May Holiday
A number of us had decided to head northwest, out to the desert. First stop, beer shop to get a good supply of beers for the train journey. We had only managed to get 'hard seat' tickets, for a 10 hour train journey. Hardcore. Unsurprisingly, it's exactly what it says on the ticket - a small, cramped, sweaty, dirty, hard seat. Nice. A few beers later, we heard rumour of a buffet car that you could pay 50RMB to get into, and it was a bit more comfortable. Beats having someone's arse in my face for 10 hours. (yes, it's true, people actually stand for these kind of train journeys, the trains are packed beacause it's the national holiday, and some poor sods stand on long train journeys of 16 hours or more!) We chatted, played scrabble made new friends, and tried in vain to pass out so we could get some rest. We got to our first stop, ZhongWei, at 4am. Found a hotel, passed out. Next day, to the desert! Had a look round a desert reclamation zone, more like a tourist theme park really. It had aerial zip-slides, sand slides, jet skis, etc. nice .We had a bit of fun, a few drinks, relaxed, then bedtime.
Next day, we hired ourselves some camels and a guide, who was amazing. He was 71 years old, and hard as nails. He walked barefoot whilst leading us through the desert, heading towards Inner Mongolia. Now, let me tell you a few vital facts about camels. They are, quite literally, a pain in the arse. Their smooth, swaying motion as they walk, completely belies their extremely sharp spine between the two humps. we had one thin sheet for padding, and no stirrups. My poor bum will never be the same again. At regular intervals, we had to dismount, take a break, and walk alongside these beasts. It was a good 9 hour trek, with an amazing lack of scenery, extreme pain from my nether regions, but I absolutely loved it. There's just something about that vast emptiness that's peaceful. At least, it was until my reverie was disturbed by my camel (whom I named Sebastian The Bastard) breaking into a canter down the side of a sand dune, bringing fresh pain to my derriere.
We eventually made it to Inner Mongolia, and gave the guide a hefty tip. He claimed to be 'a bit tired, especially now he was getting a bit older'. After walking 10 hours through a desert, withonly drinking one bottle of beer! I told you, hard as nails.Anyway, we stayed in a traditional-ish Mongolian encampment, in a big tent called a yurt. we ate a couple of sheep's legsWith a sand volleyball court directly outside. the yurt was big enough to accomodate all 7 of us, and our drinking games. I hate to say it, we did become a little rowdy during these games, and a few injuries were sustained. One person was the 'postmaster' and when he leaped up and dashed out of the tent, and touched the post, the last one of us to do likewise would have a forfeit to complete. Unfortunately, because myself and Stu were leading the pack out of the door, Stu smashed his head into a different post, but kept going, and because it was very dark, neither of us saw the knee high fence..both of us ended up face down on the floor, eating sand. Phil got the forfeit, and had to run round the camp, drinking beer. After two steps, and out of sight, we had a crash, and the tinkle of a broken beer bottle. Ah, drinking games under the desert stars with a warm breeze blowing across the plains from Mongolia in the north. Nothing quite like it.
Next day, we hired ourselves some camels and a guide, who was amazing. He was 71 years old, and hard as nails. He walked barefoot whilst leading us through the desert, heading towards Inner Mongolia. Now, let me tell you a few vital facts about camels. They are, quite literally, a pain in the arse. Their smooth, swaying motion as they walk, completely belies their extremely sharp spine between the two humps. we had one thin sheet for padding, and no stirrups. My poor bum will never be the same again. At regular intervals, we had to dismount, take a break, and walk alongside these beasts. It was a good 9 hour trek, with an amazing lack of scenery, extreme pain from my nether regions, but I absolutely loved it. There's just something about that vast emptiness that's peaceful. At least, it was until my reverie was disturbed by my camel (whom I named Sebastian The Bastard) breaking into a canter down the side of a sand dune, bringing fresh pain to my derriere.
We eventually made it to Inner Mongolia, and gave the guide a hefty tip. He claimed to be 'a bit tired, especially now he was getting a bit older'. After walking 10 hours through a desert, withonly drinking one bottle of beer! I told you, hard as nails.Anyway, we stayed in a traditional-ish Mongolian encampment, in a big tent called a yurt. we ate a couple of sheep's legsWith a sand volleyball court directly outside. the yurt was big enough to accomodate all 7 of us, and our drinking games. I hate to say it, we did become a little rowdy during these games, and a few injuries were sustained. One person was the 'postmaster' and when he leaped up and dashed out of the tent, and touched the post, the last one of us to do likewise would have a forfeit to complete. Unfortunately, because myself and Stu were leading the pack out of the door, Stu smashed his head into a different post, but kept going, and because it was very dark, neither of us saw the knee high fence..both of us ended up face down on the floor, eating sand. Phil got the forfeit, and had to run round the camp, drinking beer. After two steps, and out of sight, we had a crash, and the tinkle of a broken beer bottle. Ah, drinking games under the desert stars with a warm breeze blowing across the plains from Mongolia in the north. Nothing quite like it.
posted by Dave at 3:25 AM
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