After arriving (finally) in Hohhot, we took a taxi to the city center. The taxi driver tried many times to rip us off but thankfully even though we don't speak any Chinese we're not stupid. We refused to pay 150 RMB (about $25) for a 20 min cab ride and settled (eventually) on a lower price, although still probably not as low as it should have been. After we arrived in the city center it started raining, so with no place to stay we headed to a McDonalds (typical Americans) to escape the rain for a bit and grab some lunch. We got our picture taken quite a few times while sitting there and quickly learned that being a foreigner in Hohhot was quite the novelty for most residents. We could only hang out in McD's for so long so we eventually ventured out into the pouring rain and found a suitable hotel just down the road for only $15 each a night.
After the rain stopped we spent some time exploring the city and hung out in this big park. It was such a nice change of pace compared to Shanghai's busy busy streets.
Then we spent the rest of the afternoon trying to find some tour to take us to the grasslands the next day. After walking into a few hotels and checking out the train station, we finally decided to ask at our hotel. Lots of broken English and Chinese (with the help of a phrase book and the Lonely Planet guide) and some really bad acting (since horseback riding is not in the phrase book we had to act that one out) later, they set up a tour for us that would leave Thursday AM, travel to the grasslands where we would get the opportunity to spend the night in a yurt. The scenery on the way to the grasslands was great - again, it was so different than Shanghai and it was nice to see some of "Real China."
Our trip to the grasslands was certainly an interesting experience - mostly it was really random so it's quite hard to describe but needless to say it was a lot of fun and we laughed so much. We went horseback riding in these ridiculous looking traditional Mongolian costumes with about 10 layers underneath because it was so chilly, making the outfits even more attractive. Horseback riding was a great way to see the area except that during the second half of our ride my horse kept stopping to eat. Giddy-up doesn't work so well on Chinese horses so I had to learn a little Chinese-horse speak which is not in the trusty phrase book.
After that Pam and I did some hiking, peed in the woods (which I'm pretty sure was more sanitary then the bathrooms at the yurt camp where we were staying), and spent the afternoon enjoying the fresh air (no smog there!), wild horses and blue sky. All along the countryside we kept finding these temple or shrine like structures made out of rocks. They typically had Tibetan prayer flags hanging off of them and on several we found the remains of animals. We had lots of fun taking pictures - although I've noticed when we go to take one of ourselves, somehow Pam always ends up looking normal and I always look ridiculous.
Thursday night we slept in a Yurt with 4 other people. Yurts are the traditional Mongolian tent/house and are set up across the countryside as they move from place to place with their herds. The yurt we slept in had a wooden platform about 6 inches off the floor that was covered with this table cloth like material. We each had several duvets and a pillow. Across the grasslands, we saw several yurts that were solar-powered which I thought was really cool that they were using alternative energy resources all the way in the middle of no-where China - clearly, the U.S. needs to get with the program. It was so cold that Pam and I ended up sharing the 4 blankets/duvets we had between us. I wore 4 pairs of pants and about 10 shirts and a jacket to sleep and was still freezing!!! It was fun though, especially once we realized that one of our yurt-mates was an English major so she translated for us and we got to know a little bit about the people we were sharing the Yurt with, making it a little less awkward to sleep next to these strangers. As we were leaving the Yurt the next morning I accidentally broke the one glass window with my elbow (not really sure how it happened) - but luckily I still had on about 5 layers so no injuries. I quickly ran away and got on the bus!
The meals at the Yurt camp were certainly a unique experience. After everyone returned from horseback riding, we all sat down in this huge yurt and a waiter dressed in traditional Mongolian clothes came around and had everyone take a shot of this rice wine/liquor before the meal. That stuff has to be one of the most disgusting things that I've ever tasted (I didn't taste it again this time as I had some at a staff dinner back in Shanghai a few days earlier). They also preformed some traditional songs before and during the meal followed by a rousing rendition of the wedding march on a keyboard (even though there was no wedding).
We were glad to return to indoor plumbing Friday morning! After we got back to the city and checked into the hotel we spent the day exploring Hohhot. The city was so clean compared to Shanghai - the sky was so blue and the air so crisp in comparison. I loved that it felt like fall there since it's been so warm in Shanghai. There's this great park in the city center that we visited and rode on the ferris wheel.
Then we went to the historic five-storied Wutu Pagoda. It was beautiful! If I was a really good tourist I would have remembered all of the history behind it but unfortunately I don't - I just know that it's like 7 centuries old or something like that. The colors were so bright!
At the pagoda they had this hanging garden of pumpkins and gourds that was really neat. Why have a pumpkin patch on the ground when you can have one hanging above you?
Saturday we had arranged a tour to the desert which was about 3 hours away. We're quickly learning that nothing is simple in China. It took us way more steps than necessary to get to the right tour group.
Even arranging the tour was a challenge - After learning that our hotel didn't have tours to the desert, we called a hostel from the guide book. They didn't speak a lot of English but were nice enough to take down my number. They had someone from China International Travel Service (CITS) call us back and arranged a tour for us on Saturday.
At 8 on Saturday morning, the tour people called our hotel room and said that they were in the lobby and ready to go. After meeting them downstairs we got in a mini-bus with about 8 other people. We thought we were good to go at that point but then we got to another hotel just several blocks away where we were told to get out and 2 other people got in. As that mini-bus drove away I was sure we were getting scammed as we had already paid our 200 RMB ($30) but this woman who didn't speak any English took us inside the hotel restaurant and indicated that we should wait. After about 10 min, she got up, went outside and got in a van. I was about ready to start running after her (not that it would have done any good since we couldn't really communicate) but then this other guy showed up. He spoke English, said he was from CITS and told us that we had to wait 30 min and then we could go. So we waited for a while and then he told us to follow him. We got in a cab with him and after a 10 minute drive, we stopped on the side of the road in front of these 3 statues - a woolly mammoth, an elephant and something else. He got out of the cab so we followed suit. I kept asking if we were going to the desert and he promised that we would. Finally, another mini bus showed up and it was going to the desert! After all that, I'm not sure why that mini-bus didn't just pick us up in the first place.
Anyway, we finally got to the desert and found out that this older couple in our group spoke fairly good English - they were so kind as they translated for us and made sure we knew what was going on as it was a bit of a circus atmosphere with so much to do and see in the middle of nowhere. Actually, they have a daughter that works in Wisconsin and went to the University of Michigan (boo!). Once we arrived, they gave us these brightly colored booties to wear so that we wouldn't get sand in our shoes or all over our pants - it was actually a good idea and made such a great fashion statement. We took a jeep ride through the dunes, rode camels and went down this huge sand slide. The camel ride was so random! Our camels had 2 (very hairy!) humps so where was no need for a saddle but some of the camels we saw had floppy humps which were really funny looking. After riding for about half an hour, they took us (on the camels of course) to this little zoo on the top of some dune where they had some puppies, a badger, and a ram along with skeletons of each of the animals. If you ever go to Inner Mongolia, you should definitely spend some time in the desert - it's so strange but really fun!
On Sunday we headed back to Shanghai and even though the air here is full of smog I was relieved to return. The trip was a lot of fun and I'm really glad we did it but I was happy to return to a normal schedule and our apartment.
This week, I've been teaching/working, hanging out with my co-workers and settling back into a routine. Most days I don't have to be at work until after 1 or 2 and then I work until 7 or 8. There's time to run in the mornings and I like not having to deal with rush hour which makes everything so crowded. I work really long hours on Saturdays and Sundays but then I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off.
On Wednesday, Pam and I are going to this professional tennis tournament since it's our day off. It's called the Shanghai Masters and I think Nadal, Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are going to be there. I'm sure like everything else in China it will be special and very random!
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