Glen’s Top 5 Xinjiang Travel Tips and Destinations

This week I’m continuing my Top 5 series on Xinjiang travel with a new guest, Glen Russell. If you remember last month, China traveler Graham Woodring shared his top 5 favorite destinations within the province, a list that included the most obvious places to travel in Xinjiang. Today Glen shares with us some of his memories of Xinjiang and a few beautiful photos he took.

If you don’t know Glen Russell you should really get to know him and his writing. He is a Canadian who made his home in Suzhou for two years before moving on to Guangzhou to teach at an International School. He went to Xinjiang in May of 2009 for a short vacation away from the big city. You can read more of his recent writings on either the Lost Laowai website or his personal blog.

So without further ado, here are Glen’s Top 5 Xinjiang travel tips and destinations:

#1 Go: The Karakoram Pass

Beautiful mountains along the Karakoram Highway

The biggest highlight on a trip full of highlights for me was the drive along Karakorum Pass.  For four hours there, and four more hours back my jaw was wide open and my camera was working overdrive.  The scenery to the south of Kashgar is simply beyond description.  My one regret of this trip is that I didn’t take this drive farther.  I went as far as Karakul Lake, and if I had done this again I would have gone all the way into Pakistan.

#2 Watch out: Surly McTwoHumps

Glen on a donkey, nicknamed "Surly McTwoHumps"

After the stupendous Karakoram driving we got to ride a camel around Karakul Lake.  After spending so much time in the urban sprawl of Eastern China the chance to breathe some fresh air and spend some time with yaks was well appreciated.  Now my girlfriend’s camel was a nice and polite camel going slowly were he was supposed to.  Mine on the other hand was a jerk amongst camels.  He would constantly try to run ahead or walk in the lake.  Thus his name was born.  Hopefully you can get the good camel when you go.

#3 Use: John’s Cafe

John's Cafe in Turpan, Xinjiang China

While the trip in Xinjiang was fantastic, there was a bit of an issue when we got back.  The travel agency that arranged the trip for us was nothing short of crooked.  See we decided to not go with the famous John’s Cafe, instead going for a smaller one.  They told us that everything was paid for (and it seemed quite reasonable) but when we got to Karakul, all sorts of things were not provided for us and there were a ton of other hidden charges.  Upon getting to Turpan later on, we went with the John’s Cafe there and received the best of service, at the most reasonable of prices.  I can’t recommend this agency/cafe enough for the good food and fantastic service.

#4 Visit: Kashgar’s Livestock Market

Uyghur men test drive a donkey at the Kashgar Livestock Market

Everyone always talks about the Kashgar Sunday Market, and with good cause.  It is a simply amazing place to be haggled with in multiple languages over everything you’ve ever thought of. However, the most interesting and “far from home” experience that I’ve ever had in my life was at the smaller, Livestock Market a little outside of Kashgar.  There were people literally trading goats for chickens, and I had to duck out of the way more than once while someone was test driving a donkey.  I have never felt so far away from home as I did that moment, and I doubt that I ever will.

#5 22 Hours Later… (Long-Distance Buses)

Inside a Xinjiang long-distance sleeper bus

Given that we had such a short time in the Western Frontier, we had to really focus our traveling.  We decided to center our journey around Kashgar and Turpan.  This seemed all well and good, as both cities were full of sights and character.  However, the trouble was getting between the two.  While we flew to Kashgar from Urumqi (to make the Sunday markets), we didn’t want to fly back.  After missing the boat on the train tickets, we were left with a very painful option, a bus.  The bus ride was 22 hours in a very crammed space.  It had no bathroom, and I don’t know if anyone on the bus had ever heard of deodorant.  While I don’t mind long rides, this was most certainly too much, and would not fit into my plans if I were doing it again.

Read more about Glen’s trip to Xinjiang in his ChinaTravel article.

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Have you traveled to Xinjiang? These are just a handful of great places to see in Xinjiang.  If you would like to share your Top 5 favorite destinations from your trip, please contact me.  Don’t worry, photos are welcome but not necessary!

Traveling to Xinjiang? Find out which China Travel Guide is best for YOU!

9 Comments

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  • » Top Travel Tips - Blog - » Glen's Top 5 Xinjiang Travel Tips and Destinations | Xinjiang … - including-sites, kashgar, russell, Travel Tips, xinjiang said:
    August 4th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    [...] Go here to review a rest: » Glen's Top 5 Xinjiang Travel Tips as well as Destinations | Xinjiang … [...]

  • Asia Market Girl said:
    August 5th, 2010 at 4:40 am

    How much was the camel ride/tour guide?

    [Reply]

  • stuart said:
    August 8th, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    Hey Josh,

    Love those mountains! I tried to reply to your DM on twitter but it wasn’t having any of it. Sadly, I’ve never been to Xinjiang (yet). This site is the next best thing, though.

    [Reply]

    Josh says: August 9th, 2010 at 2:37 am

    Thanks. Not sure why the DM didn’t work, although Twitter hasn’t been very reliable lately for me. Glad you enjoy the site and I hope you someday get to visit the province.

    [Reply]

  • East Asia Blog Round-Up : 8/8/2010 | Eye on East Asia said:
    August 9th, 2010 at 12:36 am

    [...] Xinjiang : Far West China – Guest blogger Glen shares his top 5 Xinjiang travel tips. [...]

  • tez said:
    August 9th, 2010 at 8:20 am

    The long distance bus trips across the Tarim basin are what make a Xinjiang journey so rich, where you meet the most interesting people and get an idea of the topography of place and vastness of the region. It is also the means by which the majority of people travel in the region. It is a pity the nuisance of a long distance bus trip was somewhat “too much” for Glen during his experience of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

    Perhaps a direct flight from Kashgar to Turpan would have best suited Glen’s time restraints and sanitary needs. If Glen had given himself just a little more time he would have also discovered one doesnt have to ‘book’ a trip to Karakul and can travel there easily by local bus from Kashgar or arrange a car in Kashgar; at Karakul camel rides can be arranged and prices haggled over with local Kirghiz or Han tourist agents who operate at the ‘tourist’ yurts. From Tashkurgan after travelling by local bus one can also arrange cars.

    For a future trip I would suggest the overnight trans-Taklamakan bus route from Urumqi to Hotan, then local bus onwards through the southern oases to Kashgar, the full, tiring, sweaty, bumpy loop, and a real look at the place beyond just seeing the sites, as wonderful as they are. One needs time to see Xinjiang, perhaps years. Glen managed to fit several of the most necessary ‘sites’ into his whirlwind tour: a nice sampling in a rapid succession for those who can afford it. “Travel” and “Tourism” however are in deed two different experiences and should never be confused.

    [Reply]

    Josh says: August 10th, 2010 at 5:24 am

    Interesting perspective, Tez, and I tend to agree with you that many people miss out on the Xinjiang experience by trying to cram as much into their trip as possible. Xinjiang is just too big.

    That said, I can understand Glen’s perspective on the bus. Yes, a bus allows you to see the countryside and converse with the blue-collar population, but there’s not much more to the “experience” if you can’t stop and enjoy what you’re seeing. These sleeper buses are usually a bit uncomfortable for me – a tall guy – and from my experience the “no smoking” rule isn’t followed. Yuck.

    My suggestion? Instead of a bus, why not hire a car. It might be more expensive than a bus, but it’s still cheaper than an airplane. You can tell the drive when to stop, and you can have him take you to some great restaurants. One driver I knew took travelers to his friends’ local homes in the cities along the route. Now THAT’s an experience!

    Thanks for your comment, Tez.

    [Reply]

    tez says: August 10th, 2010 at 10:56 am

    Josh after writing yesterday exactly my thoughts. Cars shared between several people especially are not that expensive, and as always the price can be negotiated- there is always a bottom price, and as you say offer much more scope to stop where you want and see many of the areas the bus passes through, and yes there is always the driver’s perspective and his connections as well, hmmm…Im getting the thirst, cheers, t.

    p.s. That said the bus trips are also extremely interesting for the people you may meet. Before the advent of sleeper buses the trip between Kashgar to Urumqi was at least three days (if there wasnt a breakdown) with two overnight stops somewhere along the rocky road. A certain camaraderie developed between travelers, often a sharing of food and cigarettes etc lots of card games, jokes, flirting whatever- a riotous good time often, a la Uyghur. One way to avoid the present discomfort (yeah those bunks are short) is to stagger the trip from oasis to oasis and catch the non sleeper buses with upright seats. Once again time is needed to travel in this manner.

    [Reply]

  • Scottish holiday cottages said:
    October 12th, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    These are really good destinations and travel tips as well photographs. Thanks for sharing.

    [Reply]

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