Escape from Beijing 4: Inner Mongolia

What comes to mind when the words "Inner Mongolia" comes around? Yes. Yes again. Grasslands and deserts. That's precisely where we headed :)

Day 1: Grassland!
So after alighting from the plane and being greeted by our tour guide, we were on our way to 葛根达拉草原(Gegentala grassland) which is located north of Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. To be honest, there isn't much to do at the grassland so be prepared to just come with the view to relax and chill. It took us roughly 3.5 hours to get to our destination from the airport and we were received by the locals with a 下马酒 ceremony. We had to dip our fourth finger into the wine and flick it twice； towards the sky, towards the ground and finally rubbing it across our forehead. Legend has it that Genghis Khan was behind this move as he was wary of the wine that was offered to him and thus tried ways and means to get the wine to be in contact with his silver ring to see if it changes colour; indicating whether it is poisonous.

Afterwhich, we proceeded for our first activity - Horse-riding! I know I've tried it once at Shidu but its different this time around. Imagine yourself on a horse on a wide grassland. Lol. Lush greenery all around (though the best time to visit would be July when the conditions are the best). Man! Btw, horses are sacred in Mongolia. The horses are more wild here than compared to Shidu. My first horse was stubborn but luckily my 2nd and 3rd horses for the journey were all tame. Phew. With our horses as the main mode of transportation, we travelled to the Mongolians 敖包(Ao Bao), their prayer place, located at some higher ground on the grassland. Its believed that their wishes will reach the heavens from that place.

敖包

We proceeded on to a traditional yurt (蒙古包，their mobile homes) where we were treated to various dairy products and milk tea which is very different from what we always drink. We headed back for lunch and my horse actually galloped twice!!!!!!! ROCKS!!!! Its a entirely different sensation, I actually felt the freedom of roaming around the grassland. Its like your worries have been cast aside momentarily. Their traditional 手扒肉 during lunch was pretty awesome. Junwei absolutely loved it to bits and pieces to the extent he went over to the other table to enjoy more of it. There was plenty of fats but very little meat but who cares? As long as it tasted good. A pity I forgot to snap pictures of it :(

mongolian treats at the yurt

We witnessed horse-racing and Mongolian wrestling during the evening. The interesting part about the wrestling was the dance they have to perform before starting or when they emerge victorious. The basically just hop on their feet and start shaking. Perhaps my description is wrong. LOL. We stayed in the modern "yurt" which has a private toilet and comfy bed. A far cry from the traditional yurts which houses 6 people. It would have been nice to experience the real yurt stay but I am glad at least I had a pleasant comfortable night's rest especially when I didn't sleep the night before.

modern yurt shaped like the traditional ones

Fun fact: Horses are kinda sacred in Inner Mongolia. They don't consume horse and dog meat here (thank god). They treat horses with respect.

Day 2: Desert!

向沙湾沙漠！Instead of building sand castles in the air, we found ourselves deep in the desert. Yes, it was a pretty sight indeed. I don't know if I can explain more. Perhaps the pictures will do more justice than my words can. By the word, we had to rent the ugly desert socks for 10rmb. Its optional but we just took it to prevent the really fine sand from getting into our shoes and jeans. Ok, we look quite stupid wearing them. We took this really exciting jeep ride which is as exciting as a roller coaster ride. Although it was a tad expensive at 120rmb for a 40mins ride where you could alight at various points to take pictures but it was truly worth the ride. There were instances where we were flunked off our seats and we smashed into the person sitting across. Fortunately for us, everyone was safe and sound at the end of the journey. Horses rule the grasslands, camels rule the desert. We took a ride on the camel to complete the experience. Pretty awesome as it makes it way around the desert slowly which allows you to comprehend the magnificent view around you.
To end off the desert trip, we took a slide down the sand slope. Cheap thrill lor. Lol. But when everyone around you does it, its the company that makes the entire experience awesome.
This is my favorite picture of all. Man, I am beginning to miss it.

Fun fact: I can't think of any cause I can't recall the story! Anyone can fill me in?

Day 3: Dai Hai!

Ok, so we've got the grass and sand now. What's missing? Some water perhaps? Ok! 岱海 offers just what we ordered. There are not many things to do there though and so we took the chance to do jumping shots along the coast. What's new? I want to leave my jump shot everywhere I go as much as possible.
The hype about this place was the opportunity to play real life CS but a combination of reasons resulted us in withdrawing from the game. We had other plans in mind; we ended up playing captain's ball; frisbee style. COOOL. Most of us struggled to catch our breaths after months of non-exercise. This is almost unthinkable back home. I need to start running and training for the races coming up.

Along the way back to Hohhot, I saw real farms and houses in inner mongolia. Can you spot the houses in the picture below? Believe me, they are there. I was too slow in snapping and I missed the front entrance of the house.
There are plenty to see along the way back to the city. That's if you manage to stay awake during the journey back after a long tiresome day. Fun fact: There are actually plenty of cows living on farms which I didn't manage to capture too as I was slightly slow in whipping out my camera. Darn.

Day 4: City Tour!

First stop, the Inner Mongolia Museum. Beware, there are a couple of museums around as there's the new and the old one. We went to the wrong place and wasted precious time and money. Remember, go to the new one which has a similar facade as NTU's very own ADM building. Basically, the main attraction of this place is the dinosaur fossils and they do have plenty on show. It has one of the largest dinosaur fossil collection on display which is pretty awesome. Maybe not that many as I imagined it to be though but it was good enough. You can walk around aimlessly as you slowly enjoy the dinosaur remains and Mongolian culture.
Fun fact: Do you know? There isn't any portrait of Ghengis Khan and most scultures and paintings were based on imagination? I can't remember the exact story behind his statue but I thought I heard the guide saying that some robbers stole his head away.
We walked around 清正寺 and 大昭 before rounding up the day with a steamboat at 小肥羊which has a franchise of outlets but it originates from inner mongolia. We headed over to the flea market at the university of inner mongolia after dinner. Apparently, they set up stalls near schools to boost their business.

There's one very interesting thing about inner mongolia's cabs. They have a digital billboard behind their "Taxi" signs that displays the same advertisements. Some company owns the right to the main control and this is actually hailed as their 4th medium after the tv, radio and newspaper. How cool is that? The same mobile adverts right smack in your face, you can run but you can't hide. I don't think I will be able to drive in Inner Mongolia as their drivers are certainly breaking every possible rule there is. Haha.
A big group trip is never complete without our customary Indian Poker or any other game. We played till the early morning. I wonder how come no one actually complained about our noise level. Strange. I thought we made a huge racket during the session. I actually survived on 2 hours of sleep until the end of the next day. wow~

That pretty much wraps up the trip. I wonder where we will head to next. One thing's for certain. I can't wait for the holidays to come again!