Where's Malcolm?

A sidetrip to Karakul Lake Oct 1, 2007

I've decided to spend a couple of days visiting Karakul Lake with Chris and Dominique, as by all accounts the area is really beautiful. After a 4 hour bus ride to the lake, the three of us book ourselves into a yurt on a recommendation that Dominique has been given, together with Steve, a very talkative American guy.

Our hosts are quiet but seem nice enough, and the afternoon of the first day is spent trekking around the lake and climbing a peak. I think the elevation from sea level is something like 3500 meters here, and we all feel the altitude. The views around the lake are someting else, and get better still the next morning when the clouds disappear.

Steve leaves us on our second day, and Chris and I decide to trek to a glacier. However as the trek progresses our ambitions are thwarted by an impassable river, so we change plans and head for another lake nearby. As the day moves on, it becomes clear that a theme is developing: everything is going to take longer and appear larger than we first thought; and the lake doesnt let us down. Its twice the size as we first thought, and after 5 hours or so of trekking and not seeing any sign of life, a slightly bizarre incident presents itself - we come across a chinese couple standing in the desert who give us half a watermelon, and then walk off!! Thankfully the melon is just what we need, and we devour it straight away.

We've had enough of trekking so decide to return to the yurt, collect our bags and return to Kashgar, where I sort out arrangements for moving onto Pakistan.

As I'm shortly moving on from China, here are some final thoughts on my time in the middle kingdom:

THE GOOD:

1. China undoubtably has some world class sights, my favourites being the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, Mogao Caves, and the scenery around Yangshuo.

2. Cantonese food. On the whole I wasn't impressed with Chinese foods, the exception being Cantonese food which hits the spot nicely. A good Dim Sum is fantastic.

3. I did meet a handful of fantastic Chinese, who were hospitable and very helpful just when I needed it most.

AND THE NOT SO GOOD:

1. The Chinese love to spit, and in my 4 1/2 months here I never got used to it. The Chinese are easily in a league of their own on this one: if spitting should ever become an olympic event, there would surely be only one winner. There's 2 stages to spitting Chinese style: Stage 1, draw up as much phlem from the pit of your stomach as you can in the noisiest way possible, then Stage 2, look down and spit on the ground, floor or carpet (whatever's available, and yes they do spit inside shops, shopping malls, buses and trains) in the noisiest way possible. It has to be seen and heard to be believed. And they think we're dirty!!!!!!!

2. The attitude of the Han-Chinese to non-Chinese. Political correctness stops me from saying what I really think, and most travellers I met found most Han Chinese rude and arrogant. You'll here the word 'foreigner' used a lot in China, nearly always in a slightly derogatory context.

3. The repression of minorities. The majority population in China are the Han Chinese who speak mandarin, (chairman Mao was Han Chinese, so the communist party has always been run by Han Chinese), and therefore the party runs the country for its own benefit IMHO. I never did make it to Tibet, but I've been told many times that it still resembles a country under occupation. In south-western China where I visited Kashgar, where the muslim and more Central Asian Uigher population dominates. In this area those Han Chinese get the best jobs, and I was told that shortly the teaching of arabic (the Uighers written language) will shortly be banned in schools up to age 18, and will be replaced by, you've guessed it, mandarin and its written characters.

4. For a reputation as one of the world's great cuisines I found Chinese food surprisingly bad, with some notable exceptions such as Cantonese food mentioned above, Beijing Duck, and some of the Sichuan-style sauces.

5. And finally, slow Chinese internet connections. Everywhere displays connection speeds of 100mps is displayed, but my 1 mps connection speed at home is 10 times faster than anything I experienced in China. Apparently theirs is one of the best networks in Asia, which doesn't bode well for the rest of my travels.

To summarise China has some world-class sights but unfortunately you may have a difficult time with the Han Chinese, so after my initial euphoria I've re-evaluated my opinion and would give China a 6 out of 10. I am visiting Tibet and Sichuan Province next year, so those Chinese will have a second chance.