Distance: 188 miles – Travelling time: 1800 – 0010 – Temperature range: 6 – 20°C

Staying in the hotel, with electricity and hot water but no heating, in four layers of clothing under my duvet, Murray went with David to get the car scanned back at the customs port and waited for more documents to allow us to import the car and continue our drive.

David working very hard to get our papers

The gates to freedom! If only they would open

We had a late but very delicious lunch in a Uyghur restaurant having politely eschewed the breakfast on offer at our hotel – beyond description and the alternative being a bag full of E numbers. The Uyghurs are a sect of Islam, many of Tajiki origin, and a body of people who have been allowed to govern autonomously at local level in the Xinjiang province. However, the Han Chinese from central government have stamped down hard on these people to prevent terrorism in the name of Islam. The Uyghur women dress uniquely, many in red wool jackets and knee length flared skirts, all with pillbox hats and some with sheer veils over their hats.

Two faces of Chinese nutrition – the healthy and the not so healthy!!

Killing time we wandered along one of the main streets. Lined with basic and slightly shabby shops and eateries I was drawn to a small stall selling various plant products; varieties of maca root, goji berries and chrysanthemum flowers all to make decoctions to treat an array of ailments or to enhance one’s vitality. We sampled chrysanthemum tea (good for reducing blood pressure) while David helped the café owner to make traditional dumplings!

A panorama mural of the tale of a Han Chinese princess overcome by Apollo on her way to marry a Persian king. Tashkurgan translates as Stone Fortress of which there is a 2000 year old ruin.

After much hanging around David eventually got the paperwork and approval for us to import our car after numerous calls to customs offices in Kashgar and Urumqi and so at 1800 we were ready to leave Tashkurgan. There were moments when we thought we would spend another night in the shadow of the Parmir Mountains but with a degree of elation we were able to head out, towards Karakol Lake continuing on the KKH. Progress was slow, with many checkpoints, and our lead driver in the car ahead was very erratic with his driving speed, somewhat frustratingly.

Wetlands on the edge of Tashkurgan

Targharma plateau at the foot of Muztag Peak

A bemused policeman

The red roofs of the settled nomads, homes paid for by the Chinese State

Entering the gorge of the Tiger’s Mouth

On passing the Tajik boarder our lead car pulled in abruptly without warning, to pick up two labourers looking for a lift to Kashgar. Having narrowly avoided bumping into our lead car we carried on to Karakol as the sun was setting, some two hours drive from Tashkurgan. We stopped and our guide thought we might be able to spend the night in a yurt. I thought there might be some touristic yurts on the banks but it seems the only option would be to stay with a true local nomadic family. Sadly they are now forbidden to allow foreigners to stay. We took in the beautiful scenery and the fading light on the surrounding mountains and then pressed on to Kashgar.

Bactrian camels crossing!

The last yurt at Lake Karakol (Xinjiang, others had dismantled with winter approaching

A gruelling drive lay ahead. What we thought would take two more hours actually took four. We navigated past more stunning lakes, the temperature rapidly dropping, and then descended for 26km into the gorge of the Tiger’s Mouth! The road was great for a while and then we entered a section of road devastated by landslides and bumped our way through clouds of dust with endless, massive lorries for two and half hours – not fun. By this time it was dark and spirits were low. After an interminable time we emerged from the countryside and into Kashgar with its multicoloured neon (actually LED) lights. Another half an hour drive around the city limits and we were deposited at the five star ‘Sky Bridge’ Hotel. Having checked in just after midnight we slumped in our room on the 15^th floor, handed over a week’s worth of washing to a very efficient Chinese lady and devoured the army ration packs of chilli tuna pasta and a very decent bottle of Bordeaux we’d had stashed in the car – bliss!