We paralleled the Tajikistan border winding through red rock,
sandstone, and granite canyons. We were just a few miles from both the Pakistan
and Afghanistan borders. We actually passed a China/Pakistan checkpoint and our
passports were verified. We looked to the mountains for Taliban strongholds.
Yikes!
The dust storm was intense and made visibility poor. We could barely
see the snowcapped Himalayas peeking through in the distance. At a reststop we
saw a huge collection of jade and agate for sale. Through one canyon the road
was narrow and the rock walls were within inches of the truck.
We continued to climb. At 11,000 ft we came across a large dam
project and reservoir. We stopped for pictures long enough to realize we should
not have left our long pants at the laundry in Kashgar...smile! It's cold in
the mountains!
We reached Lake Karakol around 6pm and found herds of yak grazing.
The landscape was breathtaking! There were a couple of possible bush camps.
That is until the dust storm engulfed us and then the rain
started.
Suddenly we were surrounded by vendors on motorbikes representing the yurt complex nearby...and the negotiations began. After an hour of price fluctations snd dealing with the Chinese "mafia," we just didn't feel right about their behavior and our safety so we opted to head back along the highway and find a bush camp.
About 30km down the road we found a small village with an area overlooking a lake. Perfect! That was until the local townsfolk descended on us along with their constable. It was apparent that we were going to have to jump through some hoops. They wanted all but the two cooks to go to the police station with our passports. This plus one of the family having some altitude problems caused us to finish cooking, eat in the truck, and then head back to Kashgar.
We reached the border checkpoint midnight and were tucked safe and sound in our comfy beds by 2:30am. Quite an adventurous day!
About 30km down the road we found a small village with an area overlooking a lake. Perfect! That was until the local townsfolk descended on us along with their constable. It was apparent that we were going to have to jump through some hoops. They wanted all but the two cooks to go to the police station with our passports. This plus one of the family having some altitude problems caused us to finish cooking, eat in the truck, and then head back to Kashgar.
We reached the border checkpoint midnight and were tucked safe and sound in our comfy beds by 2:30am. Quite an adventurous day!
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