Delightful Afternoon in "Pakistan"

Posted July 15, 2017 by Jan
Thailand: Bangkok

Bangkok

Thailand

Sunday

July 15, 2018

 

Hello,

I had the most delightful afternoon at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.  I attended the “Pakistan Single Country Exhibition.”

My goal was to obtain tourist information.  I had heard excellent stories from a group of German motorcyclists who I met last year in Tashkurgan, Xinjiang Province, China near the Pakistan border.  I had traveled from Kashgar through some spectacular mountain scenery.   Apparently, to the west, the Karakorum Highway in Pakistan is even more spectacular.

At the exhibit today, I did find a few brochures about the mountain and lake regions of Pakistan.  But the convention center had exhibitors from a variety of other businesses: Rock Salt Products, Marble and Onyx, Wooden Furniture, Rugs, Gems and Jewelry, Garments and Textiles, Agro Foods, Brass Artifacts, Cutlery, Surgical Instruments, Sports Goods, Leather, Fishery, Pipe and Steel, Handicrafts, and of course, a Food Court.

The Karakorum Highway

Posted July 7, 2017 by Jan
China: Xinjiang

Tashkurgan

Tajik Autonomous County

Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region

People’s Republic of China

July 6, 2017

My Dear Friends,

What a splendid, albeit cloudy and misty, ride along the Karakorum Highway to Tashkurgan and an equally splendid, sunny and clear, ride back to Kashgar the following day.

The last town in China before the border of Pakistan, Tashkurgan Town has a long history as a major stop on the ancient Silk Road along the Karakorum Highway.  The Highway runs from Kashgar, China in the north to Islamabad, Pakistan in the west.

Kashgar: The Sunday Livestock Market

Posted July 2, 2017 by Jan
China: Xinjiang

Kashgar (Kashi)

Xinjiang – Uyghur Autonomous Region

People’s Republic of China

July 2, 2017

 

My Dear Carnivorous Friends,

Kashgar is “The End of the Line” for man and beast.  (Mostly beast.)

Unless and until I venture further south and west, towards Tashkurgan and the Pakistan border, Kashgar is “the end of the line” for me and for other Silk Road travelers in China.  

But for most of the four-legged domesticated creatures here at the Sunday Livestock Market, Kashgar truly is “the end of the line.”

Aksu to Kashgar

Posted July 1, 2017 by Jan
China: Xinjiang

Aksu to Kashgar

Xinjiang

China

July 1, 2017

Highway 314, a modern road, runs 286 mi (460 km) southwest from the city of Aksu to the city of Kashgar.  It takes almost five hours by car.

It’s a colorful drive.  The Tianshan mountains to the right. The Taklimakan desert to the left.

And what colors!

Have you ever seen orange mountains?

Me neither.

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