Xinjiang figure of 8

[futianshenzhen]

So here’s the latest RR, basically a figure of 8 loop around Xinjiang from Urumqi, passing through Kashgar, Hotan and back to Urumqi (with a slight detour to visit the Pakistan border).

Here’s the route


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[futianshenzhen]

27 May
Arrived very late in Urumqi due to a delayed flight and a difficult cabbie.




28

Picked up the bike at the yingang shop and set off at 11.30 after adjusting a few things on the bike and tightening up the top box which I’d drunkenly reinstalled at the end of the last visit. I chose to ride the S101 which runs parallel with the Tian Mountains. The area south of Urumqi was bizarre, lots of construction of what looked like power stations and national grid infrastructure. The road didn’t connect through like google said it would and I had to sneak through a building site and a road block but got back on track OK. Also, I was refused petrol at 3 stations in a row, they didn’t even have “anquan di yi” teapots!
I eventually found fuel and then turned onto the S101 proper, if I’d know what lay ahead I may have turned back. The scenery was gorgeous and that kept me going but the road was pretty much dirt hell. I’d asked a trucker how long it went on for and he said after 80 kms it was paved. This was true but I wanted to follow the road all the way to where it meets the G217 south of Dushanzi which meant a lot more dirt. To make matters worse my charger wasn’t really working so I was turning my phone on and off to save power which caused me to take a few wrong turns. In the end I pulled off the road and swapped it out for a new one. When I came to a junction I’d naively think that the better road would be the S101 as it was the only road on the map but that was never the case, and it took me a while to learn that lesson.

I stopped for dinner at 7,45 in Qingshuihexiang village directly south Shihezi, and filled up with fuel (a key stop for anyone else in the future). In the end I arrived at a golf club/yurt village at 11.40 with ice cubes for hands! It was pleasant riding all evening but when the sun went down at 10 it got cold really fast. I stayed in this huge yurt, that could’ve slept a dozen people, all by myself for 100 quai. At that point I would’ve paid a lot more to sleep in a tool shed!

I rode for 12 hours and covered 350 kms. That’s probably my worst ever time/distance ratio.


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Scenery of the S101

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Another view from the S101

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Sunset that first night, the temperature plummeted soon after

[futianshenzhen]

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This is where I stopped for a bite and to change over the chargers


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The S101 was awesome for scenery but kicked the crap out of me at the same time!

[futianshenzhen]

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The new charger - ugly but effective



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I installed it next to the ignition. You can see the old charger to the right. Looks great but couldn't charge a gnat's vibrator

[futianshenzhen]

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The golf club/yurt village where I stayed on the first night

[futianshenzhen]

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The inside of my own private yurt


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It was a bit nippy inside so i was wearing all my clothes and my snood was doubling as a hat!




29
I woke up early to find a snow topped mountain range outside my yurt, no wonder I was so cold the night before! I skipped the offer of breakfast to the disbelief of yurt bossman and was off by 7.40. Another 60 kms of dirt was waiting for me before I finally made it to sweet, perfect tarmac. The total S101 dirt road is around 300 kms if anyone fancies a challenge! I stopped at the junction of dirt and tarmac and ate some snacks from a small shop which also sold fuel buy the (small) coke bottle. There were a couple Uyghur guys who couldn’t resist pressing all the buttons and even starting my bike. I was 2 metres away and an “OI!” was enough to send them packing.

The G217 was almost perfect, the surface, twisites and scenery were to die for. And that was a distinct possibility with the amount of rock fall around, there were even several teams of climbers levering loose boulders down onto the road. I then started to a long climb and went though a few high passes with snow everywhere apart from the road. The decent was as beautiful as the way up, I stopped for lunch at the Dalong pond tourist spot, which wasn’t very touristy at all. It was however stunning and I only moved on because some coppers turned up and started hassling truckers and I knew it was only a matter of time before they got round to me. I continued on and turned onto the westbound S307 a little north of Kuqa and had an argument with a cabbie who kept on overtaking me then braking hard, driving up my arse, overtaking then braking again, you get the picture. I lifted up my helmet, shouted at him and flipped him the rods, he seemed to get the message. Shortly afterwards at 8 pm I arrived in Baicheng and had almost checked into a hotel when after I had unpacked all my bags they suddenly changed their mind and said no laowai. I was less than impressed as I’d told them I was English and shown them my passport so after a brief rant I found the poshest hotel in town. Thankfully they had cheap rooms for 120 in their old building so mindful of parking Nazis I asked where I should leave my bike then went up for shower. 10 minutes later 2 baoans in oversized uniforms knocked on my door and asked me to move my bike. I was in a pretty bad mood and they got both barrels! Later on I felt guilty and asked them where they wanted the bike then went off for some excellent bbq and beers. The Uyghurs certainly know their stuff and I had a great few hours eating and drinking, the only problem being finding cold beers. I found some eventually and ended up sitting in the shop chatting with the boss about a range of subjects including gay marriage and the youth of today! He ended up giving me 2 free beers which was surprising as we’d disagreed about pretty much everything! I went back to have some more barbecue and some dude was hassling me and asking if I was an American. I said no, but he didn’t seem to believe me and just stared at me, he was very odd so I made my excuses and went back to the hotel.
670 today, 1020 total

[futianshenzhen]

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Tian mountains highest pass

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Foothills of Tian Mountains

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Another high pass


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Dalong pond tourist spot

[futianshenzhen]

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Another shot of the golf course/yurt village

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Barbecue in Baicheng

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[futianshenzhen]

30
Left at 7.40 and covered 200 kms before 10 am mainly on the gaosu, I didn’t have much of a choice as it was the only road. The S306 was a good fast road and got interesting after Halaqixiang with some nice twisties. I stopped for a lunch of bread dipped in honey and some guy pulled over 50 metres away and just sat down to enjoy the amazing site of a laowai eating. I arrived in Kashgar at 5.40 and no foreigners were allowed in the first 2 hotels, I had to go to the incredibly posh Qinibagh hotel, again I stayed in the old crappy building but it was still 300 quai! The new building was 500! The room was dreadful, I’ve stayed in better for 50. I still had 4 hours of daylight left so took a taxi to the grand bazaar and which was a bit of a disappointment. It was just a slightly different take on a normal market you’d find anywhere in China. Still, I did find a cool 10 litre jerrycan and had a local version of a pasty. On the way back from the bazaar my taxi driver was full of questions and I was in a mischievous mood so just started making up a story for him. I told him I lived in Shanghai and was married to a Han girl and we had 2 kids, an innocent enough tale but he was appalled! He was shaking his head and clearly felt that no one in their right mind should marry a Han! I then found a little restaurant and was having a dish and a few beers when a catfight erupted in the private room next to where I was sitting. The boss had been tutting earlier at the razed voices then one (I think) Uyghur lady went for another. The blokes were just standing around with resigned looks on their faces, unwilling or unable to intervene. A full on scrap developed and the boss ran in to save her crockery, with the plates safe everyone was content enough just to let them get on with it. I was listening and chuckling away to myself and would occasionally catch a glimpse when the door was opened, I took a picture and got some dirty looks so decided to get back to the hotel.
740 kms, 1760 total




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Kashgar near the bazaar


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Kashgar near the bazaar


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Local version of Cornish pasty


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New 10 litre jerrycan - fits perfectly on the pillion seat