Going to Tibet

Spending time in Kashgar
Kashgar is one of my favorite cities in the world. But spending 9 days here with nothing to do is a little too much of a good thing. I was waiting for my cousin Rod to arrive from Shanghai and I was waiting for some parts to be sent from the US. After 9 days, the waiting was too much for me and after my cousin arrived we started towards Tibet.

I met some interesting people while I was in Kashgar. It was the first place in this trip where there was a sizable tourist culture and it was nice to be able to socialize and converse in English.

I also had the chance to help out some people. I've been trying to get an account set up for the Kashgar Giant bicycle shop with Schwalbe North America so that they can stock Schwalbe Marathon XR tires, the tires that most expedition cyclists use. I met Ferran, an Andorran cyclist who's been on the road for 9 months. I took him to the Giant shop where his bike got a much needed tune-up. I also met a French family with four kids traveling in a camper van. They've been on the road for a year, and now they're heading back to France because their 12 year old is beginning to act like a teenager so they want him to be around friends his own age. They needed some work done on their drive shaft so I took them to the mechanic. They also needed some warm outdoor clothing so I took them to two outdoor shops. They're tired of cooking so we went for some Uighur food. A couple days later, they wanted to try authentic Chinese breakfast so I took them to the street stalls. I almost became their guide. The kids were absolutely adorable and exceptionally well behaved. They all had blonde hair and blue eyes so they attracted alot of attention wherever they went. A real blessing to have such lovely kids, but you can tell that the man was under alot of stress.

Sleeps 6. Shower, toilet, and kitchen.

The Giant bicycle shop in Kashgar. I steered alot of business their way while I was in town. Great service! They sent two package to me after I left Kashgar via courier for free.
My front derailleur broke. Got a Deore LX replacement at the Giant shop for 210RMB. Free labor.




Kashgar Sunday Market (alot of tourists)
The animal bazaar





Xinjiang movie theater/bar.

Another thing you see all the time is people sleeping anywhere there's shade.

The new bazaar







On the road again

I'm so glad to be on the road again. It's even better because now I have cycling companions. I'm cycling with Ferran and my cousin Rod.


We're in Yarkand, 210km Southeast of Kashgar. Last night we "camped" in a water maintenance station that was still under construction.
Alot of fun cycling with these two.

The Search for Perfection

I flew from Urumqi to Kashgar, but it wasn't a straight forward process. The soft sleeper cost 600RMB, which struck me as expensive after I purchased the ticket. I inquired about flying and it turned out that a ticket to Kashgar would only cost 720RMB. The train would take 26hrs vs 2hrs by flight. Even though returning the ticket would incur a 10% penalty, I decided to fly because it was faster and more comfortable: a more sensible way of traveling.
Once in Kashgar, I went back to the Seman Hotel. The staff were pleasantly surprised to see me back and they gave me a special price on a room. My 4th floor room was basic but clean and a good value. But I compared it to the room I had in Aksu and Urumqi, new hotels that saw few foreigners, and I felt that I could do better if I looked around town. The next day I checked out and went found another hotel where there was a computer and internet access in the room. I pay for the room and afterwards I find that gmail, yahoo, and hotmail are all firewalled. The internet is useless under these circumstances so I check out and get a refund. I search around and finally I go back to Seman Hotel, humbled with tail between my legs. I must have offended them by this unappreciative stunt so they put me in a 2nd floor room. I shower and find cockroaches. I am not satisfied so the the next day I get the only room available upstairs on the 5th floor that had air conditioning. I stayed in the 5th floor room one night, but it was 20RMB more expensive than the 4th floor room I had the first night, so the next day I wait in the lobby until my original room clears up. I say to myself WTF? Why this neurotic search for perfection?
My rear rack is broken. I have it welded, but I don't want to trust the weld for my trip to Tibet so I get a new one sent from USA. I've got to have good gear.
I get a spare tire sent from the USA because I've got to have gear according to my specs.
I have dinner with the manager of the Giant bicycle shop in Kashgar and he brings his girlfriend. The woman is smokin' hot. She orders a bunch of food, but after it arrives she just sits there barely touching her food. Her reluctance to eat starts an argument between her and her boyfriend. It's a recurring issue with them. By starving herself, she's searching for a more perfect self image.
I meet some backpackers in Kashgar. We have a meal together. Throughout the conversation I can't help but feel that traveling is like a competition with these two people. They talk about how deeply immersed in Uighur culture their day was, how they got to experience a different world. The target of this pissing contest is perfect understanding of another culture.
This trip to Tibet is I guess another manifestation of this obsession. It's supposed to be someplace better. A romantic image of a wild, beautiful place barely touched by the modern world. I know I'm going to be disappointed. I know that under harsh conditions people can become avaricious, and that when life is tough sanitation is not a priority so that towns are probably littered with trash. I know I will suffer, but I go because I am driven by the search for perfection.....which I will never find.