Reaching this spot was a journey in itself, involving long hours of hitchhiking, busses, taxis, and even a donkey-cart, ultimately arriving the shores of the lake at late night. Upon morning though, we couldn’t believe our eyes when we gazed upon Sayram Lake, known long ago as the Pearl of the Silk Road 6,800 feet in the Tianshan Mountains.

The day that unfolded here remains our favorite memory of travel in one day, where we explored the ridges, got offered to ride Kazakh shepherd’s horses, and made friends with a nomad. When he found us struggling lakeshore to set up our tent in the pouring rain, he offered us to sleep inside his yurt for the night. Thinking back, we can’t believe this day was reality in a place this remote.