Travelling East

Now that I have come to terms with the fact that there is a) no Wifi, b) no GoSim coverage, c) no access to Google in China anyway, I have decided to continue writing a blog and uploading as and when - which might be in the UK.

So yesterday we were driven over 600 km from Kashgar to Hetian, taking in a knife place on the way. Waste of time as there was nothing to do except buy some very blunt pen knives. I rather fancied the cleaver but security would have a fit so I bought nothing. We were told the journey would take six hours. In fact we left at 10am and arrived at 0930 pm. This is typical of everything we get told. We were taken to have dinner first and I will grant that it was excellent.

My problem at the moment is that I cannot see why I bothered coming. So we have driven round the southern edge of the Taklamat desert which was the Southern Silk Route but we have been
told nothing and seen less. Only desert for 600 km. Uzbekistan and Georgia were great and I am glad I saw them. The guides there were great as well as the architecture and both guides emphasised the bits that were relevant to the Silk Route. I do not believe our current guide has ever mentioned the Silk Route.

Today we are said to be visiting a silk factory and a jade factory. Oh well, only two weeks till I go home.