Odyssey Overland - Kathmandu to Istanbul 2012: Caves, walls and sand dunes

This blog comes to you from Kashgar, our final stop in China, where we have arrived after our journey through the Taklamakan Desert.

We have had almost three weeks here in China and as we get ready to leave we have seen some of this country’s most spectacular sights and scenery. Bustling cities with night markets teeming with weird and delicious delicacies, rocky deserts, Tibetan monasteries, sandy deserts, caves, grottoes, carvings, statues, forts, ruins, winding roads up hills and down hills, roads snaking through mountains, places at high altitudes and one below sea level! The journey so far has been varied to say the least!

Out on the Ganja grasslands near Xiahe

Fraser, Jill & Paul S

We took a cruise down the Yellow River in a speedboat and jumped off for a tour of Bing Ling Si, to check out the surviving Buddhist grottoes. The 27m high buddah statue which had been carved into the canyon walls over 1000 years ago was shrouded due to ongoing restoration. Undeterred and with a great sense of adventure the gang opted to take a shuttle ride up the dry river bed, passing through massive canyon walls towering high above us. A small Tibetan monastery and more Buddha statues were waiting for us at the end of our journey.

The Yellow River

Boat trip to Bingling Si

From Bing Ling Si we enjoyed a filling truck lunch near the marina. Once we were all piled back on board, we headed off to find our first bushcamp of the trip.

Bushcamping, where Calypso and all the camping kit really comes into its own

The first bushcamp gave us some insight into how cold it gets here once the sun goes down and the wind picks up, so as soon as we arrived in Zhangye, Marco Polo’s home for a year, a couple of expedition members went out and promptly purchased some extra blankets.

A bit chilly at night!

In other news, the mouse that has been hitching a free ride with us has finally been kicked off the truck and sent packing to make his home elsewhere. We’ve also had our first couple of sessions of sandmatting and getting bogged on soft ground. And helping locals get out of soft sand!

Really quite stuck...

Coming to the rescue

Our hotel in Zhangye was memorable to say the least, it was in a great location, opposite a supermarket, and the excellent night market also nearby. But for all these positives, the “clock” rooms were not to everyone’s taste and left far too much to the occupant’s imagination.

It was with welcome relief when we went back to bushcamping the next day, near Jiayuguan. After walking on the Great Wall, we found an excellent spot next to our very own mini-great-wall, with a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains and the Great Wall in the background. Definitely worth all the hard negotiation with the police to grant us permission to camp there. A hearty meal of pork stew and mash - a welcome change to rice and noodles!

What else would you drink at the Great Wall?

Carmel opted for the more exotic sounding "Greet Wall"!

Andrew E and Ann S

Andrew E at the fort

We have celebrated the first birthday of the trip, on the 1^st October. Ann Smith partied in style with Calypso and crew. Setting up camp near to the Magao caves, we got the bbq out and had some delicious chicken and Jacq very kindly made a birthday cheese cake. Toby and Paul decided to dress up for the occasion. The birthday girl received gifts of Snickers and a much sought-after jar of mayonnaise (hard to come by in China!).

Paul S, Ann S and Toby

Snickers heaven!

Al cooking up a storm

Birthday cheesecake

Odyssey crew also found time to pay homage to our China tour guide, Sophie and her unusual (yet obviously popular) fashion statement of glasses without lenses, something Nigel was able to pick up for free at one of the trucks lunch stops.

Al, Sophie, Teresa & Simon

Nigel and Sophie

Camping close to the caves in order to beat the rush was a wise choice and we were 24 out of an estimated 12,000 people to visit the Magao caves during the Chinese National Holiday. Here we saw the second largest buddah to be carved into a cave, and some beautiful and well-preserved Buddist paintings.

24 of the 12,000...

We had to take torches and all cameras were put into storage before venturing into the caves, something which was of great disappointment, but does ensure that if you ever wish to see what China does have to offer you really do have to come and see for yourself. Our time in the caves was very closely timed by our wonderfully informative guide, with only 2-5 minutes in each cave, she would helpfully signal our exit with “so much for this cave!”

This is as far as our cameras could get - the entrance to one of the caves

Our next night of bushcamping was in a farmer’s back yard, who had, in some peoples opinion, the best toilet in China.

Whilst some decided to go check out the local night markets in Dunhuang some of us took some beverages to the nearby dunes to watch the sunset and put the world to rights, which is when we realised we were sharing them with a Chinese wedding. Also on the cards for a few of the braver ones, was a camel ride and a trip to Crescent Lake theme park – on the busiest day of the year!

Night market

Cheers!

Jill

We left Dunhuang the next day on a driving mission to Turpan. We stopped for a bushcamp on the way, in a newly discovered spot for Odyssey, set in a stunning mountainous area with a beautiful sunset and a spectacular moon rise (and a lot of rocks). Although it got cool once the sun went down, the large wood collection gathered by various expedition members ensured the fire was going for long enough to keep us warm. Here we celebrated Phil’s Birthday with chicken stir fry and a pineapple crumble, baked in the potjie by Alison.

Stunning bushcamp

As we made our way through the desert everyone was looking forward to our three nights in Kashgar where we were aiming to warm ourselves in the sun and prepare for the cold awaiting us in Kyrgyzstan!