floor.