Well, my travels are winding down. I ended my trip in Kashgar, one of the farthest west cities in all of China. Here Han Chinese were few and far between, and most travelers were using this as a gateway to or from Pakistan. Kashgar was amazing. By this point I
The Exotic Bazaars and Markets of Xinjiang
One of the coolest parts of Xinjiang was going to the markets and bazaars. They are quite famous and predictably, some have been commoditized for tourists (Like the one in Urumqi which was super lame.) They aren’t quite the dangerous maze of dark alleyways that I heard they used to
The Sunburn Chronicles: Heavenly Lake
Now you have seen from my pictures that the northwest region of China has some shocking beauty. A stark, desert beauty of rainbow mountains with no vegetation, or towering sand dunes in all directions. But what you haven’t seen a lot of is trees and lush forests. That’s because Xinjiang
The Dangers in Xinjiang
As I was preparing to go to Xinjiang I heard one warning again and again from my Chinese friends. “Be careful, it’s dangerous out there.” My answer? “I’m not worried. It’s not me they hate.” You see, Xinjiang people are very different from Chinese people. Perhaps you’ve noticed from my
The Food of Xinjiang (Don’t Read if You’re Hungry)
I think now would be the time to tackle one of the best parts of my trip: the food. One of the things I love about food in China is it is fresh. Every dish has lots and lots of veggies and every spare patch of ground houses a small
The Sunburn Chronicles: Turpan, the Second Lowest Point on Earth
Given my very public aversion to heat you think I’d avoid going to the hottest spot in China. A place that is the second lowest point on earth (after the Dead Sea) and below sea level. Just my luck, in the days leading up to my stop, they had a
Summer Break Can’t Come Soon Enough!
So remember when I said I hate Xiamen? I hate it even more now. It’s SOOOOOOOOOO friggin hot. I walk around wearing a sweat band, and I don’t do it in an ironic Wes Anderson-type way. I wear it because my face sweats so much that if I try to