The Grasslands

Saturday...grasslands

Up to breakfast at 6:30. We were in the car with our driver, Mr. Li, and our translator, Yoko. The drive was pretty smooth. It reminded me of the roads leading up to the Great Wall in one big section...elevation changes on very twisty turny roads, ears popping. The road was closed in one section so we had to off road it. Nothing better than 4 wheelin' in a mini van.  We stopped a couple different times along the road to take some pictures.  The scenery was pretty.  

Sleepy head.

Delicious breakfast.

View from the lounge.

The 4 wheelin' section.

The sun was very bright in our eyes.

Colorful land.

Behind Cameron is rape seed growing.

We saw a lot of animal fur for sale.

After a two our ride we were at the Lama Temple and Qing Dynasty Prince's Mansion. Let's just say these were not a do again kind of stop. We were there a total of 10 minutes. The temple was dark and old. The mansion was very hard to visualize as a mansion. Three buildings and only one was open. It was the sleeping quarters for the care taker obviously. A tiny bed and 'junk' all over. Not really a good tourist stop but no problem.

The Lama Temple.

Side view of the Temple.

A second building at the Temple.  Yoko joined the family photo.

This is the mansion. 

Back in the car and we drove for 15 minutes and arrived at our grassland experience. A cow decided to cross the road.  I couldn't believe he didn't get hit.  We passed a few other small yurt places on the way. Ours was a big place. Stores, restaurants, a bar, a stadium that they do horse races in once a year, and lots of yurts. We were met by 3 people. They all grabbed our luggage and walked us to our yurt. Our translator told us we were staying in the most expensive yurt. We opened the door and in we walked. Interesting was the first word that came to mind. It smelled a little musty but it was fine. There was a big picture window with 2 chairs and a little table. A great view of the Grasslands.  There was a king size bed and a cot for Cameron. Not soft. They asked if we wanted the end table moved and the cot moved next to our bed. No.  I could already touch Cameron if I needed to from the bed. Funny. Then behind a door there was a room with a table. We found out later it was an electronic game. Off of that was a 'kitchen'. There was a sink and cupboards but that was it. Off to the other side was the bathroom. Thank God there was a real toilet and a shower. Well, the shower was a shower head hanging on the wall. There were no walls or shower curtains. Cameron said he could take a poo and shower at the same time. What a visual.

A cow crossing the road.

Look at all the yurts.

The view out of the yurt.

Fancy.

The game room/dining room.

The kitchen.

The shower was a crazy concept.

View of the yurt.

Our home for the night.

Once everyone left we had a bit of time to kill so we went exploring. We did this all by ourselves.  We checked out the other yurts. On our way there we passed one of the wrestlers.  Big dude.  Off to the yurts.  One big circle with a platform where up to 6 people could sleep. One light bulb hanging from the top.  That is roughing it.

I don't think you would want to see this guy mad.

The yurt.

This is all that is inside. 

All our helpers, except for the camera girl obviously.

There were brick yurts too. These had a picture window, 2 twin beds, and a bathroom. Not too shabby.  There was a river next to these. In the spring it has way more water in it. It had a lot of garbage now.

Brick yurts.

They were pretty cool.

The horse performs went by while we were checking out the river.

We went in the shops to see if there was anything we needed. Nothing we couldn't live without. Next we hit the bar. Todd and I tried a local beer. It was ok. A little too malt tasting but I still drank it. We headed to the yurt to meet up with the others.

One of the shops.

Enjoying our Mongolian beer.

Even the Mongolians check their phones frequently.

Cameron's thirsty.

Todd's thirsty too.

They took us to lunch next. We went into the dining hall. We were taken to front row seats. They immediately started bringing out food. A big bowl of noodles, then mutton, then beef in some kind of sauce, mutton dumplings were next, and then bigger noodles soup. The mutton and beef were delicious. Cameron devoured the dumplings. During lunch there were some performances. Singers, dancers, and a guy that played an awesome sounding instrument. Cameron said "if I have to listen to another Mongolian opera singer I'm going to die". Actually, there was no opera singing and the performers were good. Just not Cameron's thing.

Enjoying a nice lunch and show.

Cameron eyeing the dumplings.

Happy I like the food.

Mongolian dancers.

Taking a sip of tea.

There were two big tables of people who were doing a ton of shots. They kept standing up, toasting, and then drinking. There was one of their main hosts that took a liking to Cameron. He came over three different times to chat in Chinese. At one point people all dressed in Mongolian outfits went to their tables and gave them all blue scarves. This means they are VIP's. Come to find out one of the guys was a big official in Tianjin. Our girl told us that so we told her we live in Tianjin. She couldn't believe it. Cameron's little friend brought us blue scarves too. We had to wear them the rest of the time we were in the hall. He knew we were VIP's. 

One of the tables from Tianjin.

Our friend putting the blue scarves on us.

Such a cute VIP family.

After lunch our 4 guides/translators/bff's gave us a tour of all the different yurts (we got to go in the one with no beds) they walked us out to see a bear in a metal yurt, and showed us the bar. We didn't tell them we had already been in the bar. Todd asked how many people could stay in yurts and the answer was 2000. He asked how many Shangri La people were here and the answer was 3...just the Wallace's. The place wasn't full but there was a good number of people.

In the reception yurt. 
The king is in the middle.

A lot of dead animals hanging around.

Out by the bear yurt but he wouldn't come out.

The girl with the red hat is the photographer.

Todd pretending he doesn't know how to buy a beer in the bar.

Cameron practicing taking pictures.

He caught Todd with a smile.

Such a good boy.

We then walked over to do the activities in the grasslands...horse back riding, walk around a prayer garden, and dune buggies and atv. It was kind of a long walk. Reached our destination and first up was horse back riding. This was a new thing for all of us. Finally all up on our horses and off we went. Not bad. A little trot. No problem.

Cameron thought Grandpa Tom must have just gotten off this horse.

Waiting to ride horses.

When in China, sit as the Chinese do.

We look like a real cowboy/girl family.

Cameron looks like a pro.

After 20 minutes we were at the top of a hill. We got off our horses and went to the prayer thing. We do not know what it is officially called. Our one guide told us we had to walk around it three times and then make a wish at the end. We seemed to be walking the opposite direction as everyone else. Made our wishes and took pictures by each of our zodiac animal.

We made it to the top.

People tie scarves on for good luck.

The view back towards the yurts.

2012 is the year of the Dragon.

Cameron was born the year of the Horse.

Todd and I were born the year of the Rooster.

We then went to get back on our horses. As Yoko was telling us something a Chinese man stopped right in front of us and let out a huge, long fart. We all couldn't believe it. Gross! We got back on our horses and headed back down. The horse guide had Cameron ride down with him because when the horses realize they are almost home they tend to start running which would be dangerous for Cameron. Todd and I both had no interest in our horses running and asked if we could ride with the horse guide too. We made it back with no problems. It's official...Todd is still allergic to horses.

Next up was the dune buggy. Cameron drove and I rode with him. Todd drove an atv. They told Cameron to go so he headed out through the grass. I wasn't sure that is where we were suppose to be so I looked back. I saw a guy running to a motorcycle so I told Cameron to go back. Come to find out he was suppose to be on the dirt path. Finally we had a motorcycle guide to follow. It was a pretty long ride. Cameron wished the dune buggy went faster but it was still fun. Todd's atv broke down on the way back in. The chain fell off. A guy had to go out and fix it. Todd came back in on a different atv than he went out with.

Ready to drive.

What a stud.

Cameron's view.

We made the long, hot walk back. We went in the yurt to cool off...if that is possible without air conditioning. Yep,no air, no tv, no noise what so ever. Todd washed up a little trying to get some of the horse smell off. Cameron and I ran to the little store to get cold water and a couple beers. I bought 3 cold waters and 4 cold beers for 26 rmb...$4.08. What a bargain.


Back to the yurt to chill out for awhile. We sat out on the deck, in the shade, and had some snacks that we brought from home. Our crew came back to get us to go to the wrestling show and horse show. The wrestling show had 8 guys. They paired up and basically moved around together until one fell on the ground. Kind of funny.  At one point it looked like two of the guys were doing the two step.

Warming up.

So, should I throw you down or what?

This was a big guy.

Next was the horse show. People rode horses back and forth doing tricks. It lasted about 10 minutes and was a little lame. It was better than nothing though.

Here comes the crew.

Back to the yurt for 40 minutes before dinner. Again we got picked up by our people and walked to dinner. It was in the same building as lunch but this time we were in our own private room. As we were walking down the hall we were looking in other rooms. Full of people, tables, chairs, and food. We arrived at our room and it had one square table with 3 chairs. Big room all to ourselves. We had a 4 course meal. First came duck in orange sauce. It looked like bacon and was good. Next was a bowl of tomato soup. Not bad for never having it before in my life. Next was lamb with mint leaves, mash potatoes, and some orange purée. Last was hazel nut chocolate mousse cake. Everything was really good much to our surprise. Before this trip we were a little worried I wouldn't like any of the food. Pleasantly surprised.

Taking a break on a rock.

First thing we saw walking into dinner.

Ready to eat.

We had an official menu on our table.

Cheers to a great trip.

Loving the lamb in orange sauce.

The tomato soup was really good.

Cameron liked the dessert.

After dinner we walked around a little bit, headed back to the yurt, and waited for our people to pick us up for our last activity. At 8:50 we were all walking to the campfire. There were a lot of people there already. It was suppose to start at 9 bit at 9 is when they were putting out the speakers and setting up. It must have started around 9:15. It was the same acts we saw at lunch so Cameron lost interest after the first 3 acts. After the first act they lit fireworks off literally right behind us. Safety first...i don't think so. A couple more acts and we left. As we were walking away fireworks were going off by the river so we stopped to watch them. We went in the store to get a couple beers and pops. We also bought a little yurt souvenir. As we were walking out of the store we saw a ton of black bugs everywhere. Kind of gross.

Cameron couldn't wait to climb over the rail and jump off the other side.

Oh yeah baby.

We walked back to the yurt and said goodbye to our people and went inside. We had our flash light on but no other lights so not to attract bugs. I felt something on my foot...a black bug. Squished him and looked around. Another bug, squish. Cameron and I were a little freaked out but after looking around we did not find any more bugs. Todd and Cameron hung out on the deck awhile and we finally all went to bed at 10:45. Cameron kept tossing and turning and saying he couldn't sleep. I was thinking "this is going to be a long night" but finally he was asleep. I finally got comfortable and just about to sleep when more fireworks went off. Then more. Then one last time. Luckily Cameron didn't wake up.  Finally everyone was asleep.