Rainy Travel Days are Good for Catching Up

Hello, everyone! Since my last blog post, I've traveled thousands of kilometers and been to three countries and three Chinese provinces. I've seen so much and experienced lots of things for the first time. I've also been planning my next steps here in China, and realized that there's no way I'm going to see all that I want to see in just two months. So I'm still working things out for down the road. :)

Right now I'm staying at the relaxing Charley Johng's Hostel in the oasis town of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, China. It's been raining steadily all day so I've been taking the time to catch up on some stuff online. (I can haz internetz, huzzah!) I came via an overnight sleeper train from Xinjiang Province this morning. (Shall I write a post about sleeper trains in China, hrm?) Xinjiang is a far-flung Chinese province that has more in common with Central Asian and/or Muslim countries than most of Han China. It is colorful and dusty and tasty and delightful.

Cloth on display at the Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

Spices at the Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar. My friend bought a ton of different spices, and after she had paid for her goods, the guy took some more of all the types of spaces she had bought, put them through a grinder so they turned into fine powder, and fashioned the result into three lovely-smelling satchets for my two friends and me. I've fallen in love with this unexpected gift: it makes my clothes and backpack smell nicer after a day of travel, and I've even used it to "sweeten up" funky bathrooms and lockers.

Non-yurt accommodation by the shores of Karakul Lake in Xinjiang, China. (My friends and I stayed in a yurt overnight.)

I'm in the planning process of starting up a travel blog, which will be more dedicated to travel experiences, tips, destination guides, etc. I'll still post occasionally here about where I am and what I'm doing. If/when I set up the travel blog, I hope you will be willing to check it out!

Alright, it's dinnertime. I need to stop sitting on this blog post as I've been doing all afternoon and just post it. As I have some downtime over the next few days (and my hostel has solid Internet!) I will be preparing some posts soon for your perusal. Until next time!