Silk Road - Xinjiang Karamay, Phantom or Nature Calling!

After Urumqi, we supposed to go Yili then head east.  But while we were taking the 26hrs bus from Kaxgar to Urumqi, we were asked by a local where were we heading.  After some talks, she told us about Lake Kanas up north to the Russian border near the Black Mountain in the Altai mountain ranges. I had read about the Monster of Lake Kanas.  Thus, this information absorbed and changed our plan. We headed north. However, Lake Kanas is not so soon yet, it is around 18hrs bus to Burqin, then another 3-4hrs to Lake Kanas. 

The route to Burqin pass by a place called Karamay (pronouce propery as Kara-mayi).  Karamay is extremely famous, 1st for its reserve of petroleum.  It is the largest petroleum in the whole China, making it the 3rd most expensive to live in after Shanghai and Shenzen. Along the way, we could see automated oil driller - due to the heat in the desert, it is almost not possible to work under the sun.  Thus, most of the drillings are automated small capacity drillers.

But we were not there for petroleum.  We were there for a place they called Phantom Territory. Real phantoms? :-), if you closed your eyes and just listen, it sounds exactly like phantom whispering. Let me show you.

This plateau, in the middle of the desert, is after years of wind erosion.  As the wind levels the terrain which is soft sand, different wind direction and speed produced different size of dunes with different height and width.  When the wind continues to blow, the gap and the level of each dune serves like a gradient, thus, produces a sound as you closed your eyes it sounds like phantom whispering! The stronger the speed, the sound becomes more intense. However, when you open your eyes, you will feel that nature is wonderful and has its own way of shaping everything on earth.

It was extremely hard to capture the scene, as the area is wide spread and require a far distance walking backward making the view extremely small.

When you travel in a desert, don't expect there is a toilet in the middle of no where.  Thus, when the bus driver feels like going, he will stop the bus, turn to the back and say - under the sky, if you want to go singing, boys to the left, gals to the right, bring your umbrella if you have one! :-)

Traveling in the middle of the desert, could lead you to anything you never think of.

Endless flat terrain, the journey took 18 hours to Burqin.

I am not sure why I always have this feeling about desert, like love at first sight. The sand, the wind, the driness, everything makes all other things so impossible.  But, yet possible.  Chinese has a saying - 浩浩黄沙. Traveling in the desert, worst is the dust, skin dry up in a very short period of time making aging much faster.  But, I always like to visit desert.  I found for years to come, it becomes my favourite place to visit.