Day 5 : Turpan cont.

Day 5 was our day 2 in Turpan, we headed around to see the local attractions and markets, one of the most beautiful and enriching day in the trip...

Flaming mountains, in summer the mountains look flaming red in color hence the name

Tombs by the side of the mountains

View of the terrain through which the car was passing

Mazar Village, one of the most wonderfully preserved villages in Xinjiang

Tombs in the edge of Mazar village

A view of the village from afar

Alley by the side of the village entrance

A beautiful courtyard in a house, in the village

He was sitting by the road and cutting Hami melons, when we passed by he offered us a couple of pieces. Those were the most sweetest melons I have ever had in my life and he was generous enough to offer us more

We found a pile of Hami melons in his yard when he invited us home. We were naturally wondering if every one of them was as sweet as the ones we had

After having the melons he invited us home, a very simple but wonderfully decorated house

The village mosque

A view of the tombs from the village, the green tomb is the Mazar that the village is named after 

A wooden window in a mud house

The village reservoir, near and around the reservoir there are 1000's of caves that has been vandalised over the years. They had 1000's of buddha statues in them.

Our lunch, at a wonderful street side restaurant where we had Laghman or rice noodle with the freshest mix of veggies and meatAfter the meal we had a local walk up to us and offer another wonderful piece of Hami melon, the day was foodies delight

After the village we headed to see a traditional canal system called Karez. This was a dome in the museum that preserves part of the system 

A well decorated pillar

A pathway covered with vines of grapes

Towards the end of the day we went strolling around the local market, that showed us a really beautiful and local market.

Fruit Vendors

Nan vendors, very similar to the Indian Nan but a bit on the harder side

Inside the market

Butcher shop, they were very curious to know my nationality and very happy to hear that I am from India

A young boy at a nan bakery, he was more curious about Bollywood when he knew I am from India

Another friendly bread seller

Traditional hand woven carpets

Xinjiang has some of the best fruits I have had in China

The kebab guy getting ready for the evening rush

A local meat snack shop

A cold snack shop, it was all pure vegetarian and the boy at the end of the card was the cashier, helping his mom out

The day ended with this beautiful bundle of joy, sitting pretty in front of her dads Nan cart munching on some Nan

Day 4: Turpan

On day 4 we headed to Turpan, an oasis in the old silk road

Giant wind farms on the arid landscapes of Xinjiang, optimum use of unused space

A curious local I found while strolling around the town enjoying his puff...

Emin Minaret, the tallest Minaret in China built in 1777

Watermelon vendor, the melons and grapes in this part of Xinjiang are among the sweetest

Entrance to an old house, the vertical structure above is a place where they dry grapes

An ancient road in the ruins of Jiaohe city

A tunnel in the ruins of Jiaohe city

Broken Buddha statues in one of the temples Jiaohe ruins

Ruins of Jiaohe city

The main stupa in hall of Stupas, Jiaohe city ruins

We got a ride on the back of a open motorcycle pick up to town. When we asked a local if he could drop us back to town, he asked us to wait and went back to his house and came back with a beautiful carpet put on the back of his pickup 

Day 3 : Heaven's Lake contd.

On Day 3 we hiked around the mountains around Heavens lake after waking up quite early in the morning.

A pre sunrise sight of a monastery across the lake at around 6 in the morning

View from the lakeside when the first rays of sun come out at past 9

Sunrise by the lake side

Lake side morning

Our host and his wife by his house and the yurt we camped in the night.

Son of our host; he was so shy he never stepped out of that doorway

Dine by the moon

Next door neighbour doing her early morning rounds 

Yurts in the Kazakh neighbourhood on the hills

View on our way up the mountains...

The reward after over 3 hours of tiring hike

Evening view by the lake at sunset

Day 2 : Heaven's Lake

On Day 2 I headed to heavens lake with my travel buddy.

Hostel Lobby, one of the nicest places I stayed in

School assembly, a wake up call for the hostellers as well morning 9.30

Heavens lake, one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in my life.

My travel buddy and our Kazakh Host. We stayed in his yurt (a Mongolian style hut) for the night.

The roof of the yurt, layered with beautiful hand woven carpets and bamboo 

As if the lake was not enough, the night presented me with sky full of stars, a wonderful ending for the night.

Day 1 : Urumqi

A friend I made on the road to Urumqi, he was kind enough to show me around Da Bazaar in Urumqi

A lovely traditional looking Building at Da Bazaar, thats a Carrefour 

A Dome inside the market building of Da Bazaar

Our Kebab guy, he had a very pleasant smile always on his face. Hence we nicknamed him Hasmukh (One with a smiling face).

My travel buddy, whom I met at the Hostel. We travelled together for 2 weeks through Xinjiang.

A local Pub run by a Spanish Expat, a quite nice place

Xinjiang Trip

A few days into my trip to Xinjiang I visited Tianchi lake near Urumqi. One of the most awesome views I have seen in my life...

Evening view of Tianchi Lake in Xinjiang

Working on more photographs...will keep updating this space soon...