TRIP TO NAN SHAN

Oh, this is a special story. I nearly killed myself in a mad quarry-type ravine last Thursday. Lesson from the day is: do not go on day trips with the crazy Irish people who own bars.

In a nutshell, Nan Shan (the Southern Mountains) are considered Urumqi's lesser mountains. With the Alpine range on the other side of the city (Tian Shan - the Heavenly mountains), Nan Shan is perceived as a bit of a stroll-through-the-fields-day-trip.

Hardly.

These are some serious hard-core mountains. They just aren't 5000m tall like the Heavenly Mountains.

On Thursday we set out to have what I reckoned would be akin to a nice day in the park, wearing off the hangover. I ended up scaling sheer ravines, and undoubtedly putting my life at GREAT risk. (Parents, so not fret, it ended well, and I now know how to scale down a ridiculously steep mountainside to safety - when stuck on a ravine, you learn very quickly).

In sum - sat for two hours in shock after escapade, but I now have a rather useful new life skill. Also I'm unlikely to willingly follow Irish people on "mountain strolls" ever again.

(and the Nan Shan are spectacular)