The Adventures of Wang Peng and Pi Lin

Marakanda, September 23, 200, Afternoon

Blue Sky. Cool Air. Bustling marketplace. Best of all? No sand. Children ran across the busy street, weaving around the adults who were haggling the shop owners, or gathering ingredients for the next week's meals. There was a vast multitude of kiosks and food carts. There were even a few other traders who were a few days ahead of us on the Silk Road. We had seen them a few times in the distance on the road or in the cities. I saw a mother trying to hold onto several of her children as she tried to buy something without them running off. I also saw some women laughing as they were trying on expensive jewelry, asking for the price, and leaving. If I listened carefully enough I could hear music. Somewhere instruments were playing an upbeat tune. I had never seen a busier, more abundant place than this! The sheer amount of shops was enough to keep anyone busy for a lifetime. I looked over to the caravan leader who was in a deep conversation with the merchants. They picked through the cargo and scribbled furiously in their books. The magnificence on the stores stole my attention once again. Judging purely by the amount of food, these people were truly living a prosperous life. But all the splendors paled in comparison to the wall. It was huge. There were so many lamp vendors because at certain times of the day, the giant walls left shadows over almost three blocks of the outer city near wall. Wang Peng threw his elbow over my shoulder and looked at me.

"Isn't this great? There is so much stuff to see and do here. I could spend a week here and still have something new to do!" he turned towards me and smiled. "Totally different from back home, right?" I just nodded and kept walking with his arm on my shoulder slowing me down.

He continued to babble on about the exciting new city when he suddenly stopped and looked to his left. I whipped my head back and forth to search for the object of apparent interest. My gaze finally settled on a humble looking bakery in a back alley. How did he even find that? It's barely noticeable from this angle, and you can't smell baked goods from this distance. I guess he just a knack for finding all things "baking." Wang Peng suddenly grabbed my shoulder, and dragged me to the bakery with him.

Luckily, we didn't end up wasting too much time at the bakery. Wang Peng really just listed all the ingredients that would be in each pie, and I just leaned my back against the wall and tried my best to tune him out while "looking interested." About a millennium later, we left the bakery to browse through other shops just off the main road. Everything was so elaborate and lively. All the shops had colorful signs listing items and their prices.

The setting sun burned across the sky casting a long shadow over the city blocks near the wall. We made our way back to the inn and joined the rest of the caravan. When got back to my room, I sat on my cot and dragged my pack towards me. I dug my map out of it and traced my finger from Marakanda to Antioch. Oh. That was more than 1500 miles, and it was an even greater time by caravan. We would have to trek through Parthia and across the Tigris River. Don't worry. Remember what Wang Peng would say. We can do it. After all, we made it this far. Why shouldn't we be able to finish this journey?