For KM

KM, who loves photographs and good music.

This is from the 798 Art Zone in Beijing. A man selling pirated CDs in front of a photo gallery. There is a post coming up about 798 and some of the brilliant art there.

The next picture seems non sequitur and totally banal. But all this talk of KM and ‘Culture’ can only lead to one thing – Yogurt. (If you haven’t read this post, please do).

Fresh homemade yogurt for sale in the morning. Kashgar

PS: Graffiti from 798. Apparently, graffiti is only allowed in some places by the state. I wonder, if that means the state also recognizes it as an art form? :)

For Spacebar

Who loves reptiles, donkeys, goat, cats, frogs … you get the idea.

Crunchy snakes…yummmmm ?!

This is from a tea shop, that had mounds of different types of tea, green tea, rose, jasmine, spice tea, etc. And right at front was a sack of what looked very much like some nice murukku. Except you get closer and you see a head with a pair of eyes.

No, we did not buy any tea.

And other things for sale at the Kashgar Market.

Fresh bread in the morning

A cap fitting,

And natural pigment dye, for a dash of color.

For Luddo

who loves mountains, railway timetables, all things geeky…and whining.

The Mountain. That would be the Karakoram Highway (KKH). The highest paved international road in the world. It goes across the Karakoram mountain range, through the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 m/15,397 ft. as confirmed by both SRTM and multiple GPS readings. –wiki.

The Timetable. A section of the timetable posted on our train from Datong to Beijing.	The Gadgetry.  A solar powered car battery charger by the Chinese checkpoint WC on the way to Karakul Lake.

Can windows be far behind…

The above is from the Abakh Khoja Tomb, Kashgar, that some consider the holiest Muslim site in the Xinjiang province. It is a beautiful glazed tile structure in jade green and blue.

The next picture is from the Id Kah Mosque. Kashgar again. Every friday, about 10,000 people come here to pray. It was a lovely quite oasis in the middle of a bustling marketplace. Thick walls separate it from all the noise, dust and heat. Tree lined pathways, and long carpeted corridors with dark green pillars.

The next window (on a door) is from the Hanging Temple in Datong. And the last window within a window from our hostel in a Beijing Hutong.

For Szerelem

Mostly doors from Kashgar’s Old City. The Old City is being demolished and new construction plans were up in most places we shot these images. They are very old buildings, some have lasted many centuries and will now be replaced with typical downtown apartment buildings.
The last few are from Beijing. From a Hutong, the Lama Temple, the 798 Art Zone and finally, the Forbidden City.

For Falsie

“You mean you traveled all that way for two humps and a piece of ass?”
- Falstaff

Camel ride in the Mingsha (Singing) Sand Dunes.

Followed by some Donkey meat in Dunhuang.

For Lebu…

For TR and TPB really…

Ceci n’est pas une pipe

They are the female and male versions of the infant cradle catheters for sale in the Kashgar old town market.

From the Silk Road

[update]

This lovely old man works at the Beziklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Turpan.

While we were walking around looking at what remains of the murals there (the little that has survived the invasions, the occidental archeologists, the cultural revolution and other miscreants),we hear a beautiful string piece being played in the middle of the mountains (good acoustics).

Only after we got out of the cave, we realized it was someone who worked at the caves, possibly a guard, who was playing his rawap to pass time (and possibly impress tourists).

The man played a couple of pieces for us. Then asked us to try our hand at playing it. (Ulp). I did and failed miserably to get the one chord I kind of remembered from a couple of sessions of guitar playing. Nope, I did not play the E Minor. I just got to hold this lovely snake skin rawap and got back to making this short video.

If that doesn’t load, try this link
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* the photograph of the mural is from the wiki page.