Of course, my gut wasn't always right. In Turpan I befriended a cute Uyghur boy about the same age as me. When I backed out of hiring his brother's car, he turned nasty, calling and texting dozens of times: "Where are you? I am waiting at the hotel." Past midnight, there was banging at my door. "We had a deal," he shouted. "Lisa, why don't you answer?" He stayed for half an hour until Noot yelled that she was calling the police.

We traveled together through Xinjiang to Dunhuang, always looking for bargains and stalls selling chewy lamian noodles for eight yuan. During my nine-day trip, I spent less than $350 (2,400 yuan).

After visiting Kashgar's mosques and a raucous livestock cattle market where I bargained for a feisty-looking goat which could have been mine for 250 yuan - we boarded a night bus to Hotan. At the carpet factory there, none of the taxi drivers were willing to take me to the silk factory in Jiya township.

Discouraged, I crossed the street and bought a piece of dusty, onion flavored naan from a roadside stall. The baker took pity on me eating dry bread, and poured me some tea. His putong-hua wasn't very good, and my Uyghur even worse, but he understood when I said the name of the silk factory.

He indicated I should wait; every time I started waving my arms at the taxis, donkey carts, and open motorized carts that passed, he shook his head and motioned me to sit. After 20 minutes, he suddenly rushed across the street, motioning for me to follow. Then he hailed down bus 101 (also not in the book) and spoke to the driver.

I had figured these factories were just tourist traps but there were no admission fees and no others there. I watched old men tying strips of black plastic around the raw silk for dying, and women in shimmering headscarves spinning silk thread on the floor.

I caught the 101 back to town but the local museum there didn't open till mid-afternoon. At the tiny convenience store next-door, I met a girl, 23, who showed interest in my scarf, so I pulled a blue and gold one from my backpack. Soon, I had out a hand-cut leather belt, purple stone necklace and amber bracelet, all purchased along my travels. She then tied the scarf round my head, like hers, and took me to the museum guard.