China 2019 – Once Again
An inauspicious start. Short form, I missed my flight. Did I not get modern technology quite right, or do I need to slow down.
Thought I had scheduled a car pick up (Bless them, Uber) at 4:30 but no one came so scrambled and finally got a car at 5 AM. Still time to get to the 6:24 flight, but alas, really damn, a major accident on 93 delayed me further. At the airport check-in; less than one hour to departure they do not accept luggage. Redirected to a later flight through LA and a connection on Saturday. One day delay. More on the implications of this redirect later.
Luoyang
Luoyang and Longmen Grottoes Longmen Grotto in Luoyang is one of the four major Grottoes in China.We have visited two already, Mogao in Dunhuang and Maiji Shan near Tianshui. Unfortunately, on this trip we will miss Yungang Grottoes in Datong. Which gives us an excuse to visit again.
From Turfan to Dunhuang
On to Dunhuang. As usual for us we are leaving the TuHa Petroleum Hotel in Turfan early to catch the train to Dunhuang. Even though we planned to leave at 9 AM for a 1040 train, leaving over an hour to get through security, we still had breakfast and caught a taxi at 8:50 and arrived at the station at 9:15. As before, the line for security to gain access to the station was long and noisy. In this case, more westerners that locals.
Silk Road - Starting Out
Seven days until we leave for China’s part of the Silk Road. Quite an itinerary. “Thirty Caves in Thirty Days.” Actually 10 cities in 22 days and 9 cave sites with hundreds of caves at each site. Start from the far west, Urumqi, we’ll trek eastward to Luoyang. Plane, train, boat, car and camel plus some hiking and maybe a donkey. The big stuff is set. Hotels, trains, and planes are reserved. On site details will depend on conditions. We’ll be flexible.