China
Guilin, China – Along the River Li
[China] What brings a place or location into the scope of my attention? My earliest enthusiasm for travel was through pictures in a book about Guilin, China. I got it at a garage sale when I was 20. I looked at the pictures about once a year. But with the exception of London, I didn’t […]
Train through Yunnan Province
[China] I walked across the bridge between Lao Cai, Vietnam to Hekou, China to find my 37 hour train to Kunming. We’d stop at every town, and I’d stick my nose out the window or walk out on the platform. In addition to the smells, the architecture, the clothing, and the faces, the real fun […]
Man and Mosque in Kashgar
[China] This far western part of China is strongly Islamic. I’d been on the road for four days, coming from Islamabad, Pakistan. The buses were filled with Pakistani silk traders who cursed at the slow Chinese driving. I breathed one long sigh of relief as we puttered our way along at about 40 MPH. How […]
Kashgar market
[China] This is ethnic China. Thousands of Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Kazaks converge every Sunday to what some believe to be the most exotic Sunday market in the world. I’d been traveling for six months, yet realized that the world still had some places that could re-trigger culture shock. I walked the entire day in a […]
Mustagh Ata in Xinjiang Province
[China] The mountain Mustagh Ata sits between the Pakistani border and Kashgar. It represents the essence of Himalayan beauty, with a valley floor 13,000 feet above sea level. I went out for an evening stroll from my campsite to get a better view of the ridge that the great, late photographer/climber Galen Rowell had skied […]