A Postcard from the Taklamakan Desert

Endless dunes shimmered beneath a heat haze. We wound around them at a plodding camel's pace, roped together in a caravan that evoked images of Silk Road trading expeditions. Sand blew up and swirled into my eyes; it crunched between my teeth and coated my lips. I pulled my broad hat down low and tied a bandanna across my mouth and nose. Beneath a long sleeved white shirt my arms were already beginning to blister.

Dunes stretched oceanic to the dust-haze horizon. The only sound when we stopped was the sand as it hissed in undulating patterns. The desert sometimes slithers.