Asia Trip - Day 5 (Sunday, August 7, 2011)

Kashgar is an oasis city bordered by Kyrgzstan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is approximately 90% Uyghur, 9% Han Chinese, and 1% other. The majority of Uyghurs are Muslims.

 View of Kashgar from our hotel room.

This is where the recent unrest occurred (Saturday, July 30, 2011), which left 15 people dead. The China government blamed the violence on "terrorist". While we were there, there were trucks driving around the streets with huge speakerphones telling the public to say "no to terrorism". China says one of the terrorist group has links to Al-Qaeda. However, based on our guide, the unrest is more likely due to ethnic tensions between the Uyghurs and Han Chinese. Our guide, a Uyghur, told us there continues to be a lot of discrimination towards Uyghurs. Uyghurs go to different schools than the Han Chinese. Kashgar was also recently approved as a Special Economic Zone. Driving through the city, you can see a lot of new construction. With the new construction, China is trying to attract more Han Chinese to move to Kashgar. With more Han Chinese, this only oppresses the Uyghurs even more, and it seems as if that's what the recent violence has been about.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14356532
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/kashgar-07312011182722.html

Another view of Kashgar from our hotel room. There was construction all over the city. In the back you can see the border of the desert which circles the oasis city. I'm not sure how they're going to get enough water if China is trying to increase the population and development of this city.

Military trucks and soldiers in the square next to our hotel. There were soldiers parading through the streets and security checkpoints for the cars throughout the city. Wasn't brave enough to take pictures of those.

 More soldiers. Wasn't sure if it was a pressurized water gun on top of the car. Statue of Mao Zedong in the background.

Anyways, we missed the Sunday livestock market because we needed to get to Lake Karakuli that day and it's about a 4 hour drive one-way, on mostly unpaved roads. We needed to leave early enough because the glacier melt creates unsafe conditions in the afternoon, cutting rivers through the road, and there's a chance the car may not be able to make it back.

It was an amazing drive to get to Lake Karakuli. Red rock mountains, huge glaciers and snowy mountains in the background, glacier rivers, green meadows, sand dunes, camels, sheep, goats. Wasn't really able to capture the beauty of the place in pictures.

 

Drive to Lake Karakuli via Karakoram highway, which connects China and Pakistan.

 Drive to Lake Karakuli on the Karakoram highway. Camels.

 Drive to Lake Karakuli on the Karakoram highway. Sand dunes next to a glacier lake. View of the left side of the lake.

Drive to Lake Karakuli on the Karakoram highway. View of the right side of the lake. Surreal to have sand dunes on the left and snow-capped mountains on the right.

Drive to Lake Karakuli. Pit stop by the road. Kyrgyz people, an ethnic minority in China.

Drive to Lake Karakuli. Shot out of the car.

Finally got to Lake Karakuli after a long and bumpy ride. There's a security checkpoint along the way, so don't forget to bring your passport if you go. The air is refreshing here compared to the hot stuffy air of Kashgar city.

 Lake Karakuli. Grazing.

Lake Karakuli.

Lake Karakuli.

Lake Karakuli.

Lake Karakuli. The Kyrgyz people selling souvenirs.

Lake Karakuli. Kyrgyz kiddos.

Lake Karakuli. The shops, which looked like these metal storage containers.

Lake Karakuli. A look inside the shops.

Lake Karakuli. The Kyrgyz people live in yurts.

Made the long drive back to Kashgar. Made it back safely. Tried to stop by the livestock market to see if there was anything left.

 All that was left of the Livestock market. Just some sheep in the back. It was also Ramadan during our visit in Kashgar and Urumqi. Almost all Uyghurs are Muslim, so there were probably less people at the Sunday market also.

Called it a day.

Asia Trip - Day 4 (Saturday, August 6, 2011)

Went to the International Grand Bazaar Xinjiang in Urumqi.  
 

Center of the bazaar. Islamic style architecture.

 

 Some of the goods they were selling inside.

 They had a lot of different nuts and dried fruits.

 A look inside the bazaar and the shops.

 They carved faces into these wooden pieces.

 A shot of the Uyghur shop keepers.

Next, we went to "Heavenly Lake" or Tianchi. Wasn't too big of a fan of this place after going to Banff and Jasper Park in Canada. This place was too touristy and they had boat rides on the lake that felt like it was polluting the clean water and ruining the atmosphere of the place.

Tianchi

 Shot of the lake.

 I didn't get to see any mountain goats in Canada, but there were plenty here.

 After Heavenly Lake, we went to the Urumqi airport for our flight to Kashgar.

Arrived at Kashgar at night and had a late dinner.

 Best kabobs I've ever had. Juicy, fatty, tender, and flavorful.

 Fried green beans with chili and lamb bits.

Noodles.

Asia Trip - Day 3 (Friday, August 5, 2011)

Flew from HK to Beijing and connected a flight to Urumqi.

Beijing airport: Could never tell if the weather was bad or if it was just pollution in China or both, but the sky was never blue and the weather was always hot. 

By the time we arrived in Urumqi, it was night.

 View from our hotel (Hoi Tak Hotel).

Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China and the one city in the world that is farthest away from any sea.

This place is 75% Han Chinese and 12% Uyghur.


Ate dinner and then wandered around the People's Square.

 Urumqi - People's Square: Center of the square.

 People's Square: Chinese calligraphy on the floor.

 People's Square: People just hanging out after dinner time.

 People's Square: The men playing cards.

 People's Square: The kids rollerblading.

Asia Trip - Day 2 (Thursday, August 4, 2011)

Wandered around Hong Kong, did some shopping, did some eating, ran some errands, visited the Grandma.

Another seafood dinner, this time in Lei Yue Mun, a fishing village in Hong Kong, known for it's seafood markets and restaurants.

 Lei Yue Mun: Watching cruise ships passing through the channel.

 Alleyways of Lei Yue Mun.

  Alleyways of Lei Yue Mun.

  Alleyways of Lei Yue Mun.

Asia Trip - Day 1 (Wednesday, August 3, 2011)

Flew out of LAX Monday night (Aug. 1) and arrived in HK Wednesday morning (Aug. 3) thanks to the 13 hour flight and the 15 hour time difference.  

Before even leaving the airport, Pineapple Bun for breakfast.

Lunch: Schwepps cream soda and noodles with fish balls and fish cake.

Dinner: Seafood

 Seafood markets are located across the restaurant.

 You get to pick and buy what seafood you want to eat for dinner.

 Shrimp and clams.

 The seafood market bags up your purchase. Cross the street to the restaurant. Inside, you place your freshly bought seafood into baskets and the restaurant cooks and serves it up for you.