On the final day we're bused into the busy frontier town of Kashgar, for a 10km run through the old city.   The starting point for the day is an old Islamic tomb.

As I stood on the starting line its with mixed emotions.  On one hand its the final day of an amazing 250km journey and on the other I'm already starting to feel that I'll miss the incredible daily challenge of 40km across ever changing landscapes.   The landscape of the frantic pace of Hong Kong will have to do for a while again.

The run took us through old villages and narrow streets of Kashgar.   Most of the buildings made from the familiar "mud" bricks that we've seen over the past week.   Apparently more than 200 policemen were stationed along the route to help stop traffic, guide our way and ensure that we didn't get too lost.   As my ankles were still swollen, I embarked on a slow jog.

The streets were lined with local families and their children urging us on.  Many of the children waived the all too familiar pink flags that helped marked the way of the course.   The children probably picked up the flags off the course, so on a few occasions one had to stop at corners to see which way the course went.

Many of the streets wound around very narrow passage ways, into the very old section of Kashgar town with the buildings crumbling from centuries of extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter.  I can only imagine how the traders along the Silk Road from Europe across the mountains of Pakistan to Kashgar and China beyond, would welcome the site of the city of Kashgar as a major trading hub.

I passed streets with vendors hand making knives, and then others who were making brass / copper cooking pots with the familiar "clang clang" of the hammer pounding the metals into shape.

Finally coming to the end of the 10km, the race ended at a Muslim Mosque in the centre of Kasghar.   The familiar beat of the finish line drums beat, as each competitor made their way across the final banner - Gobi Desert 2009 Finish Line!    It was very emotional to cross the finish line.   Cold buckets of soda and trays of pizza awaited us at the finish line.  

Later that afternoon a bunch of us (Pete, Todd, Nico, Wes, Norma, Richard, Geoff, May, and others) celebrated with an early dinner at Nurna (a local restaurant) with platters of lamb and other local specialities.  All of this washed down with buckets of cherry juice and tea, as most local restaurants don't serve alcohol.   Not a morsel of food was left on the table.

Racing The Planet then held a large banquet for us in the main square of Kashgar under the watchful gaze of Chairman Mao (apparently the second largest statue of Mao).   Prizes and Awards were given out to the top finishers, while the rest of us enjoyed several bottles of ice cold beer!!

It has been an amazing week.   I've met so many people, traversed awesome landscapes and have a much better appreciation for this part of the world.

A very BIG thank you to everyone for their support, the many emails and blog comments and the donations.  

Together we've raised over $25,000 USD for two charities in Cambodia focused on the needs of Children.

Would I do it again?  ABSOLUTELY!    Next year there is the Atacama 250km in Chile as well as a 250km across the desert of Western Australia.   One of them might be in my plans for 2010.

Lots of love,  Neal

Its Friday morning and the 80km day is complete.   I arrived after spending just under 15 hours on the trail arriving just before midnight Thursday in the dark.   I'll get back to the 80km in a few sentences.
 
This morning I woke up surrounded by one of the most amazing landscapes.   Like a mirage in the desert.   Our camp site is surrouned by a dozen very lush old trees (resembling olive trees), with green grass.  In the distance himalayian sized mountains that are the border of Pakistan and another country that ends in a "stan" - which could be one of six that surround this provence in China (I think its Krgystan).   Its very emotional being here and reading all of the fabulous emails and blog responses.
Lots of sniffles going around the open tent here.
 
The last competitor Ming (our Malaysia tent mate) just arrived at the tent having spent 28hrs on the trail, having survived an asthma attack in the desert and being taken back to a medic tent on a camel.  Way to go Ming!
  
Now back to yeterday.  We rose at 5:45am on a very cold morning.   There was a big camp fire which everyone huddled around to keep warm.  The buses then took us on a 2 hr journey, through the mountains to the start of Day 5 (80km).  We passed through some amazing valleys, snow capped mountains and some very steep roads.   As the five buses with competitors arrived the sun was still warming the valley, but it felt good to get out stretch the legs.
 
The race started and we had a long run up a rocky river valley (boy...after this trip Im looking forward to not seeing any cobble stoned river valleys for a LONG time), and then up a desert road up the mountains.   Peter, Todd and I kicked off this stage with a steady fast DB golf course road walk.    One could really feel the altitude on the lungs, but the fresh air felt great.   After arriving to CP1, we had several steep climbs up a canyon wall and then runs along narrow ridges until we descended back into a very wide, rocky mountain run off.   I felt a surge of adreline and opened a stride running down the river enjoying running along the river bed and rocks.   I passed around 15 people on the way down the valley.   Then we the course traversed a rocky hill side with lots of small undulations arriving at CP2 - feeling "fantastic"    I was running alone by this stage as Peter and Todd had continued their power walk.     From CP2 to CP3, let up a steep mountain side for another 12km.   This morning my legs seemed like they didn't want to stop, so the stage passed quickly for me in 1 1/1 hrs.   I passed several village of small mud brick houses, as well as lots of PLA military how are stationed on the mountainous border.    I arrived at CP4 (the highest point of the course) which was just over 40km, so half way there in just over 6hrs and in 23rd position.    Feeling good and feeling that I could be on a 11hr overall time for the day and finish in the 20s.   Until things started falling apart.
 
Crossing a very rocky pasture, I slipped on several rocks with my right ankle slipping over again.    We then pushed up a steep hill and ran down a ridge onto a valley road.   It was here that I looked down at my ankel and noticed that it was 2 - 3 times the size of my left ankle, with some piercing pain.    As the rocky road was downhill, I tried to jog - but the discomfort was too large.   I took a voltaran pill and slowed down to a walk (more like a hobble).   The next 40km of a slow walk took my 9hrs.   It was frustrating  to see other runners or even faster walkers, quickly pass me and fade into the distance.
 
At the next CP5, I asked the medic what he would recommend.   He didn't think icing and bandaging my ankel would help much, and given that my ankel seemed to be spilling out of my shoe - I decided not to take off my shoes and to continue to prod on with the goal of finishing regardless of the pain.   Kim - I was thinkin of you as I kept walking, as to what you would have recommended me to to.  I was fearful that once I took off my shoes that I wont be able to put them back on.
 
So off I stumbled through a series of rocky hill sides, a very long river valley passing CP6, with a final 17km to go.    The next 11km seemed to last forever.   I stopped several times to take pictures of some herds of wild camels, as well as amazing landscapes as the sun slowly started to set.  As the sun went down, it became harder to see the small pink flags that marked the way.   Finally coming to the middle of the valley, crossing a bridge full of local police and onto yet another long desert road that faded in the distance.   I arrived at CP7 in the dark with another 7km to the finish of the day.   By now they had put some  glow sticks next to the flags to make it easier to follow the course.    In the distance I could hear the welcome noise of the "drum" which welcomed competitors into camp - which meant that I was very close.    The last 1km of the course was along a goat track - which was painful with my ankle but nothing could stop me from making the last stretch.
 
I could finally see the lights.  I ate my last Glu Chomp gummy, read a note from Luc that was in the bag (thanks Luc!)  and hobbled faster to the finish line, coming in just before mid-night on Thursday evening, finishing in 50th spot, having spent 14 hrs and 50 odd minutes on the trail.
 
Collapsing into a chair, I was happy to see Nico come in right behind me at 51 having had a good day.   The stars were out in full, which was an amazing site.
 
Hobbling to the medic tent, I showed them my ankle and with comment of "whew that looks painfull" they recommended that I take another voltaran pill, and keep my leg raised to reduce the swelling.  No ice pack, no tapping.
 
So just after mid-night I collapsed into my tent (Peter, Nico, Geoff).  Todd arrived shortly later and I recall that he asked me how I was doing, but I think I was already sleeping (or snoring by then).   Wes came in this morning completing the trio from the GSB.
 
So that was my day.   Disappointed that I didn't finish better,  happy that I did finish, happy that I can still walk, very happy to have completed this day with so many amazing people and already planning on when to do another 250km race (Atacama, Chile or Sahara, Egypt)!     Perhaps a few family holidays first, and a long weekend with Kim somewhere amazing.
 
Tomorrow we have a final 12km which will complete the 250km race.    For the rest of today we've wached more people come across the finish line, and are able to relax in this camp shadowed by amazing mountains.
 
Lots of all and again thank you for everyones support.
 
Neal

First some leasons so far:
    #1) It gets COLD at 8,000 ft in the mountains of Kashar (bring a warm jumper and a warmer sleeping             bag)
        *Being the cold blooded winter person that I am, together with a forecast of lows of 19c, I brought             what must be a summer sleeping bag (ideal temp they say is 24c) and left my jumpers in the Kashi         hotel
 
So last night I wore everything that I have in my backpack to stay warm - including my gloves (which we thought was foolish to bring on the trip).   I then took out my emergency "space blanket" which is like a big piece of alumninum fool and wrapped that around my sleeping back.   So when I woke up this morning, I looked like a big burritto!    Last nights temperature was below 10c.  Brrr.....
 
    #2) Bring more medical tape then you think you will ever need.   
        *Medical tape seems to go very quickly when one is tapping up feet every day.
 
    #3) Bring more special savory snacks for the end of the day.
        *I ate the last crumbs of my salt & vinegar chips today and then proceeded to lick the zip lock bag.
 
Back to this morning.   Woke up feeling "so so" - but managed to get my toes and blisters banaged up, have some breakfast before the 9am start.   
 
The race went straight up the mountain up to an amazing natural wonder called Heavens Gate, at just under 11,000 ft.    It was a brilliant run up a road, which then narrowed into canyon, and we then had to climb through very thin crevases up 8 wooden ladders, then up some more boulders to the top.   I'm sure the folks from racing the planet are putting some cool photos on the web site.   Running down from the top, my ankle collapsed a few times, but doesn't feel strained.
 
Pete and I started strong and were part of a group of two dozen up to the top, our goal was not to get stuck on the ladders as runners going down had right of way.  
 
After CP1 - we hit started a run across deep sandy and rocky valleys,  So rather than running down into the valley far below we were traversing these vallyes, so there was a lot of up and down, steeps climbs and comb like ridges that we ran along.   The scenary has been absolutely amazing.  Each day we have a new landscape.   This is where Peter keep up the strong start and powered ahead of me - so we'll need to pass the "Mountain Goat" title to him.
 
The next 20km were really slow and tough for me.   My ankle was playing up, and my left hip also had some pain.  So trying to power walk through the hills, and then we came across another 10km of river beds that led us back down from the moutains.    From CP1 to CP3, ran / walked past lots of herbs of goats, the odd farmer and his family in a tent with big smiles on the children.
 
Seeing the flags for CP3 was a big boost, and I ran the final 1km to the checkpoint.   Quick replenishment of water, more sun screen and I had a boost of energy and confidence for the final 13km of the day.
 
I caught up to Todd, after passing through a river with very cold water - which felt great - but I'm sure that my soar feet would regret as that would mean more blisters.   The final 13km seemed like 20km!!  It just never ended.   The course ran through some streets in a small village, then through fields, dry rocky landscapes, fields of green flowers and then finally the red banner and white flags of the finish line were visible.  So a quick sprint actually more like a hobble across the line and glad to call the day over.
 
Finished the 42km day in 7hrs 53m, and came in 36 spot overall for the day.   Peter "the goat" was already resting in the tent when we arrived.  The camradie in camp is great.    As the fasted runners finish in 4hrs and the slowest often in 12hrs - during the afternoon as more runners across the finish line, every one greets them at the finish with a big clap and a big congrats for finishing a tough day.  Camp today is in a beautiful green valley, surrounded by majestic hills & mountains.   Lots of cows in the pasture.   Hmmm  steak.   In fact last night we were thinkin that a local farmer wont miss a sheep and we could make a leg of lamp. 
 
Blister update:  LOTS.   Both of my heels now have large blisters - in fact larger than I have ever seen.   But I am getting good at puncturing them.   Need to go to the med tent to see if I can get some tape to help.
Toe update:  more toes are turning blue.  I guess I'm still inclined to kick the rocks rather than run over them.   More practice needed.
Food update:  lots of talk in the camp of what meals we'd like to have when we get home.
Washing update:  NONE.  We are all dirty and smellier than ever.    Wes and I will have to flip a coin to see who gets first dibs in the bathroom when we get back to Kasghar on Saturday night.
Beer update:  NONE.  Which is good, as I think if I smelled a beer at this stage that I'd be drunk.
Interesting fact:  China only has one time zone, even though it is the size of Australia or the USA.   They apparently did this to ensure that its "one china".  What this means to us outside of Kasghar, is that at 7am - its still dark and cold and the sun only just coming up.   Second interesting fact is that there are very few Han Chinese in this part of China.  The locals are much more european in apparance.
 
Now tomorrow (day 5) is our "long day" of 80km.   To get the morning kicked off, we have to get up around 5:30am to pack, eat, bandage up blisters and then get on a bus for 2hrs to the start of the race.   This really sucks - but its just another day in the desert.
 
From a strategy for tomorrow - its slow and steady with the goal of finishing.  There are two section of the day that are classified as very difficult, so that'll be interesting with blisters.  But I'll keep with my mantra that blisters can be friends.
 
After 160km in four days, I'm really surprised at how good and upbeat I feel.   Its been an incredible journey, and tomorrow will be a real physical and mental test for me.   I'm both looking forward to it but am also fearful. 
 
Depending on how long it takes us to finish the 80km, my next update might not be until Friday - as we'll be on the trail overnight most likely.
 
Thanks for all the emails.  Kim I have gotten yours as well. I miss you and the kids tremendously.   Marc, start training for the Sahara.   Papa, Nina, Liselle, Russ & Jann thaniks for the notes as well.
 
Im off for a packet of Fiesta Rice and some mint tea and then to bed as early as possible.
 
Love,  Neal

Day 3 is complete and with it another 38,4km.  Over the past three days we've covered over 120km.
 
Had a good sleep last night, despite an escalated level of snoring.   I had punctured by 3 blisters yesterday and decided to see the medic in regards to my big toe.   They drilled a needle through my nail, so that it would relieve the pressue.  So in the morning, I repunctured blisters, patched them up and put on the shoes for another day.
 
It was an overcast day today, which was a very welcom relief from the extreme heat on day 2.   For breakfast I had some nuts and some oatmeal again.
 
With a camel at the starting line to remind us that we're in the desert, the group of 125 runners set off at 9am again.    The first stage was through local village streets.   We passed a school and I quickly stopped to take a photo with the kids.   Leaving the village we ran through a baren lanscape - reminding me of the Bad Lands in the Dakotas.   Peter and I were running together and had a good pace going.
 
My day meal strategy was a Glu Gel at each CP, and I also had a bottle of Perpetuem and Sustained Engery.  Both are neutral in flavor and kinda taste like drinking a bottle of starch with a little water.   I also indulged and had another 2 Chomp gummies.  And lots of water, alternativing with electrolytes.
 
As we continued past CP1, the course took us across another large river bed (which due to the rain in the mountains) was now increasingly flowing with water.   So our feet were very wet and muddy.    Leaving the river bed we ran for 4km through local orchards that were very muddy and wet, having to jump (attempt) over large irregation canels.   We got muddy and muddy, and one of the last canals that we acrossed got me wet up to the thigh - the cold water did feel good.  In the distance we could see the second CP, which is so motivating.
 
Leaving CP2 (and having 20km under our belt) - we ran along another river bed, which then took us 8km up into the mountains with a gradual but steady elevation gain.   Running slowed down as the river bed and canyons were very rocky.
 
We finally hit CP3 with only 9km to go to the finish for the day.    This 9km was touch.  It took us up another mountain road, with an ultimate elevation gain to camp at almost 8,000ft.   Peter and I power walked up the hill, which never seemed to end and each corner we rounded seemed like the road continued to wind into the heavens. 
 
Finally reaching the end - we finished in 5hr and 23m and came in 14 place for the day!  We were very pleased, but takin into account that some of top 5 racers got lost in the canyon and the time they lost - we would have been closer to 19 or 20.   Good improvement over the past two days.  We were exhausted.    Gettintg in quicker does ensure that we get some more recovery time - so the past two hours Ive been trying to get the crusted dirt off my legs, face, feet.  I should have brought more wet wipes.
 
I also should have brought more savory snacks (beef jerky is definitely the way to go).    Tonight I'm going to dig into some pasta or some beans & rice.    It'll be alot colder at camp tonight - so I'm going to really bundle up.   There appears to be a bit of a cold going around camp - so tryng to get lots of rest
 
Tomorrow we start the day going up to an elevation of 11,000 feet, which apparantly is one of the highest natural arches (at least that is what they tell us).   By the end of tomorrow's 41.2km we'll end at Kongso Camp - and then be facing the "long day" of 80km on day 5.
 
So overall a great day!   Its been so thrilling to be here and really challenge myself.   Kim again your notes are inspiring.  I miss you!
 
Luc hope you had a good day at school, and Sofia that you had a fun day in the playground.   Mama & sergio, Peter and everyone else thanks for the emails.
 
Lots of love.  I miss you all.
 
Neal

The race started at 9am, to the sounds of drums and local villagers lining the street.   All of us were "better well rested" with a good nights sleep and only moderate snoring to heard.  It turns out the main culprete in Ming, who is a doctor from Malaysia.   Peter slept next to Ming and had stereo snoring.  The Cathay Pacific ear plus - which I put in for the first time worked a treat.  I had a breakfast of nuts and my granola.  No time for tea this morning.
 
Back to the race....  I felt very good today and had a strong start to the race.    After leaving the village, we ran through a series of rocky fields, down to the area that they call Mars.   At stage one I had my sholder tapped up, where my pack strap rests as on the first day 10km section, the skin tore slightly.
 
Going thru the Mars are was surreal.   Very reddish clay, tight valleys and a ground that felt like the sea had washed inlets in the rock.   Very much like what the shoreline on a wild coast would look like - but in the middle of the desert.
 
Peter and I continued a steady run through deep vallyes of rock (shale) and sand.  It was hard to keep running through much of this section, as both the downhill and uphill through the canyons was very slippery.   We could finally see CP 2 in the distance and so with a final 2km run we quickly stocked up with 1.5l of water and I also had a GLU protein gel.
 
Still feeling strong we had a strong pace down a river bed on our way to CP3.    After 6km, we veried off the river bed and started going through a very rocky terrain.   The terrain is a series of mountain run offs for the massive amounts of snow that they receive in the winter.   So the ground was very difficult to cover, as it felt like running on a combination of million of marbles and also some bowling balls fthrown in for good form.   In fact so much of the last two days has been this type of ground, that I think they should change the name of the race.
 
I arrived at CP3 just after 1pm - which again was like seeing a mirage in the distance and it really gets you motivated to run faster on the final 1 - 2km.  Stocked up on water, had a Sustained Energy drink and also had another GLU gel - this time espresso (which tasted like a thick fudge) and had to be washed down with water.
 
By this time it was VERY hot with the mercury getting up to 44c today.  Leaving CP3, after a km we hit a dirt road that took us up a massive hill.   I kept telling myself that this was like the road up to the golf course in DB and that the 12km is like running to Mui Wo.    After getting to the top, the trail dropped into another river run off for another 4km and then it got to the worst part of the day.   For the final 3.5km of the day, we had to climb, run, slide through a very
narrow canyon of baked sand.   Ever looking for the small pink flags that mark the course (often one cant see these and has to double back to find them).   The canyon seemed to amplify the heat and the wind that was so pleasant for the first half of the race disappeared.   The canyon continued to get smaller, and one was running along the water outlets (no water this time of year).    Got lots of sand in my shoes, together with the heat really slowed me down.
So I finally took out my pack of Glu Chomps (like a fancy gummi bear w/ electrolytes, they also taste better than Sharkies, which are too sweat so I threw away this morning.     Just as a took out a chomp, a little piece of paper was attached with a note "keep running to the finish line."   Thanks Kim!   These notes are awesome!    Finally emerged from the canyon to see the row of tents about 1.5km surrouned by trees.    With a rush of adreneline I ran across yet another rocky river bed to the end of stag 2.  
 
A total of 41.1km completed in approx. 5hrs and 53m.    I finished the stage in 31st place, shaving more than an hour from my previous day as well a few places.   Overal I'm 44 place after day 2 - which feels good.
 
The camp today is called the Langervill Camp.   Its set in a newly cut weight field.   The relatively soft ground feels wonderful and their is a very -plesant breeze blowing.   As the sun sets so late, I haven't been up long enough to see the stars.  So tonight I may stay up a little later.
 
So to cap the day - very hot, felt good, very hot, lots of rocks, bandage on the shoulder (but only one shoulder).   But it is also the first day with blisters - on both heels, a third on my instep and a fourth under the nail of my big toe (which by now is very blue, so another toe nail on the way out).  I think my continued nack of trying to kick rocks finally did the trick.   So Ive got my blister kit out and ready to try some medical work on myself, and if all else fails off to the medical tent.
 
For dinner, it'll be another soup stock cube and a treat of macaroni & cheese (from the REI freeze dried food section), washed down with a mint tea.
I'm also going to indulge in 30m of iPod time, which is the first time that Ive taken out the iPod.
 
Tommorrow we set off on stage 3, over 38km to Green Valley and Heavens Gate.
 
Luc, hope you had a great tennis lesson.  Sofia hope you had a good day playing with Leah.   Kim - I miss you!
 
Thanks again for everyones emails and blog comments.  Again they make my day, and help me mentally get ready for the next day.
 
Lots of love,  Neal

Our first day is complete.   After getting a few hours of sleep dispite a sympony of snoring in our team (no it wasn't me) as well as a much colder night - the camp started stiring around 6:30am.   With a hearaty breakfast of granolla, mint tea and some fine Hammer Perpetuem (yes another fancy protein powder, that doesnt taste very well) we had a another race debrief.   Kim - thank you for the surprise note in the granola.
 
We set off from out campsite, called the Gazi campsite, for the first stage of the week which is called - Canyons, Camels and Gobi.    With a lot of anticipation the race started at 9am and the 130+ runners eager to get started,    The 42.km stage took us down a deep canyon with several river crossings.   So our feet were immediately wet, but the ice cold water felt wonderful!   We ran by several villages were the  people urged us on.   The first 20km (first two stages felt really good, despite 40c weather and very blue sunny skies).
 
The second two stages were tough.  Our pace dramatically slowed as we raced over very uneven rocks, up a very long river bed, then had to climb trough a tight gorge to get out.  My feet were still doing well but I started to get sharp pains in my shoulders from the pack - which really slowed me down.    We then reached a village and finally had some trees for some shade.    After another 2km in the village, we could see the finish line for the race.  Children ran with us, as a drum beat and the racing the planet team urged us on.   The first 42.5km were finised after just under 7hrs, which put me in 69th place.    A good start and I hope to move up in the pack, but to be honest my goal is really to finish as today's stage was rated moderate and the next few days will be getting more tough.
 
Tonight we are staying in the Tashpushka camp, and have the luxury of staying in Kyrgyz homes.  So rather than sleeping in a tent on  top of lots of spiky rocks, we are in a big room in an ancient village house.   Hope the snoring is lighter tonigt.   Once we got to the room, I got my feet up and was pleasantly surprised that I dont have any blisters.   Although my big toe hurts - as every few hundred meters it felt like I kicked a big rock by accident.   All of the four boys also arrived safe and sound, altough Wes as some really bad blisters on his shoulder from the pack.    Overall 5 people dropped out today, and only one person had an IV while on the trail - but he recovered and made it to camp.
 
Tomorrow's stage is called Mars in the Gobi and is 41.1km.  We set off at 9am again.   Sounds like we will have a very rocky environment again - but being in a landscape with high snow capped mountains and then desert and arid mountains as far as you can see if really mesmerizing. 
 
So now its time for dinner, I'm going to have Mountain House Chicken & Rice, a cube of chicken stock, some beef jerky and some Endurox (another powder - but this one tastes good).   I left my crocs at the hotel, to save some precious weight, so instead I have a brilliant pair of white hotel slipers from te Kashgar hotel - which are quicky becoming grey from the dust.
 
I wanted to thank everyone for their emails.  Its a great way to end the day.  Keep them coming.
 
Kim, Luc and Sofia.  I miss you tons!!   There is already talk between Peter, Todd and I to do a 10 year Gobi reunuin race (ie in 2019) and take the boys.  So Luc, you'll need to start training soon.   There is a father and son team - who,ve helped with the inspiration.
 
Lots of love.  I'll send out another update after tomorrow's stage.
 
Neal (tired, very soar but not out!!)

What a day!  We had a two hour bus ride through the desert and then along a river through a canyon to our base camp. We were greeted by the entire village, with the women and children in local custom and the men in suits, chinese style with labels still on the sleeve. We also has the local communist party chief give a speech,which we couldn't understand but there was lots of clapping.
 
There was a horse race through the canyon, where the men rode with a dead sheep trying to through it on a fence.  a form of local basketball.
Dinner (the first and last provided by the organizer) was hearty spagehti which the group ate with gusto. The winds wipped up little sand storms blowing thru the valley.
 
The camp is set in an amazing river valley.   15 neat white tents.  The floors are exposed and there are lots of rocks, so Im very happy to have my sleeping pad. There are 9 of us in our tent, with the irony that six of us live in DB. We also have a doctor from Malaysia who is running in the race, He is very tough, having completed lots of marathons.  We'll see who snores tonight.
 
Peter and I went on a after dinner hike up the hillside of the valley, and had a great view of camp.  We then went up the valley- which along the river is very green.  A villager offered us his horse, we played frisby with local children, and took lots of photos.  
 
Im very excited about tomorrow.  We start at 8am. Eager to eat some food out of my pack to get it lighter. Its 22:45 and there is still some light creeping over the mountain tops.Phil Collins playing in the background, and the desert all around us.   I may need to get my ipod out and change the music,
 
Well that is all for tonight.  More after our first 40km.  The cyber tent is closing and need to get lots of sleep.
Thank you for all of your emails.  That really makes my day.
 
Kim, Luc and Sofia -  I miss you!!
 
Neal (papa)
 
**Kim, I didnt get the email you sent.  I'll check again tomorrow.

After spending our 7 hr layover in Urumqi exploring the old bazaar and leaving the carpets for another day we arrived in

Three more days until the start of the Gobi.

After spending several days, packing, unpacking, sorting, and reducing what is going into my pack - I'm down to 8kg in my GoLite 25 litre pack. Thats almost 4kg lighter than it was a few days back.  

It would not have been possible without my lovely wife - Kim! I wish she was coming on the trek with me. Now the challenge of how to get to Kashgar.

We (Peter Symonds, Wes Barnes, Todd Handcock and I ) decided to try to reduce the number of flights that we are on internally in China, so we're taking a car from Hong Kong over the border to the Guangzhou airport. From Guangzhou we fly to Urumqi and then to Kashgar. Over the past two weeks, the timing of our flights have mysteriously changed several times and we now have a 7 hr lay over in Urumqi. Ah the wonders of air travel in China. Besides that I'm feeling very positive and can't wait to hit the trails of Kashgar!

Also a BIG thanks to everyone that has contributed to the "For The Children" charities in Cambodia. We've raised close to US$22,000 and believe we'll be able to surpass our goal of $25k.

For more information on the two charities and details on how to donate to these great causes go to: http://www.justgiving.com/forthechildrengobi2009

Cheers, Neal

Its hard to believe that a year of planning has gone by and that in less than a week we'll be heading to Kasghar.

Five of us (Wesley Barnes, Nico Bohtlingk, Todd Handcock, Peter Symonds and I) have a goal to raise $25,000 for charity. So far we've raised close to $20k, and its been brilliant to see the response that we've had from friends, colleagues, our respective companies (Yardi Systems BT, AIF Capital, Santandar) and faculty & professors from the U Chicago.

The two non-profit organizations we have chosen to support in Cambodia are: The Children’s Surgical Center and Room to Read.

We chose these organizations, not only because of the impact of their work, but also because we believe in how they operate. Both are highly transparent organizations with clear annual targets and efficient running operations ensuring that maximum investment is directed to their programs.

• The Cambodia Children’s Surgical Centre (www.csc.org) provides rehabilitation and surgical services to impoverished children in Cambodia. Integral to this mission is the training of local surgeons and health workers to support the development of sustainable domestic health services. CSC provides a wide range of surgery, encompassing facial reconstruction, orthopedic surgery, eye as well as plastic & burn surgery. CSC’s experience shows that rehabilitation surgery is easy to organize, inexpensive, and is highly beneficial in reintegrating patients and their families back into Cambodian society. •

• Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org) is dedicated to promoting and enabling global education of children in Asia. The organization is based on the belief that education is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty in the developing world. Since 2000, Room to Read has established more than 700 schools and over 7,000 bilingual libraries with five million books, and continues to support the education of nearly 7,000 girls.

To give you an idea of the impact your donation will make:

• US$ 50 covers the surgery for a simple cleft operation for a Cambodian child
• US$ 100 is cost of a more complex surgical procedure for a Cambodian child
• US$ 250 funds a year of a child’s education (e.g. tuition, books, supplies, transportation)
• US$ 4,000 establishes a library and covers the cost of books, games, furniture, librarian training, and three years of support from Room to Read
  

Donations: There are several donation methods available. Both charities are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations, and donations are tax deductible for those in Australia, the United States, and United Kingdom.

• For the Cambodia Children’s Surgical Centre, payment options include via credit card, PayPal, checks and money transfers to CSC bank accounts (United States, Hong Kong, Australia, the UK and Cambodia). For additional assistance, please email Emma Levy (Stakeholder Relations Officer) at [email protected] or visit the CSC site at www.csc.org.
• For Room to Read, payment options include credit cards and PayPal that can be made through www.justgiving.com/forthechildrengobi2009. Additional donation options are available on the Room to Read site: http://www.roomtoread.org/involvement/donate.php.
  

For all donations, please be sure to fill in the Special Instructions / Optional section with the instructions to allocate your donation to the “For the Children” fundraising appeal. If you need a tax receipt, please also mention it in the Special Instructions / Optional Section.

Cheers,

Neal

Hong Kong