Oytag

The road toTashkorgan winds up a river gorge and climbs quickly from 1400 metres to 3300 before leveling out on a grassland plateau for about 70 kms then climbing again to 4000 metres. We had no intention of grinding our way up the first of these climbs given we would be descending the same road again a few days later. The plan instead was to take a bus to the first pass at 3300 metres and then ride on from there so we headed for the bus station and bought 2 tickets to Lake Karakul.

The next morning we arrived at the bus station 2 hours early to make sure we had time to get the bikes loaded up. Unfortunately the buses are no longer the old rattlers with roof racks that they had once been. Instead they are compact air conditioned coaches with limited storage space. When the driver saw our bikes and gear he told us it could not be loaded on the bus so we had not choice but to refund our tickets and hit the road.

It was 9.30 am and a late start for us for a riding day but we quickly found the road south out of town and were soon passing through farm lands and open desert towards the Pamir mountains. Ordinarily these mountains would be a very imposing site this close up but due to the hot summer winds and dust they were completely obscured.

As we sped along a small (perhaps 3 feet) brown snake happened to find itself out in the middle of the road with the 2 of us fast approaching. It turned around before I ran it over and slithered right into the path of Neil's bike. 100 kg came down to bear on the middle of its back as Neil's bike wheels ran over the unfortunate creature. It continued its hasty retreat as if untouched and quickly disappeared into the scrub at the side of the road but presumably did not last too long after that.

16 kms from Kashgar we came to the town of Shufu. Shufu did not exist 20 years ago. It is an impressive little town of model homes and buildings and is beautiful by any local standard. It looks like it has been purpose built to showcase what is possible way out here when the Chinese put their minds and money to it. It is modern, clean looking and completely out of place.

Near the centre of town we spotted a yoghurt stall (bowls of which are kept outside in the sun till sold) and being unable to pass up one of our favourite local foods, and having missed breakfast, we pulled over. I bought (50 cents) a bowl (approx 500 mls) of this sour, warm and yet oddly delicious curd and waited while the lady running the stall wiped off a spoon used by one of her previous customers on a dry rag and handed it to me to use. Neil and I shared the spoon and the yoghurt trying hard not to think too carefully about any of it and were soon on our way again.

A little futher down the road we spotted another stall selling another of our Chinese favourites, tea eggs (eggs boiled in tea) so stopped once more and bought 4 of these which we consumed on the spot.

Back out in the desert the road began to climb gently and the wind was at backs. The going was fast and easy. We sped past slower moving vehicles (donkey carts, tractors and motortrike taxis) and by early afternoon we had covered 86 kms and reached the town of Oytag.

Oytag was a spec on the map and probably had fewer than a couple of hundred people living in it. There was only 1 road through it and in the centre of town there were a few road side stalls set up to cater to the needs of the through traffic. We stopped at one such stall to buy some cool drinks and to rest in the shade a while. Having made good progress today already we were on the lookout for a decent site to camp for the night.

After we had rested we asked the stall owner, half jokingly, if there was a hotel in this town to which he replied quite unbelievably, yes. He lead us about 40 metres up the road to a wide paved driveway that lead through an ornate steel gate to a small but neat building. The building was in fact a disused bus depot and this man with his large bunch of keys appeared to be its custodian.

Inside it was cool with a large empty waiting room with ceramic tiled floors. Off the left-hand end there were 2 bedrooms each containing 2 beds and there was an office with a desk and hard sofa. There was no running water but there was electricity and a long drop toilet out back.

We were told we could stay here for 100 yuan ($A16) per night which was a joke and our 'host' knew it. We were not even sure we were allowed to be inside the compound but he insisted we were and suggested we could even check with the police just up the road to reassure ourselves.

Having been convinced it was OK to stay we started to haggle. We knew he would be pocketing the money himself but were happy with that notion provided the price was fair. We eventually settled on 40 yuan ($A6) and wheeled our bikes inside.

The rooms had bedding although just when it was last washed and how many people had used it since that time was impossible to tell - the colour and grime suggested it had been quite some while though. We picked out some of the cleaner looking quilts and pillows and used these to soften the beds while we lay our sleeping bags on tops (hoping not to encounter too many bed bugs).

After a dinner of instant noodles and tea which we cooked up outside we headed into our room to rest and read.

As we lay there in the late evening heat stripped to our underwear the man's wife appeared at our door having been sent by her husband to sweep the floor for us. Being Uighur and Islamic the site of 2 hairy, dirty and semi-naked men must have been something of a shock to the poor woman (or perhaps great amusement). A week later when we passed back through Oytag and again stopped for refreshments this same woman was sniggering and whispering with her friend as she looked at the 2 of us and we could only imagine what she was saying / implying.....