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4 hour car ride to come.

1 hour at the lake which includes picnic lunch and way too many pictures of us doing stupid things and we are back on the road (in the car not on that camel) for the 4 hours drive back at 60 km/hour and going through the 3 passport checkpoints.

But this was so worth it. Just the drive along the road. Taking all in on where we were actually on the map plus this lake is just about nature. The Heavenly Lake near Urumqi felt more like a tourist destination (the way Chinese like to arrange tourist destination)

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2U14HtB

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When you have a willing assistant… the sky is the limit 😜

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2VxyqMk

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We continue our series: Let’s take a picture of our back whil we admire the beautiful scenery 😉

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2G4q8pM

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We didn’t rough it up that much but I love this motocycle on the side of the road near the dam when we made a quick stop.

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2IoHy27

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We stopped to get some food for lunch as there will be nothing available near the lake.

Yep no Starbucks 😂

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2WSyAy2

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On our first day we took a “small” road trip to Karakul Lake.

200+ kms from Kashgar, it takes 4 hours to reach mostly due to the speed limit of 60km/h (used to be 40km/h!) plus the many police checkpoints.

The Karakoram Highway/China National Highway 314 or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway is a 1,300-kilometre (810 miles) highway that connects the Pakistani provinces of Punjab with China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

It is one of the highest paved roads in the world, passing through the Karakoram mountain range at 4,714 metres (15,466 ft).

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2D35YKT

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We landed in Kashgar and will be staying 3 days.

Kashgar is the largest oasis in the world. It’s 800km from North to South and 400km from East to West and it’s also the second highest plateau in the world. 98% of the population is Uighur. It’s one of the westernmost cities of China, ear the border of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. Kashgar has served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East and Europe for over 2,000 years

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2VusfZ8

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On the road again… well on the air again.

Going even more west.

Bye bye Urumqi. Hello Kashgar

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/2uSg6lf