Justin winks knowingly at the camera, giving his best "come-hither" grin. Tomorrow, he will have to scrub hard to remove his new facial hair before jumping on a plane for Kansas.

Journal and photo by Colin McAuliffe

The J-man has flown the coop; Juicy Justin has left the team. I have lost a very valuable ally and fellow joke-teller, and not to mention occasional driving partner and full-time roommate. The team has lost its navigator, P.R., guy and staunch supporter. Justin's younger brother Chris is getting married, and in accordance with an agreement Justin made with said brother, Justin flew home yesterday to be in the wedding party. Of course, Justin had not planned to leave the expedition; in fact, before we left, Justin's brother pushed back the date of the wedding to assure that Justin could attend. Unfortunately, the best-laid plans... yadda yadda yadda, and we aren't home yet.

We gave Justin a fitting last-evening send off. We gathered all the travelers we have grown to know here at the Seman hotel (seriously, that's what it's called) and, purchasing copious amounts of local milkshakes, we celebrated life in one of the few ways we still can, by drinking dairy products to the honored and envied individual’s health. It was a fun evening and ended up in the room that Justin, Adam, Neil and I had been sharing, where a medium-sized, multi-national party was held with esteemed guests from across the globe. The guest of honor fell asleep early, and awoke the next morning to some new Captain-Morgan-esque facial hair that had somehow sprouted over night. The afternoon put him in a cab and sent him on his way. All I could say was "you lucky son of a gun."

So, we are still in Kashgar; it's been a week, but I must admit that time flies here. This town is still great, but having been in so many great towns, I can't say I'm all that motivated to go out and about, plus, my foot hurts for some reason, so I really don't stray too far from the Seman hotel. Yesterday, Johan, our local Dutch/Russian communist propaganda monger took Neil and me to yet another army surplus store, where we completely stocked up. I bought a full People's Liberation Army outfit: jacket, pants, socks, belt, and winter hat, for around 20 bucks. It goes great with my overcoat. People at home are going to think I'm a communist, but they're wrong; I just like green. Neil bought three pairs of shoes (which I don't understand), a HUGE sheepskin-lined winter overcoat, and an army suit. I guess we're preparing for winter in Siberia, but I just think the stuff is really cool, especially the belt and hat. Sunday market is coming up once again in another two days. Maybe I’ll have some more interesting stories for you then.

Help support our cause: The LONGITUDE Expedition is the longest journey ever attempted with a focus on Parkinson's Disease. The Drive Around the World team aims to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research by driving four Certified, Pre-Owned Land Rover Discoverys around the globe following lines of longitude. Readers are encouraged to pledge small amounts of money per expedition-kilometer via a pledge form that can be found on our Parkinson’s page by clicking HERE. One hundred percent of donations received go directly to Parkinson's research, and all who donate $10 or more will be entered into a raffle to win an expedition-equipped Land Rover Discovery.