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I didn't need the alarm clock as I was woken this morning by the annoying and incessant chirp, chirp, chirp of the bird nesting in the wall of our room. The very same bird that was supposed to have been removed yesterday. Seriously, if the noise that creature was making is a mating call then the poor b*****d is gonna be a bachelor for life! Thhttp://www.offexploring.com/journal/edit/edit_postcard.phpat is, of course, if I don't ring its bloody neck first. The sound really was more aggravating than Japanese water torture and if I listened to it any more I was going to tear down the room, find it and create my own bird's nest soup, complete with bird. I can feel that knot in my stomach even now as I type this entry, with the continuous 'warbling' serenading me in the background. I felt the need for another room change and it was only 5 am! The noise continued for over two hours but we got a few minutes respite when we went down for breakfast. We returned from breakfast instantly, not finding the food on offer to our taste and finding it difficult to adjust to the noises of appreciation coming from our fellow diners.
We explained our problems to the guide when we met him at 0700 in reception and told him we wanted to move out when we got back from our day trip to Karakul Lake. The lake is approximately 250km from Kashgar along the Karakoram Highway; the Karakoram Highway is the 4800 mile gateway to Pakistan that runs all the way from Kashgar to Islamabad. We got constant mobile updates from Wahap about the state of play with the room and we suspected he was reluctant for us to move us as the manager of the Saman Hotel would likely get into trouble from the Ministry of Tourism. 'They promise to resolve the bird issue, will give you free water and free fruit if you stay' negotiates Wahap'. We declined as the reason for us wanting to move was all about cleanliness and had nothing to do with freebies. Twenty minutes later he got another call in which the anti was upped. 'Free water, free fruit and they'll clean your laundry free of charge' he reported. Still we don't budge.
We stopped some two hours later at Ghez river gorge to take some pictures of the stunning red sandstone cliffs, passed a check point a little later and continued towards the lake. 'They've sorted the bird problem, will give you free fruit, water and laundry and will move you to the Presidential Suite' came Wahap's very tempting offer. We do consider staying put now (in the hotel that is) but not because of the enticements but because we genuinely feared the manager, Wahap and his agency would get into trouble as a result of our dissatisfaction. I decided to be open with Wahap and talked to him about reputation and the Chinese cultural need for saving face but was reassured when he confirmed that only the hotel manager would be in hot water. We resolved to stick to our guns and move hotel, try and ignore the situation and just enjoy our day at the lake.
On the way to the lake we approached a magnificent looking rock formation. It's another one of those majestic watercolours that had been painted directly onto the skyline but even as we got closer the brush strokes of colour merged and blended perfectly, the artist knowing exactly the right combination of water and paint to create his master canvass. We watched transfixed as we got closer as we just couldn't believe how mesmerizingly beautiful the sight was; we could have stopped here forever just looking. We were amazed to discover that we were viewing not rock but sand dunes and had reached the gorgeous scenic spot known as Sandy Lake. We got out, of course, and were immediately hounded by nomads trying to sell us 'rock eggs', amber with all sorts of creatures frozen forever in the solidified resin, trinkets and hats. They smell, the locals not the trinkets!
We arrived at Karakul Lake (Black Lake) around 1100 so while lunch was being prepared I went for a long awaited wee break. The doors to the very pleasant toilet block were chained shut and I was directed to some brick structures out back, one signed 'men' in red painted writing and other stated 'women'. I entered, made a right turn and found 5 or so planks of wood stretched across the open toilet. I went to the far end as it was more private and pee on the highest pound of poo in the pit.It seemed everyone would rather endure the smell than have everyone walk past them if they squatted closest to the 'doorway'. I admired the view of the mountains whilst seeing to business, took some picture for prosperity and headed to the restaurant for lunch.On the way out I stopped to watch some donkeys eating the kitchen scraps, what little there was, which is perhaps why they took a great liking instead to the food cardboard boxes!
A wonderful plate of vegetables with rice arrived for lunch and we tucked in, happy that Wahap was switched on and that Maria could eat at last. We started getting full when another dish arrived. Then another. Then another. We were nearly done when the soup arrived! Okay, so we may have been sat at a table for 10 but there's no way on earth we could eat that much but enjoyed the challenge of trying nonetheless. We met a couple of old gentlemen who have been travelling together for years and had a great chat. One is English and the other is from Puerto Rico and they looked pretty cold having been out for walk around the lake. They told us their hotel had no hot water in the morning so perhaps all hotels in Kashgar need a little more TLC?
We had an hour to walk the boardwalks constructed around the lake and to view the mountains but didn't need that long as it was indeed chilly and we weren't really dressed for the occasion so we headed back after about 40 minutes.The drive to the lake was magnificent and we caught a glimpse of the massive snow covered mounts Kongur (7719m) and Muztagh Ata (7546). We were looking forward to getting a bird's eye view of Mt Kongur as its base rises from the side of the lake but the cloud had come in and the view was obscured so we decided to cut the walk short so we could get home earlier. Well we did have to check out after all and besides, it was cold out here at 3100m despite the fleeces, hats and gloves.
We had a great chat with Wahap on the way back and it turns out that he's an adventure travel guide who leads regular trekking tours to K2 and the other 6500m plus mountains in the region. We chatted business, swapped contact details and agreed to stay in touch to see what develops as he had a few ideas about what tourists can do in the province.
When we got back to Kashgar we decided to take a look at our new hotel as we didn't want to check-out, lug our gear across town and find out that we had moved from the frying pan and into the fire. The lobby bade well for what was to come on the 6th floor and when we entered the room we are immediately impressed. It was clean and there were no visible signs of wildlife so, minds made up, we drove to the Saman to haul ass outta there.
When we debussed we told Sherpadin to keep the engine running in case we needed to make a quick getaway. We took the room key from reception and climbed the stairs to the third floor room, accompanied by the manageress who was waiting for us in the lobby. We entered the room to find 2 bottles of water, 2 plates of apples, a plate of bananas, a hand scrubbed carpet, better quality toiletries in the bathroom and...no laundry. When we left this morning we'd placed some dirty washing on a chair but held back from giving it to housekeeping until we knew if we'd be staying there or not. Clearly we weren't and now we needed our clothes so we could move out but housekeeping had taken it away to be cleaned. Fortunately it was dry but just needed collecting from downstairs. We packed quickly, despite the strong encouragement from the manageress to stay, 'No problem, no problem' she kept telling us and, whilst we believed her, it was just a little too late. They'd more than impressed us with their ability to provide the quality that should be done as a matter of course but having seen the quality elsewhere there was no way we were staying put. Rucksacks on our backs we started to walk downstairs when the manageress grabbed Maria by the arm, 'Come and see the Presidential Suite' she beamed, 'second floor, second floor'.
While I craftily continued taking the big bags to the car, Maria got hauled to see the VIP room. Again, they'd made an outstanding effort to impress but, truth be told, Maria hated the place from the moment we checked in and just wanted to move on. We sat down in the lobby waiting for them to bring the laundry and when it arrived we sat there checking it off, then noticed that every maid in their pink floral uniforms, complete with bell-boy type hat and beaming smile, was in the lobby. They all followed us as we exited the hotel then followed us to the car. Our parting memory was of us checking out of the hotel, because the standard was rubbish, and having a royal send off from the manager and all her staff, who were smiling, saying good bye and waving us off??
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