A Quick List of What We've Been Doing, By Jess and Em

A very weary "Hello" from Kyrgyzstan! We finally made it through China...again... to arrive in Kyrgyzstan 2 days ago. To celebrate Emily's birthday, we left China in a taxi, bound for the Kyrgyz border, with our new Aussie traveling companion, Jason. After crossing aforementioned border, we successfully hitched a ride with an incredibly friendly Chinese truck driver... but, to (briefly) fill you in on everything between Kathmandu and Kyrgyzstan, a list!

Kathmandu

1. Visited random locations around Kathmandu Valley
2. Learned that kiwis grow in cold, mountainous climates
3. Lost our wallet, including 1 copy of Jess's ATM card. Successfully canceled ATM card.
4. Em got stuck overnight due to an out-of-gas motorbike, resulting in much worry and separation anxiety on Jess's part since a) it was the first night we had spent apart and b) the cell phone died.
5. Jess got bitten by a street dog she was trying to pet in Kathmandu (yeah, yeah), resulting in 3 rabies shots at 3 different hospitals (2 in Kathmandu and 1 in Lhasa). Don't worry, she's still alive.
6. Em got her upper ear pierced!
7. Left for Tibet

Tibet

8. Met up with our tour group, a fabulous collection of people from all over the world (including France, Germany, Colombia, Spain, Israel, England, and of course Tibet).
9. Drove through the Himilayas for 4 to 5 days -- beautiful -- including a 5000M+ mountain pass. Did NOT get altitude sickness.


10. Did yoga every day!
11. Saw enough Buddha statues to last us the rest of our (and probably your) natural lives.

(Ok so he's not a buddha statue...but he was at one of the monastaries)

12. Ate a yak burge in Lhasa (delicious)!
13. Viewed Potala Palace at night (and day) -- they shine lights on it and play music from a large courtyard across the street with fountains and neon light shows. Lovely!


5 days of Trains through China...

14. Upon leaving Lhasa, we took a 2-day long train ride to Chengdu. It was the nicest train in China. We met the nicest Thai girl, Pan, on the train. She gave us the nicest Thai instant noodles and took us to spend the day the nicest hostel in China (where we got to shower for FREE. It was really our nicest Chinese experience.
15. The same day we arrived in Chengdu, we left on another 2-day long train ride to Urumqi. This one was NOT so nice, but was bearable.
16. The morning after we arrived in Urumqi, we left on a 33-hour long train ride for Kashgar (Kashi). We met Kurt from Belgium on this train, who brought us to The Old City Hostel upon our arrival. This being the evening prior to Emily's birthday, we celebrated with a few bottles of wine and many other travelers, a few of whom ALSO had birthdays in September. A party ensued, with at least 3 rounds of "Happy Birthday".
17. Next morning (Em's b-day, Sept 22nd), we got the shared taxi to the border with our new best friend Jason...

Kyrgyzstan

18. Got our passports checked 10 times on the Chinese side of the border, and 5 on the Kyrgyz side (note: the border is only 7km long).
19. While hitching rides from truck drivers, we were separated from Jason when our truck got a flat tire in a blizzard and we were stuck on the road for 3 hours while our driver changed it.
20. After a painstakingly slow truck ride (17 hours to cover 270km), arrived in Osh. Ran into Jason on the street while walking to our guesthouse. Happy reunion!
21. Spent a glorious day today not riding in ANY vehicles.

(Jess squishing a giant Lenin statue)

(View from the top of a very large rock we climbed)

That's it for now! We will elaborate on this list when we get a bit more time online, and will post those pictures we mentioned in the last blog post! WT's Jess and Em, signing off.