Debbi Fudge takes the China Orient Express on a grand Silk Road adventure

By Debbi Fudge

LW contributor

Itinerary: Urumqi—Fuyun—Hemu —Bujin—Yining—Kola— Kuqa—Kashgar—Tashkurgan —Turpan —Urumqi

My China Orient Express Silk Road adventure started way over in the northwest area of China—Urumqi (“oo room CHEE”). The flight was from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, China, to Urumqi.

Our arrival night hotel (Urumqi Wanda Visa Hotel) featured elegant rooms. Ours encompassed 430 square feet with the bathroom having two entrances. Wow!

Prior to boarding the China Orient Express late the second afternoon, we ventured that morning east to Heavenly Lake. The Chinese National Tourism Administration classifies this lake as a Highest Level Scenic Area.

That afternoon in Urumqi we ventured to the Xingjiang International Big Bazaar which opened in 2003. This bazaar publicizes itself as the largest bazaar in the world by scale, combining Islamic culture, architecture, ethnic commence, tourism and entertainment, an open mosque plus a food court. The huge volume of people in the bazaar shocked me. China Orient Express Train

On board, there were three tour groups. The rooms similarly sized to many ocean cruise ship inside rooms, meaning small. Each train car had a car attendant.

Using two dining cars, the eating times for all meals rotated in 45 minute intervals starting at 8 a.m., 11:45 and 5:45 p.m.

The Bar Car was open all hours while we were on board and featured karaoke, movies, dancing, cards and board games, speciality food and drinks.

The train employees did not speak English, but were such kind people.

Food

The food throughout this Silk Road Adventure, starting with dinner the night we boarded the Express, along with all of our other meals both on and off the train,were exceedingly varied— so very delicious and with such abundance the serving platters were frequently arranged two high. Yes, I gained weight! On the train, however, getting coffee in the mornings before breakfast surprised me. I had to walk to the Bar Car, which was the last car on the train, and pay the equivalent $4.10 for each cup!

A Few Selected Highlights

• Yinling Kazanqi Folk-custom Village: what color!

• Bazhou Museum, where the ancient heritage of Xinjiang Province has been well preserved and documented.

• Tianshan Grand Canyon: Vertical and horizontal mountains and ravines. If there existed a Miss Universe of Mountains contest, this landscape would surely be a finalist.

• Pamir Mountains: Spans the borders of four countries and are among the world’s highest mountains. Our hotel room that night contained an oxygen cylinder for high altitude sickness. When outside, the ferocious freezing wind practically ripped off our clothes.

• Jaiohe, Turpan, Ancient City: It’s history began 2,300 years ago, yet the buildings are almost pristine. In addition, a modern boardwalk infrastructure exists, enabling tourists to get close to many of the ancient buildings. What Surprised Me The Most

• The majority of the tourist site signs were also in English, even though during this trip I did not hear any English spoken other than among my small tour group.

• The tourist sites’ modern boardwalk infrastructures.

• In six museums we toured, not only were there vast numbers of artifacts, but also there were English identifications as to what, where and when.

• How traveling at night on the train enabled us to travel vast distances.

At tourist sites, signs are also in English.

Fudge's fi rst two-hump camel ride in touring 107 countries.