Karakoram Highway

Heading south from Kashgar is the famed Karakoram Highway (KKH), which takes to the border with Pakistan. Sam, myself and a third found a driver and hit the road for an overnight down on the KKH.

As we drove south out of Kashgar, we saw some beautiful red mountains.

Everything is BIG here.  Here's a HUGE alluvial fan.

But it was these mountains that were our goal.  They kept getting closer and closer.

The KKH winds through some narrow valleys, which are prone to rock slides, which close the road.  We got stuck in an hour long wait as a slide had reduced two lanes to one.

So, you just get out of the car...

....and take a look at the scenery.

Here is Kongur Tagh, the highest mountain wholly within Xinjiang Province.  It stands 7,719 meters tall, or 25,324 feet above sea level.  And yes, the weather was this gorgeous.  Clear, crisp and not freezing cold.

Heading south, we came upon "Sand Lake" (not sure if that's the actual name.  But you'll see it's surrounded by sand dunes.

Sam, myself and our new friend Valentina.  She is Italian and has lived in China for seven years.  She speaks better Chinese than me!

There are many police stops along the KKH.  I gather most are simply to keep track of who's coming in and out of what is a politically sensitive border region.  You'll notice that on the bottom right it points towards the China-Pakistan boundary.  Never thought I would get so close to Pakistan.

Heading south, our southernmost point (and closest to Pakistan) was Tashkurgan.  At this pass, it is the geographic and cultural break with mostly Kyrgyz north of the pass and Tajiks south of the pass.

Here's a map to give you an idea of where we were in the world.  Seriously, this part of China is only China on a technicality.

Taskurgan!!

Looking west from Tashkurgan is the eastern Pamir mountains.  Over those mountains....Tajikistan.

The Tajiks have a myth that they are "descendants of eagles" therefore this statue in the center of the town of Tashkurgan.

Sam on the ruins of the old fort.  Apparently scenes from the movie "The Kite Runner" were filmed here.

The grasslands!! Apparently in the summer, when the grass is high and the wildflowers are in bloom it's spectacular.  Still, I was pretty happy with what we saw.

Heading back towards Kashgar, we stopped and stayed the night along the shore of Karakul Lake (around 3,600 meters or 11,811 feet above sea level).

Karakul Lake with Muztagh Ata (7,546 meters or 24,757 feet above sea level) in the distance.  Muztagh Ata is second in elevation to Kongur Tagh.

Locals set up yurts to house tourists for the night.  We also got dinner.

A wonderful meal cooked here in the yurt.  Proof that good cooking doesn't need fancy machines, just a solid stove and basic utensils.

Our driver in the blue jacket.

Sam and Valentina with our bedding behind.  Sleeping in a yurt means sleeping on pads on the floor with think covers.

Dusk and the last light on Muztagh Ata

FULL MOON!!!!

Kashgar/Kashi

Here in China, the first week of October is the mid-Autumn Moon Festival.  It is also called "The Golden Week" as the country takes a vacation, it's also golden because the weather at this time of year is generally the best out of any time during the year, and this year was no exception.  Former HRS student, and recent college graduate, Sam M. decided to travel in Asia for a few months before starting his job.  After a week here in Beijing, the two of us flew out to Xinjiang Province, or officially, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China's largest up there in the Northwestern Corner.  We spent a week there, first stop, Kashgar (Kashi in Chinese).

China is a BIG Country.  It's a 4.5 hour flight from Beijing to Urumqi (the capital of Xinjiang) and then another 1.5 hours to Kashgar/Kashi, which is in WAAAAY western China.

Out here, we are NO LONGER in Han dominated China.  What one thinks of as looking "Chinese" doesn't apply.  We are in Muslim dominated central Asia.  The people in this part of "China" are Uyghurs.

These guys wanted to talk to Sam.  They asked where he was from.  Sam, not I, often got asked by other people to take pictures of him, just like I wanted to take pictures of them.

Any trip to Kashgar is not complete without a trip to the Sunday Livestock Market.

On the outskirts of town, over the course of a few hours in the morning, every animal in the area is squeezed into a two acre area.

Sam getting the call to help the unloading process.

Testing out the horses!!

Lining the goats up "bicycle style" I called it

These traders are standing in line (or in China, a blob)...

To get their sheep/goats weighed.

I was standing at the exit door and was called on to help keep the door closed.  Potential runaway sheep situation...AVERTED.

This young boy is now ready to do business.

I got a chance to talk to this man.  His native language is Uyghur, but he did speak some Mandarin.  We did the best we could, but I did learn that he comes from 2 hours away and he generally trades with people he knows/friends.  He was there that day to purchase young goats.  The going price was 500 RMB for the smaller goats and 700 RMB for the larger ones.  His plan was to take them home, raise them and then sell them at the market in the future.

There are VERY few woman to be seen at the market.  This was one of the few.

She let Sam try his hand at shearing, but quickly took away his scissors!!  Apparently, his technique led to the possibility of stabbing the animal.

Camels for SALE!  That was unexpected.  My first time seeing a two humped camel.

And over here....cows!

And lots of them.

After checking out the merchandise, time to negotiate.

We've got a sale.

At the end of the market, we got a ride back in the back of this little truck from this man.

The wind in our hair....

...and we were joined by a man who had just sold all his livestock!

When in Uyghur country....

...you have to go with the native hats.  So I bought one of each.

Jen Liu Kao (1922-2012)

My grandmother, after taking a severe fall and a couple surgeries that were difficult on her respiratory system, was allowed to pass away with dignity on Friday September 28th, 2012 in Seattle, WA.  By her side were a majority of my family members.  Here's a tribute that I wrote in her honor.

My maternal grandmother lived a life that spanned nine decades and two continents. To say that we, her family, are sad at her passing is simply human nature. However, what we tend to forget is that this woman, brought incredibly joy and humor to all of our lives.

For the first 20 years of my life, my grandmother resided in Taiwan before she moved to the States in 1990 and I would see her once or twice a year. But during those visits she was everything you would want a grandmother to be. She spoiled my sister and I by always giving us what we wanted and let us take care of her as well, as she would make giving HER a massage something that became something we GOT to do. I never was wise enough to ask about her life, however, and by the time I wanted to, her hearing had diminished to the point where communication with her was nearly impossible, often borderline comical. Trying to talk with her was a challenge and it became a regular laugh between my sister and when we compared notes on our attempts at our conversations with her. We both suspect that there was always a bit of selective hearing on hand as well. Grandma was a crafty one. 

But for me, the memory of her that will stay with me forever is her devotion to our beloved Seattle Mariners. For a woman who never mastered the English language, baseball was her connection to American culture. When the Mariners were great in the late 90's and early 2000's, she had fantastic (and often politically incorrect) nicknames for the players. And during these lean years, she always knew when the Mariners played and their opponents. Family events sometimes revolved around when a game was on television. One of my fervent wishes was for the Mariners to again be a winning team again not just for Seattle pride, but to make my grandmother happy. I will miss how my grandmother's first question to me is what I want to eat. I will miss her simply sitting there gazing at me as I sat there in her house. I will miss that look on her face when she understood what I had just yelled into her ear. But most of all, I will miss my grandmother's, a 90 year old Chinese woman, passion for baseball, a American game.

A Helpless Feeling

Living abroad has it great benefits, but one of the downsides is that when friends and family are in need back home, one is too far away to be of real help and aid and all one can do is wait for the next email update to come in.  It's happened to me in two separate instances in the past month.

First, I have a dear friend of mine, Keith Griffith recently pass away.  He was in his early 50's and had been living with HIV for many years, but due a different illness was sick and confined to a bed at home during his last few weeks.  Luckily, he came to visit me in Rome in late May, and I think he knew then that it was the last time we would see each other.  He was going around seeing his loved ones before he departed this world.   He's lived Augusta, GA and had  been in and out of the hospital for the past two months, but recently hadn't gotten out of bed.  It was hard as his family would not accept any responsibility to help.  They live within a few hours and didn't give any assistance.  Therefore it was about 8 of us, his friends, from all over the country (and world) piecing together care.  Thankfully a friend of Keith's, Frank, from Maine, got leave from work and was there most of the time during the last month.  Being in Beijing, I was literally on the other side of the world.  I couldn't provide any help on site in any way.  All I could do wass provide financial assistance.  So, I was plane ticket guy.  Anyone who needed a ticket to get to Augusta, I paid for.  It was all I could do from here on the other side of the world.  The 8 of us from from England, China, Maine, Boston, Houston, North Carolina, and the Bay Area were his support system.  It was crazy, but we made it work.  And Keith was never alone in his final days.

Keith worked in the adult entertainment industry, running a very successful and well-known website.  He was a wonderful man and friend, I'll miss him dearly.  I include a link to an article written in honor of his passing.  

The second situation I find myself feeling helpless about is the suffering that my mother is dealing with right now.  For her, she isn't suffering physically, but she is under a great deal of stress in taking care of her elderly parents, my 90-something grandparents. Both of them STILL live on their own and for many years, she has been running around taking care of them without us knowing how much time it was taking from her life.  However, things have gotten to the point where she can't do it anymore.  My sense is that she is caught between two worlds.  Being Chinese, my sense is that she simply can't get herself to the point to put them into a nursing home.  They are, at this point, beyond assisted living.  In speaking with her, I found out she holds all the cards.  She has power of attorney and my grandparents have the money to pay for nursing home care. She has been piecing together care with a person to come in a couple days a week to help with errands and a person sleeps at my grandparents home each evening, but it still isn't enough.  Then yesterday, I got an email from my father stating that my grandmother had fallen and will be in the hospital for a few weeks with two broken arms and a broken femur. My mothers life just got TRIPLY more difficult.  What makes me feel helpless and sad is of course, the suffering of my grandparents, but more, my mother's suffering.  She's been dealt a bad hand.  She has her parents to take care of, and then doesn't get the joys of grandchildren.  I know that I am the problem in the latter.

So, there are people in my life who were suffering and are suffering now.  Keith, you were a dear and loved friend of mine.  I hope that you are now in a better place.  And Mom, I want you to know that I love you and feel so bad that this is what's happening right now.  I support you in whatever decisions you make.  I think you know that all of us around you do too.  We just hurt to see you so stressed and to see you have to deal with this difficult situation.

My Important Chinese Cards

My residence permit!!!  Not a card, but a sticker in my passport.

My National Library of China Readers Card.  I'm now allowed into the stacks.

My Beijing Transit card.  Good for subway (2 Yuan = 33 cents), bus (1 Yuan = 16 cents) or taxis.

And of course, my Wu Mart Shoppers Club Card.  This was, of all of them, the most difficult to obtain!  The woman who took my application couldn't understand how I said my address, I don't know how to write it in Chinese, so we just put down HER address.  I hope the police don't find out!