The sorting begins

It is now the calm after the storm. A whirlwind of almost a month of exploration and learning the history of a civilisation that pre-dates the birth of Christ.

With around 3500 plus images (how can anyone take so many photos!) and 10 hours of video to edit, the pressure is on to have the album finished and the video completed by 19th November for a dinner show and tell. So far I have been through the first culling of images but as I wade through the images, I struggle to remember the location. Just as well I bought a book of the region.

I have to go through a second and third culling of the images before I feel I have the best images for the trip. Some of which are on my .mac website: http://homepage.mac.com/caseywong/PhotoAlbum5.html

Slowly, the body is getting back into work mode. But I cannot help but reminisce about the people I have met in Xinjiang. But I suppose life goes on...

The Terminal

We connected with the 3.40pm coach to Narita. On arrival at Narita, there were thousands of people. (people mountain, people sea in Cantonese). We were early and knew that our flight was not yet on the board. But most flights had the remark "Indefinite" next to their flight status. People were getting anxious. We were getting anxious. But the time our flight details were up, a red "Indefinite " was the status. One by one indefinite became cancelled. Only then I learnt that typhoon Yagi was hitting Japan from the north. The last time Narita airport was closed was in 1975.

We hastily went to look for accommodation but every hotel was full. In fact our flight was diverted to Haneda airport. Eventually over 1,500 people were stranded at Narita. Well, like Tom Hanks in The Terminal, we ventured off to secure some seats that we can sleep on.

We made the seats in aisle E and F our home for the evening. Later JAL distributed sleeping bags. The bags were nice. It had a JAL logo printed on them. So I had to have one to bring home. We felt quite safe with the police patrolling the terminal.

The next day I got up at 5.30am and found a Japanese family sleeping right next to me. Any way I went for a wash and sauntered up to the MacDonalds and waited for them to open.
After breakfast we secured seats on another flight for the following day. We booked accommodation at the Washington Hotel - an airline crew hotel. We were offered free coffee in the flight crew's waiting area.

We decided retail therapy would fix the night at the terminal. So we caught a coach to AEON department store. We spend the day there, doing most damage at Daiso - a $2 store. An early night was in ordered for all. The next morning, we went back to AEON. I was ready to come home.
The flight departed without any drama. Normally I can sleep in any position. But somehow I was very restless and I tossed and turned the entire night.

Sydney harbour bridge was indeed a welcome sight. We connected a Qantas flight bound for Melbourne. In flight, sitting at an emergency exit, I was able to narrate this story to Tania the flight stewardess. She asked me for my boarding pass and before I disembarked, she presented me with a bottle of red wine. What a homecoming.

Odayaku is near Odakyu

After a hectic number of days on the road sandwiched by the Gobi and the Taklimakan deserts the end was near as we arrived at Urumqi. I was looking forward to getting on to Tokyo.

The flight was uneventful albeit I took some photos of some beautiful cloud formations only to learn that it was the seed of Typhoon Yagi. On arrival in Tokyo, the body awaken to an environment of cleaniness. After checking into The Shiba Park Hotel, we ventured out to a ramen house and tucked in some delicious fresh ramen. With the body fed, a couple of us decided to take a walk around the environs. The Tokyo Tower was just behind the hotel. We walked passed a couple of homeless sleeping in large copier boxes.

The program for the next morning was a half day tour of the city. We visited places like the Meiji Shrine, the Imperial Palace, the Diet (parliament) and ended up at Asakusa. The visit to the temple was short. It's the 100 small shops along an alley that took most of the time. Eventually we were dropped off at Ginza. The rain began to change the day. There were those who needed to change money and there were those who wanted to shop. We decided to take a train on the Marunouchi line to Shinjuku. This is a old haunt of mine when I was working in Japan. Pauline's mission was to find a particular craft shop there. Armed with a hand written transcript of Sarah's directions, I forewarned Pauline that I may not succeed in taking her to the destination.

Stepping out of Shinjuku JR station the instructions pointed that a large department store, Odakyu, was to be on the right and we are to be on the opposite of the road. There is an alley with a DVD store, a watch shop and an adult store. This craft store is opposite these shops.

When we surfaced onto Shinjuku, through 1 of the 16 exits, indeed the large department store was on the right. I thought I am on the right track. The problem was there were numerous alleys with either a watch shop, a DVD shop or an adult shop, but not the 3 stores in the same alley. We stop and asked 2 girls for directions and they thought we wanted to go to an adult shop. Eventually when they worked out that we wanted to go to a craft shop, they pointed us to Mitsukoshi. It was a compromise but a good one. At the store, I asked a guy for directions to this elusive craft shop that Sarah's been, but the said Mitsukoshi is it. Eventually in a typical Japanese animated gesture, he remembered that there was one - Odayaku. He drew me a map and with the correct orientation, I manage to find our way there and resulted in one very happy wife. I knew then that my trip to Tokyo was complete. We spent almost the entire day there.

The next day was the same. We took a train on the Oedo line and went back to Odayaku. You would think that it's easy to find now that we've been. We were lost again. After a couple of stops for directions, we were back at the store, waiting for them to open. After 3 hours and numerous selection of coloured beads, we returned to the hotel in readiness to go home. What a thought.

Kashgar to Urumqi, the relaxed way

After a trip to the Abakh Khoja (Apak Hoja) Tombs, the definition of the city name of Kashgar became clear. Kashgar was known for its tiles. They were made from their naan ovens.
Construction began in 1640 and houses the remains of several generations from one family, beginning with an Islamic missionary, one Yusuf Hoja. The tomb is actually a series of tombs, ranging in style from elegantly simple to simply over-the-top elaborate. We had lunch at the old British Consulate offices. Lamb was the order of the day. After a couple of visits to the compulsory stops, we headed to the Kashgar airport in preparation for the flight to Urumqi.
At the airport, the X-ray picked up a silhouette of a Leatherman penknife that I thought I had lost it in Xian. Nevertheless, the immigration and customs took my bag through the X-ray machine for five times to locate the penknife. Eventually they call me behind the monitor and ask me to identify the knife. Eventually, I took it out and I thought to myself, that’s it, the knife will be confiscated. The customs officer suggested that I took the penknife and put it into the checked in luggage. How I managed to negotiate with the airline supervisor in Mandarin beckons all of my skill or lack off. Eventually, a baag from our group appeared and I slid the offending implement into one of the checked bags.

On arrival at Urumqi, the plane did a wide turn and introduced Urumqi in the most spectacular manner. We landed at 6.40pm, Beijing time.

Urumqi is a big city is a welcome sight after a couple of weeks of moving around in the outback of Xinjiang. We headed straight to a restaurant and after dinner, a couple said that their sling wallet was missing. The had put the bag between themselves. To get at her bag, the thieves will have to move the bag back and bend to pick it up.
No one noticed any unusual commotion. Plans were made to prepare emergency travel documents in Beijing for Rob and Lynne so they can travel to Japan and eventually to Sydney, Australia.

Tomorrow we head of to the heavenly lake and enjoy the vista there.
I shall keep you posted in my next blog in Beijing.

Kind regards
Case

Every corner a postcard

I finally worked out the smell that was coming from my hotel room - ammonia! The staff here use ammonia to clean everything. It sure keeps me up at night! Well blog on.

Today China celebrates its 57th Anniversary since Chairman Mao came into power. So I thought it is appropriate to wear red.

Blurry eyed from the little amount of sleep from last night, we headed west 500km from the Pakistan border. The country walled by the Himalayan Mountain. The journey to and fro would take a good part of 8 hours. We also had to bring our passport to the first of three checkpoints. However, we did not have to go to the second and third as the lake is just before the second checkpoint. All along the way, with every turn of the bus, the scenery is picturesque and spectrum of colours truly astounds.

We stopped at the Ka La Ku Lake situated 4000m above sea-level. The air here is a rare and after a while, I felt a little dizzy. Worked out that I need to have my lunch any way. Camels, horses and donkeys are the means of transport. This makes walking quite treacherous - dodging camel, horses and donkey poo!

After a lunch break and 300 shots later, we journeyed back to Kashgar and visited the Ancient City which dates back to Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. The entire city is built on straw and mud and the odd adobe brick. However, the Uygurs who live here are happy and the children are happy to have their photos taken.
The narrow lane ways are no wider than 5 feet in the old measure. The fringe of this old city is dominated by stores and shops selling handmade pots, vegetables, door hinges and the like. But its the children that brought a smile to my face. As you walk pass their home you would hear "hello" coming from various directions. They are mesmerised by the digital technology. Bemused by the fact that they can see themselves a second or so after on the back of the camera.
Still with a little time, we ventured over to the livestock bazaar. Goats, sheep, donkeys, horses and camels are sold. A lamb costs around ¥150 or A$30 each. A strong donkey will set you back ¥800 or A$130. The cacophony of noises adds to the colour of the bazaar.

Tomorrow is our last day at Kashgar. We will visit a Uygur Mosque. The afternoon is spent at the tombs of the family instrumental in building Kashgar. Then we take off to Urumqi at 5.30pm Beijing time.

Blog soon from Beijing. Thanks for spending time here. Makes it worth the while blogging. The rest of my images can be found at: http://homepage.mac.com/caseywong/PhotoAlbum5.html

Blog soon.