Ah May day. The first of May, Spring is in the air and
millions of workers celebrate there power over the capitalist yoke.
Unfortunately in china they don't get many Holidays so they take to it with a
gusto rarely seen else where. Buses Trains Taxis Trucks and rickshaws are all
filled as the Chinese take off home for a well deserved break. This means
everything stops. There not like the French they don't take six weeks, only
four days but this can be frustrating when your trying to do something silly
like leave the country.
On the way here we went to Heavenly Lake which is billed as
a little peace of Switzerland in China. It is a very pretty glacial lake that
the Chinese are improving. There is nothing in China that cannot be improved
with the addition of concrete and flashing lights. That goes double for
nature reserves.Just when you think you've escaped the masses you will wind up
beside a water fall with a security camera and little speaker (generally
badly disguised as a rock) blaring out relaxing Chinese music . The
Lake was no exception with the dozers at work adding more paths and view decks.
Today we took a taxi to the border which
is about three and a half hours drive from Kashgar towards Osh. Taxis here
aren't expensive. The ride was about $90 split three ways. The Chinese excel in
people moving. Buses Trains and airplanes leave on time, or even early if there
full. Waiting rooms are divided into sections and at the required time you are
efficiently headed on to your choice of conveyance. We probably would of left a
couple of days ago but the holiday took care of that. The border doesn't
open till eleven, so we left Kashgar at seven am which is not as bad as it
sounds. Everything in China runs on Beijing time which is only two hours behind
Melbourne. When you get way out west the sun rises about eight and sets about
ten, perfect for those who like a sleep in. The story at the border is having
caught your taxi, you cue up at eleven to beat the trucks and head across to
Kyrgyzstan. Once through the Chinese side you then have to either walk 3 km or
hitch a ride with a truck to the Kirghiz checkpoint. Some times you can walk
but at others it is forbidden so your stuck waiting for a truck to clear the
check point. Then if you get past the check point on the Kirghiz side all
you have to do is negotiate with a taxi driver who may or may not be
there, a fare in a currency you don't have. Another 6 hours on worse roads and
your there. Osh that is. I'm not there. Some one forgot to tell the boarder
check point that the holiday was over so the have decided to take another
couple of days off. We had been assured that the border would be open by
several people but as in China none seems to really know whats happening. So
another 4 hours back to Kashgar picking up a couple of fares on the way to help
pay for the return trip. Micheal offended the driver by wearing a seat belt.
The buckle is normally tucked down the back of the seat far from reach.
Sharp, spiky or unknown slimy things are then placed around it to deter any one
who would want to retrieve it. Unfortunately after years of living in the Nanny
State Micks primal urge for survival overrode all and he managed to retrieve
it. He was made to take it of when we arrived back at Kashgar so none of the
taxi drivers peers would tease him.You can check out someone else's description
at http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Kyrgyzstan/blog-392786.html
Kashi(Kashgar) is a lovely little town of
about 300,000 people permanently shrouded in a haze of Coal Smoke from
Kitchens, Kebab ovens, hot water heaters. and power stations. Add to this a
couple of hundred thousand untuned diesel trucks, pit toilets and burning
rubbish piles and your beginning to get the ambiance. About 98 % of the oxygen
has been removed at ground level. The haze gradual disappears a you ascend into
the hills and disappears totaly at 10,000 meters where your left with about 2%
oxygen. Generally your not going to breath well in China.There is a nice old
center of town which is being progressively demolished to make way for a
few more empty shopping malls or multi story housing commission style apartment
blocks. In town drivers using rules that make Kaos theory in Greek
look simple try to annihilate any form of life at street level. Feeds of Lamb
are mandatory . Local dishes are polove(polo) rice and carrot stewed with fatty
lamb shanks(very nice not recommended by the heart foundation), Lamb Kebab with
chunks of lamb fat, Lamb liver Kabab, Lamb Lahuan(with noodles),Fatty Lamb
pastries and a deadly mix of Ice, local water, yogurt and sugar that looks
great but is guaranteed to kill you faster than Phillip
Nietzsche. Pleasant merchants try to sell you carpets, local Urighr
knives and amassing trinkets. Copper bowls and pots that take hundreds of hour
to make by hand are a favorite. They make them on the street, beating and
carving them in front of you.
Anyhow time to head off to the
local. A couple of poms have opened a bar which has decent western food. A nice
change from lamb as much as I love it.The have free beer on at the moment which
you always seem to get charged for at the end of the night. Check it out www.fubarchina.com
Cheers 007