喀拉库勒湖

We arrived safely back to Xian yesterday morning. I think I may have travelled enough on trains to last a few years...

Google Map of our journey. We more or less travelled back eastward during the trip

We started off with a long day of travel: we flew to Kashgar (喀什) via Urumqi (乌鲁木齐). We spent our first night at the Seman (色满) Hotel in Kashgar, but then woke-up early and headed southwest to Karakul Lake (喀拉库勒湖), located just off Highway 314, the "International Friendship Road" with Pakistan. Less than a half hour into the bus ride, our bus started emitting a lot of dark smoke; we lost about an hour waiting for a mechanic to come and fix the loose parts. (Our driver felt bad about the dealy and ended up buying us two large, sweet melons during lunch!) After passing through some villages, then Badlands-like landscape, then rocky desert, and finally through the mountains, we came upon some beautiful mountains on a bend in the river covered with sand. Because of the lack of vegetation and strong winds, all the sand in the area is blown up the mountain slopes.

View of the sand-covered mountains and some sand dunes in the valleys 

 Close-up of the sand-covered mountains

Karakul Lake, despite the harsh and rather capricious weather, was one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been to. There is not much special about the lake itself, though it was almost crystal clear; around the lake, however, are not only large mountains, but also some small grasslands where yak and horses are herded. There were also camels and horses for rent to ride around the lake for the adventurous. We spent the night in yurts and were woken up to the baaing of sheep wandering around rather soon after sunrise. They were pretty cold to sleep in; our heat came from a coal furnace we had to occassionally add coal to during the night to keep buring, two candles for light, and about five blankets-- two to serve as mattresses, and the rest to bundle up in. On the way back to Kashgar, a rockslide blocked the highway and delayed us about another hour as we waited for equipment to clear enough of the road to let traffic through. Delays became a rather frequent companion on our trip, but luckily most of us got along well and could occupy ourselves without getting into too much trouble.

Our yurts to the right, the restaurant to the left, and a snow-capped mountain to tie it together 

View of the lake from the restaurant 

View of the lake from the shore; one of the few camels for hire

View during our walk around the lake (some yaks grazing)

Close-up of some yaks; they were a bit smaller than I had imagined... 

Some mountains reflecting on the lake 

Some locals passing the time squatting while we wait for the road to be cleared