Entry 13

So I’m almost home. I’m about 20 Miles from home. It's been some 2 years. This is my last pit stop. I really miss my family. I know that I didn’t sell much on the journey that I took on the Silk Road, but hey. It was quite an experience. This has really taught me a lot. About who I am as a person, about how people are. I just think that I learned a lot from this. I want to document all that I have learned. I don’t know how I’m going to do that. But I’m going to find a way. I will find a way to enlighten a lot of people about the time I spent and the wonders of the silk road. There’s a lot that I’ve learned on the Silk Road. My plans to get rich quick didn’t exactly work out as planned but I did sell some weapons. It didn’t work out as I had hoped but I’m okay with that. I had fun. I had a pretty good time. With my friends, with the people I caravan pooled with. With Austin, with all of the people that I met on the silk road. I might just get a new job. Something involving people. Idk. I’ll still be the Idea guy for the weapon making for the Persians. But I’ll have another job.




Farewell, Simi Socks.

Entry 12

Kokand, which is an industrial, cultural, and transportation hub, and a land of popular poets, writers, scholars, art and culture. When I had started on Kokand I hadn’t really heard a lot about it. We’re just going to pass through it. I really miss Alicia. We’re At Semarkand now. It was founded around some 400-500 years ago by the Sogdians, as I’ve heard. It was under the rule of the Persian Empire. It’s still under the rule of the Persian empire so, it’s kind of home. Home away from home. It’s home country. It’s close to home, so this is going to be one of my last journal entries. Samarkand features a semi-arid climate with hot, dry summers and relatively wet, cool winters. July and August are the hottest months of the. Most of the sparse precipitation is received from December through April. I can’t wait to See Alicia and my kids. They’re all that I can think about. I cant’t even concentrate. All I want to do Is get back home. Yeah Yeah Yeah! It may sound a little childish that I’m homesick but I just miss it. A lot and I just want to get home and back to my wife and kids. On my way home. This is going to take a little while because I’m skipping the last city of Merv. Everyone else is going on forward. I’m just going to separate from the pack.

Entry 11

Ferghana Valley is located in the eastern part of Uzbekistan. And right now it’s a Kushan property kingdom territory. It is the most densely populated region of Uzbekistan. That’s one think that I dislike a lot about this place. It’s so very crowded. You don’t understand what I mean by crowded. Like it is CROWDED. The mild climate of the Ferghana Valley allows a growing season of 240 days per year. I would love to visit here. I would love to live here. This place is wonderful. The primary emphasis on the production of cotton, silk and other agricultural crops The Ferghana Valley is divided into five regions: Ferghana, Andijan, Namangan, Khojand and Osh. The Ferghana Valley is rich in a number of natural resources, including gold, oil, copper and other raw materials. The mountains are home to birds of prey, as well as bears, foxes, wolves, jackals, porcupines, badgers and red groundhogs. Those are the several animals. The valley's richness includes its millennia-old history and the traditions of its master craftsmen in silk, ceramics, woodcarving and a bounty of other ancient arts of humanity. Ferghana is really nice I enjoyed the trip. There’s one last stop before I’m back home. Let’s go to Samarkand.

Entry 10

Man I miss my wife Alicia. It’s been forever. A few months. I can’t wait to see her. I haven’t even really sold anything much. I’ve traded a lot. I’ve made little profit, but I’ve still mad profit. The largest city in Western China and possibly the largest in Central Asia, with some excellent scenery in nearby Heavenly o Lake and South Pasture. Nomadic, tribal shepherds and ranchers of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses. Now a lot of the 1.5 million Kazakhs who live in Xinjiang work in the city. Kazakh way of life, and dine and stay in a yurt relatively cheaply not far from Urumqi. Summary It is a large natural area and pasture region with many streams and a waterfall on Nan Shan in the Kelawucheng Mountain range. These I heard were the most wonderful places to see. I heard that seeing them would be a necessity of being a part of the team.

Entry 9

The Turpan Depression, I got to hang out in. Hahahaha, yeah, it’s not really that small, actually. It’s HUGE! The valley, or depression is also some 150 meters below sea level. Aydingkol Lake is where I visited first, and then I went to “Fiery Mountain”. Turpan is not only special 117ºF, while on the surface of the sand dunes, it may well be 180℉. The average annual rainfall is little more than ten millimeters. That’s too far. That’s just crazy. Someone I met there was telling me. “Find a local Uighur guide to take you out into the desert. If you can spend the night out there, do it. It's amazing... I was out for a few nights during the full moon and still dream of those haunting landscapes and amazing starry skies.” So I haven’t really organized that. Even though the climate isn’t so nice, the other side of the Mountain produces famous seedless white grapes. There are red and black grapes in the fall. Peaches, apricots, apples, pomegranates, pears, and various types of melon are also grown here.. The best thing I heard about Turpan was that their wine is to die for. I tried it and there are no exaggerations there. The wine is priceless. I’m tired so, I’ll just go rest. Next stop Urumqi.

Entry 8

It was hard but we got through the silk road. We lost one of our members, Mike Jones. He didn't stay on the road. We had made a short pit stop so everyone could take a bathroom break one time and he got caught in some quick sand. He roamed to far of the road. At least that's the theory. We honestly don't know. There was no sign of him whatsoever. Everything, his canteen, his hat, him; they just all disappeared. It is the main point of ancient Silk Road. It is a pearl on the wonderful, astounding Silk Road... This place feels, looks like and even smells dramatically different from the rest of China. This is no great surprise really, considering that ninety percent of the population is practicing Muslims and Uigur bazaars. Tea houses and faces dominate the streets. What’s more, this is the only city in Central Asia where the women choose to veil their faces. The old streets, restaurants and markets here are great for exploring. Xinjiang food has much more of a Central Asian flavor to it than a Chinese taste. Kucha is one of the best cities in the region to sample authentic Xinjiang cuisine and there are literally thousands of tiny Uigur restaurants dotted about the place serving up local specialties. One of the most gourmet dishes of Uigur cuisine is whole roast lamb, a rare treat only found at Uigur celebrations and special occasions. Unfortunately I didn’t have any of it. Kucha has a temperate continental climate, with large periods of sunshine and little rainfall. With a short warm winter and a long cool summer, temperatures in the city are pleasant most of the year. The four seasons in Kucha are very clear. I like it here. It’s really nice. I hear it gets really arid though. The next city I’m off to is Turfan or Turpan. We're always going to remember Mike Jones. 

Entry 7

Dunhuang is the handoff point from the Chinese to the Central Asians. Fear of the perilous open desert inspired merchants and pilgrims to construct cave shrines to ensure safe passage or as thanks for a successful journey. If I see any of those caves I’m taking it. Any of it, all of it, I’ll take it. . A trove of brilliant Buddhist murals, manuscripts, and statuary others are there. The city of Dunhuang is an oasis. This means it has really fertile land. The people here are so good at taking care of people that come in and out. As more and more immigrants from the central plains settled here, Dunhuang gradually became a prosperous agricultural base as well as the key military installation on the Han's border frontier. For the next several centuries, Dunhuang served as one of China's most important military, political and economic centers .The Silk Road is forked near here, skirting the horrible and treacherous Taklimakan Desert and it is forcing caravans to choose between the northern and southern routes. Fear of the perilous open desert inspired merchants and pilgrims to construct cave shrines to ensure safe passage. We’re going to take the Southern route; we are taking a left at the fork. Next I’ll be on my way to Kucha. I can’t wait. It's going to be tough getting through this desert though. We have protection from storms but we'll need to haul it through and get through the desert as fast as possible. Allright.