Inner Mongolia - The Desert Xiang Sha Wan

It's also known as the Resonant Sand Gorge. It was definitely a "WOW" for me! My first encounter with a desert. Good thing it drizzled the day before. So, it was not as hot as it should be. But hey... still no harm to put on lots of protection, from sun blocks to sun hats to face mask. Was rather surprised and fascinated that there could be so many activities there. Very creative. I had a smashing time here, so did everyone.



Where the greens meets the yellow-browns



A rumbling vehicle that took us further into the activity sites




A mini train station smacked right in the middle of the desert. On the way, you can see some life replicas of the Inner Mongolians' culture. Amusing...




Sand sculpture


 

A lone photographer taking his best shots




Modernisation in the desert



This is like camel trade. Just one of the stops for the camel rides.

Different routes to the same destination - under the umbrellas or brave the sun and get a tan.

Camels in a row. This photo is blurish but I really like it. Took this while riding the camel, at the risk of falling off and got myself feeling nauseous with the bumpity-bump.

Finally, we sandboard our way out of the desert! Kidding! We still had to take the chair lift back to overland.







Inner Mongolia - Xilamuren Grassland

After our "One Night at the Airport", we finally flew out of Dalian and arrived our destination - Hohhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia. We spent 4 days here and had a lovely time at a very good bargain! Our first stop - Xilamuren Grassland. Too bad weather was cloudy with slight drizzle. But here are the pix anyway.




It's a ceremonial welcome. Dip your finger and flick the droplets of wine into the air!

 


Our yurt for the night. Ermm... eerie? ;)





Some more yurts all in a row




The vast grassland, with little white-topped yurts far away

 



Just a variation in B&W :)

 


The main activity at the grassland - horse riding

 


Horsemen galloping away

 


On our way out of the grassland. Behold the gloomy sky!

 











Inner Mongolia - Fly, fly and down

7 adventurers with an average age of 46, excitedly board the Air Asia flight, destination - Tianjin (date 13 Aug 2011). From Tianjin, we flew to Dalian. Since we had another connecting flight to catch, we sweet talked the lady to help us prioritise our luggages. And she generously gave us the first class luggage tags! We arrived Dalian without a hitch. Then the unexpected happened - flight delayed. Ok, we were cool about it. 


We hung around (9.02pm)...

 


Watched around...

  


Entertained ourselves (11.24pm, no sign of flight resuming)



Finally we slept. My bed for the night (12.16am)

  Tips for flight delays:
1. Check frequently with the airline counter to keep informed on the flight schedule
2. Do not leave the airport until flight confirmed cancelled
3. Check with airline whether accommodation provided in the event that flight is cancelled (ours were not provided as it was due to weather condition and not the fault of the airline)
4. Check out airport hotels as these are nearest for you to come back to the airport again.
5. If you have bought travel insurance, make sure you keep all your boarding passes and get the airline to issue a letter on the delay/ cancellation.
6. Find out the first available flight the next morning and queue up early at the counter. Many people would have been affected and the queue would be horrible.
7. Stay calm. :)