September 26th
94km (172m vertical)
Last night was chilly under perfectly clear skies. The constellations were bright and mesmerizing as I stared up from the desert. I even saw a shooting star.
After four long rides, we enjoyed a short, easy ride into our rest day. The desert scenery was nice, but similar to the past few days. Temperature was still ideal on the road.
Kuqa's outskirts are extremely impoverished neighborhoods, where dilapidated mud shacks line the busy main road. I would have taken more photos, but there were cars, donkey carts, and scooters all flying past us in every direction, so I didn't want to stop. In general, the Chinese seem to view traffic lanes and suggestions, and frequently drive on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic.
Arrived in Kuqa in time to visit the Friday market, which was the most crowded and frantic market we've seen yet. I bought myself a pair of ridiculous looking jogging pants to wear over my thermals on cold nights. (My thin sleeping bag is not up to the task...even with the extra-thick liner I bought.)
Had dinner next to the hotel. Mimed to the waitress that she could pick the dishes, and she served up a feast: big bowl of soup that they used to cook chicken, meat, noodles and veggies at our table. Tasty, but we stopped looking in the soup once we found a chicken foot.
View from my tent in the morning:
Kuqa market's smoky restaurant stalls:
The market was packed:
Locals inspecting the spices:
Local kebob vendor:
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