Across the Roof of the \\V)rld. 



patches of trees. At Ak Tumchuk, after engaging fresh carts 

 to go to Yakka Kudak, thirty miles cast, I trekked to Chadir 

 Kul and stopped for dinner outside the village. The water was 

 brackisli and almost undrinkablc. but as there was nothing 

 else we had to accept it. 







A HALT FOR HREAKFAST ON THE DESOLA IE I'LAINS OF CHINESE TURKl.^ IAN. 



This being the main road to Peking the villages en route 

 boast Chinese serais, or inns, which were opened for me, 

 though as they mostly suffered from an undesirable accumula- 

 tion of dirt I preferred my tent. The serais in question 

 comprise a low single-storied building surrounded by an 

 outer and inner court^Mrd, the former for the use of men 

 and animals with the carts, the latter for the high and 



154 



