Marco Polo made a head start

"When a man is riding through this desert by night and for some reason -falling asleep or anything else - he gets separated from his companions and wants to rejoin them, he hears spirit voices talking to him as if they were his companions, sometimes even calling him by name. Often these voices lure him away from the path and he never finds it again, and many travelers have got lost and died because of this. Sometimes in the night travelers hear a noise like the clatter of a great company of riders away from the road; if they believe that these are some of their own company and head for the noise, they find themselves in deep trouble when daylight comes and they realize their mistake. There were some who, in crossing the desert, have been a host of men coming towards them and, suspecting that they were robbers, returning, they have gone hopelessly astray....Even by daylight men hear these spirit voices, and often you fancy you are listening to the strains of many instruments, especially drums, and the clash of arms. For this reason bands of travelers make a point of keeping very close together. Before they go to sleep they set up a sign pointing in the direction in which they have to travel, and round the necks of all their beasts they fasten little bells, so that by listening to the sound they may prevent them from straying off the path." ---- Marco Polo

After all these years, today we have air travel, experienced guides and travellers cheques and 4 stars, well 3 and a bit stars, accommodation.

Pauline and I will be traveling from Xian to Kashgar from 13 September to 6 October. We will be travelling on a route steep in history and a community that has no need for the internet and blogging! We'll soon know when we start to look out yurts (stone huts, see above) with satelite dishes. But I know that Pizza Hut is opening its 148th store in China's westernmost Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. They must have a phone line. More when we actually arrive. Now it's just speculation. They may have a great big shopping town in every village.
So blog for now