After 10 1/2 hours of cigarette smoke, smelly bathrooms, standing, leaning, sitting on laps and luggage and “sleeping,” we arrived at Hohhot exausted.
We were welcomed by Chris' nephew and his father in two of the nicest cars we will probably ever ride in during our time in China.
Lunch was unique. And delicious. This was a spicy lamb dish.
Food.
The Gobi Desert.
My first thought was Dan in some Bad A movie getting ready to get into a fighter jet and go blow stuff up in the Gobi Desert. Notice the Nike product placement.
The “sand sliding hill.”
Chris, beginning the arduous trek up the dunes.
Chris' nephew Michael. Who knows what he was pointing at... maybe a scorpion?
Up they go.
Tim is stretching, Dorothy is about to faint, Dan is loving life.
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to get us sandsliding, but I was able to get some other tourists.
He was my favorite.
Interesting beasts, those camels.
They all had very attractive nose studs.
Our guide leading us out towards the sand sculptures...
It was hard taking photos on a camel, but I did the best I could.
Not sure what to make of this one...
Or this one...
The guide was kind enough to take our pictures. Don't mind my white thighs..
Riding high.
Leaning back.
Hand on the hip grabbing for his... gun?
His thighs weren't quite as white...
Good pose. I especially like the bug-eyed sunglasses. A good touch.
More interesting statues.
The dismount.
The after safari shot.
Chris didn't really conform to her shirt very well. Where's the smile?!
Another post camel ride shot.
Not just any Chinglish, but Inner Mongolian Chinglish.
A sandstorm picked up right before we sledded down the slope.
Dan covered in sand. If you want to know why, look at the trail on the far left right above his head... ouch!
If you look carefully, you can see the rainbow behind us. It was more beautiful in person I promise!
Great Chinese architecture. I wouldn't use the handrail though...
Sunset above the Gobi.
Clouds above the Gobi.
The yurts in the grasslands!
Inside the yurt. The ground wasn't too soft. Oh, and Genghis Khan was in almost every room!
So happy.
Slick sunglasses.
It smells like... well... bullshit!
We were out in the middle of no where.
Everywhere was a bathroom. Not a lot of privacy.
The horse might need some braces.
Dan's ready to role. Little did he know that he'd be hurting pretty bad in a matter of minutes... small horses make for a bit of a painful ride if you know what I mean.
My first time on a horse.
I don't think I could have picked a better place for it.
While there was no running water, they happened to have satellite dish.. and cute kittens as well.
An Inner Mongolian.
One of our hosts getting dinner ready for us.
Dinner consisted of mutton sticks and beer, and a soup with steamed bread that was eaten inside.
We did some good work.
The open range.
The “rock shrine” where locals come from miles around to place a rock on the pile and make a wish to the sky god. Sounds like Old Testament idolatry if you ask me.
They even sacrifice animals to the sky god and put skulls, intestines, and other body parts on top of the shrine.
Not just any toad, but an Inner Mongolian toad.
Our waitress had such a great Chinglish shirt that I had to ask for a picture.
They said orange juice was complementary... Tim said it reminded him of medicine from his childhood. Dorothy's face affirmed this.
Two choices of face wash in a Watson's convenient store. You can wash your face with “Man code” or “Charcoal.” I think I'd go with “Man Code” this time.
The hamster and bee are friends!
Interesting mannequins... this is China after all.
Will bought one of these musical instruments. It might already be broken...
A park, with fishermen.
Traditional Inner Mongolian hot pot.
Looks a little dangerous to me.
The sleeper bus on the way back was only slightly better than the train. Bumpy roads, multiple bathroom stops, a half hour traffic jam at 12am and a half hour meal stop at 1am made sleeping a real challenge.
