Keith's travelogue

Dear All,

I've just arrived back in Seoul after flying from Shanghai today. I sat down to look at the blog and realised it's been quite a while, with a lot of kms under the wheels so to speak. So it will be interesting trying to describe the past few weeks, so forgive my spelling mistakes as some of the names are a bit hazy.

After Bhukara, I visited Shakrazib, the birthpalce of another great conqueror in Tamerlame. Then it was on to Samarkand, a fabled city from the middle ages, and definitely the most interesting and exotic of all the Silk Road cities. The Registan area, with its caravan serai (trading post), mosque and mesdrassa were all stunning, and the best examples of tilework I saw on the whole trip. It is quite overwhelming to see all the geometric patterns, every one a little different, as well as the floral scrolling patterns, and Arabic inscriptions thrown in for good measure. Makes wall paper and tiles, and concrete and glass towers in the west look a bit drab.

After Samarkand it was on to Tashkent and the craziest border crossing I think I've been through with the possible exception of Checkpoint Charlie in 1985 before the Berlin Wall came down, but that was scary crazy. this was just downright crazy with hunderds of people (and the local produce) pushing and shoving to get through to the two tiny windows that were open. Still, it makes for a good memory, looking back.

From Tashkent it was off to Kyrgyzstan, and the circumnavigation of (Lake) Izzyl Kol. This entailed a trip every other day, with time to rest and enjoy the scenery, take a walk, swim in the lake, stay with an eagle hunter, watch the eagles hunt, visit a nature reserve, break a foot, and visit a 15th century caravan trading post high in the mountains on the way to geting into China through the Touraget pass. (By the way, the foot broken wasn't mine, but an elderly female who went horseriding and fell while dismounting). This part of the trip was quite restful and relaxing, which was just as well, becausing crossing the pass to Kashgar was a long tiring day. There were two border crossings, spaced out by driving 50-70km over bumpy, dusty dirt roads, at altitudes of around 3500m-3800m. When we finally arrived in China and Kashgar and saw our hotel it was a great relief, being the best in town! Who said backpacking is all about roughing it!

After a round of the sights (including the old city) in Kashgar it was a series of train and bus trips all the way down the Silk Road corridor, to Dunhuang (Magao Grottoes of Buddhist cave art), Zhiang Wei (probably spelt this wrong) the western end of the great wall of China, to the Terracotta army near Xian, and on to Beijing.

The museums along the way all had fascinating exhibits of the life and times of the Silk Road and some stunning collcetions of art, and even mummified remains of westerners found in burial grounds in the Taklamakn desert (the name means those who go in never return). The Magao grottoes and Xian's Terracotta army, as wellas the ancient irigiation systems that sustained life in the desert oases but transporting water across 100s kms to allow crops to be grown are items that stand out.

However, I think the real highlight was standing on the wall of the fort that marked the end of China, and looking out into the forbidding desert and thinking about the early traders on the Silk Road, and how they had to fight off bandits, or face being sold into slavery (if they were lucky!) was also a time to reflect on the journey that was coming to an end.

Beijing was very different to the place I remember. Shanghai was a fairytale wonderland ofneon, second only to Las Vegas. When I was in Beijing, people had to run after the buses before they stopped to try and be first to the doors to get a seat (that included not letting people get off). Now it is a lot more civilised, although the behaviour still presists when trying to get on & off the subway! Time was spent visting the Forbidden City (home to the Ming & Qing emperors), a walk past of Chairman Mao's body in the Moasoleum(!?), a visit to the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, Behai park, and some other places where there were less than 10,000 tourists trampling through the grounds.

Shanghai was a fairytale wonderland of neon, second only to Las Vegas. When I was last there the land across the river from the "Bund" (the land where the Europeans forced China to cede and for trading concessions) was just a swamp. Now it is home to futuristic modern high-rises, Shangha's new financial capital, and a real live magnetic levitation train. I took the train from the airport to town. We accelerated smoothly out of the station and reached 100km/hr in about 300m, and roared into the first bend at over 25okm/hr before hitting top speed at 430km/hr! Boy, what a ride. Shame it was all over 6 minutes later, but it was so much fun I rode it back out today.

During this time I received an e-mail from Laurie with the sad news about Maria's untimely passing, and the lovely way he put it reminded me that travel is a bit like life, and about enjoying the journey rather than getting to the destination. I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to tavel, so I'll keep on doing it while I can.

Regards,
Keith