The Silk Route

In 14 DAYS

It Extends about 7000 miles

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It gets its name from traditional Chinese Silk traders

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AND THIS WAS MY TRAVEL ROUTE..

From here i started my journey !

SHANGHAI

Shanghai Urumqi Kashgar Karakul Lake

TashkurgunSostHunza ValleyGilgit

Rawalpindi Lahore U.A.E

Travelling Route

Total Travel time = 14 days

Shanghai

Dear Shanghai, You never seem to disappoint me whenever I come to visit you .

Cruising around in People square Shanghai downtown

Traditional Chinese dance performance at a Local Subway

Get set, all ready and off I leave

shanghai .. =)

Next stop Urumqi !A bone grilling 48 hours journey from Shanghai, of which all tickets were booked and i got a seating ticket =(But soon I gave up my seat for an old lady standing next to me.

Crawled up in 2 by 4 foot space on a long journey up north-west China. Cannot get any better than this =)

The Journey was filled with amazing scenery. Here the train passing by the YELLOW RIVER. True to its name !

Urumqi

Yes it was sunny even at 20:00 hours !

After a stay of one day in Urumqi I was scheduled to take train for Kashghar. Everything was on time I set off for train station an hour before.Arrived at the station but LATE.If it wasn’t for the heavy traffic I would be on my way.And next train is tomorrow. Oops !

Wondering what to do I took out my iphone and searched for a sight seeing destination. And this is the place I found. Thank God I missed that train !

Heavenly Lake

SHEER BEAUTY !!

It wasn’t allowed to swim here. But it was irresistible. I jumped the barbed wires for a dip and it

was heavenly to its core.

The next day I took train for Kashghar. A 30 hours travel.

Kashgar

Kashgar Sunday Market a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years.

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I left Kashgar after a day of stay and took a bus for Tashkurgun. On my way, I made a stop on a place called Lake Karakul.

It was real calm and

peaceful there. In the night it was pitch dark and the only thing visible were Moon and Stars.

Lake Karakul

The place of my stay at lake karakul

Mount Muztagh Ata

Simply Majestic

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Mt. Muztagh Ata is no# 43 on the list of highest mountains.

From Lake Karakul I had to hire a car for Tashkurgan county.

Tashkurgan

From Tashkurgan Karakorum highway connected China to Pakistan via Khujerab Pass.

I had to take a bus ride to reach Pakistani side of the town called Sost, a scenic 5 hours journey.

Khunjerab PassKarakorum Highway

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Due to the difficult conditions in which highway was constructed, it is also referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World.

Chinese Immigration Post after Khunjerab pass

Scenic landscape along the Karakorum Highway

Mighty Mountain .. Rakaposhi ? I guess

Now I reached the Pakistani side of town called Sost. Here I had to go

through immigration and customs.

From Sost town I took a van for further travel. But before I reach Hunza Valley I had

to cross a lake which took surprising 2 hours to reach the other side. The Lake was

called Attabad Lake.

Attabad Lake

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The Lake was created in January 2010 by a landslide and is up to 20 km long and 100 meters deep.

After I reached Hunza valley. I had to stay there for 2 nights due to landslide resulting in road blockage.

The stay was worth it.

The place of my stay at Hunza Valley

PICTURE PERFECT MOMENTS

PICTURE PERFECT MOMENTS…

PICTURE PERFECT MOMENTS…

Hunza

After the landslide was cleared I setoff for Gilgit and from there to Rawalpindi.

And On the way I found several minor landslides and flooding enroute

After an 18 hours ride I reached Rawalpindi from here I took a Skyways Bus to Lahore.

Pirwadhai Bus Station at RWP

It took 5 hours to reach Lahore. A city known for Mughal Era buildings and generous appetites =) .

From Lahore I booked my 3 hours flight to Ras-Al-Khaimah, UAE.

This marked an End to my journey to reach my Final destination My Home… Feels good to be back at AL HAMRA VILLAGE

HOME SWEET HOME

I have travelled 9000 km on train, buses, boat, motorbike, horseback, on foot, and a plane. Now i look back and wonder if i could do it all over again.... Hell Yeah !! — feeling awesome.