Another Chinese region visited…
When I lived in Beijing some years ago, I arranged to visit Inner Mongolia on two separate occasions but on both times my return flights were cancelled and I ended up cancelling the whole trip as I was very concerned I would get stuck there for nearly week; and really once you have seen the downtown/a museum/temples and the grasslands there is not that much to do because it’s either very hot or very cold!
But on this occasion our flights were not cancelled and we flew from north/east China to Hohhot the capital of Inner Mongolia. I had arranged a tour guide and we were collected from the airport and taken for some lunch then to do some sightseeing (more on that later). We arrived at a lovely series of buildings one containing our restaurant.
The interior of the restaurant was quite interesting and I couldn’t work out if the artificial flowers were a regular feature or there was a special event [perhaps a wedding] later that afternoon.
But the food was pretty good as I was concerned being a vegan in Inner Mongolia. As the Mongols eat an incredible amount of mutton and drink Yaks milk, I thought I might have to eat a lot of almonds that I had brought from Australia…but at this restaurant there were no issues. I enjoyed ma po dofu [tofu cooked in a spicy chilli sauce], a fabulous noodle dish and the largest pile of bread I have seen in a while. Lucky our guide was there to da bao [take the remaining food home].
On our second day we drove from Hohhot to the Xilamuren Grasslands in Baotou City which was about a four hour drive. Our first stop was to be what I thought a wonderful cultural event. How wrong was I!! The place was old and unfortunately reminded me of a tacky theme park.
We arrived in the middle of no-where to a [rather bored] locally dressed welcoming committee who gave us a local spirit to drink in a small silver bowl [tasted exactly like Chinese alcohol {bai jiu} which is definitely not on my favourite drinks list] and a blue nylon scarf [hada] was placed around our necks as a welcoming gift.
The area contained many yurts which is used as accommodation for those wishing to stay overnight. I have no idea what you would do here for a few days. We walked around a bit and went inside one to see what was inside the yurt. It was pretty basic but clean and tidy.
Our guide then took us to a large yurt where we had lunch and as it was 1230pm, the majority of Chinese visitors had finished and we were quite alone in this cavernous room.
I mentioned before the lunch was good; so different on this day. I was given a plate of cabbage in some yucky sauce and my friend Jon had mutton soup [which he said was disgusting – way too oily] and some mutton cut up. Also said this was awful. Even our guide apologised and said the food in the grasslands was not good and he disliked it. But staff were very friendly so I just drank Chinese tea and omitted to take photos as food was not appealing even to look at.
Our guide then asked us if we wanted to see Mongolian wrestling and horseback riding which was an additional charge, following which we could take a horse ride. Horse racing, wrestling and archery are the main sporting traditions of the Mongols but it was all a bit too commercialised for me and if the wrestlers and horseback riders were as excited as our welcoming committee, I knew we were not in for a treat.
(source: Wikipedia)
Also I dislike riding horses, so I asked if our guide could take us to the grasslands for us to walk around and take some photos. He was very happy to do this and on our way out we saw Chinese visitors coming in with luggage [looking very happy to be there – guess its horses for courses] and some taking a horseback ride.
We drove about ten minutes up a mountain and this enabled us to walk around for the next hour or so. 
As it was September, the grasslands were not green but I still found them beautiful. The sky was a gorgeous blue and cloud formation lovely. I enjoyed breathing in the fresh air and taking in the sights. This was definitely what I came to Inner Mongolia to do and see.
For anyone who does not know, Inner Mongolia borders Russia and Outer Mongolia and is about 1000 metres above sea level. It’s a pretty large land surrounded region, actually the widest in China covering 2,500 kilometres from west to east. Our guide told us that the following week would be his last tour to the grasslands as the weather turns and becomes too cold for visiting. I think I was therefore very lucky to be able to walk the area with a little bit of sunshine.
We finished our walk and headed back on our four hour drive to Hohhot. Whilst we did have some laughs, I am incredibly happy I made the effort to go to Inner Mongolia as this was a pretty special day.
Today is day twenty-one of my travels around parts of China and thankfully I purchased a VPN otherwise I would not have access to my Gmail/Google or WordPress as China has completely blocked all access. So this wonderful VPN allows me to post on my blog.
The lake area was rather lovely at night and I managed to capture a couple of nice photos.
We did enjoy a great Chinese dinner at a nearby restaurant. Spicy tofu, eggplant [not great looking in my photo but absolutely delicious) and fried potatoes – probably not all that healthy but as it was our only meal of the day we thoroughly enjoyed it.
And a sign stating the obvious!
I must say though that the views back down the mountain were pretty special. 
Along the way there are very fit [old] Chinese men waiting near a small carriage and for a huge fee you can be carried up to the top like an Emperor…but we chose to walk.
We took lots of breaks along the way and then finally arrived having chatted to a South Korean film crew along the way who asked for an interview at the top. I told them if I can breath when I arrived, I would partake in an interview.
And without the fog we also were able to see the China and North Korea 37 boundary marker along with the dividing mountains of China and North Korea on the North Korean side.
It was then time for my interview with the South Korean film crew, shame I had windswept hair [but not in a good way]…
At the base of the mountain we stopped off and walked around the national park [more on that later], then two more buses to get back to our hotel where I collapsed!!
Earlier this year, three of my good friends and I drove just under two hours from my home in Canberra to Bundanoon which is a small country town in New South Wales. My friend Natalie had told us about this great place where we could go and have facials/massages and take country walks…so one Saturday off we all drove.
We started off with some beauty treatments and then a couple of us took a walk around the gardens which really were quite lovely and so well maintained.
All meals were included and the food was excellent. Lunch was a buffet with a variety of dishes from Mexican bean casserole, to vegetable dahl and tofu stirfry served with a variety of salads, fresh wholemeal damper [absolutely delicious] and fruit. The daily salads included a fabulous brown rice salad and an Asian peanut cabbage salad. And evening meals were three courses served with wine.
And the clear blue sky and lush green grass and trees were lovely to look at whilst reading a book or just talking in the fresh air.
And sunset was particularly lovely…
On our first morning, two of us got up early to take a walk around the town whilst my other two friends took in a yoga class. Bundanoon really is a lovely old town with all sorts of nice things to see.
Our last day we took a hike with the retreat’s guide to Morton National Park; great way to start the day and lovely views. This was followed by an exercise class and other beauty treatments…oh and a great night’s sleep.
But after three days and two nights it was time to depart; relaxed and feeling great – what a great way to spend time with friends.
I start off leaving from Canberra and arrive at Sydney Airport from Canberra for five weeks in the ‘Middle Kingdom’ and because this year [and last] I achieved Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer Status I take my friend Jon and I into the First Class Lounge. On our last occasion we saw a famous movie star so that was pretty cool and on previous occasions I really look forward to ordering scrambled eggs, hash browns and sourdough toast but since becoming a vegan, eggs are out so it was delicious sourdough, hash browns and avocado and…a glass of champagne!
Before I leave for any overseas holiday, I do a lot of research about where I want to go and then type out a full itinerary which includes details of places to visit/who I will see/my driver [if there is one]/costs and accomodation details. My friends who travel with me love it because all details are in one document and it might include a map and a link to the place we intend to visit. However, I do always leave time for resting as that is just as important to me as sightseeing. This time was no different…a complete itinerary.
We arrive in Beijing nearing midnight and I had booked an Airbnb in Sanlitun [area that is know for the location of many embassies and lots of restaurants and bars]. Our accommodation was great and the weather was amazing the next day; skies were blue [surprisingly]…but so welcome as we had great views from our apartment.
Our first day and evening we went for a walk around the local area and saw some great buildings; some I had not seen before in the two years since I had been to Beijing.
Our second day, I had arranged a private driver, one I used when I lived in Beijing, to pick us up to take us to the Forbidden City. Both Jon and I had been to there separately before, but I really wanted to go back and walk slowly through and see things I had not seen before. It was worth it as we arrived early and our fabulous driver Mr Mike had already booked us tickets so there was no need to line up; just arrive show our passports and in we went and as can be seen from my photo so did thousands of other visitors.
But before we arrived, cars are not allowed to stop on Chang ‘an Jie [street] alongside the Forbidden City or Tian’anmen Square so we parked some distance and after going through security screening (and seeing the long line of Chinese to visit the body of Chairman Mao at his Mausoleum) we entered Tian’anmen.
So as I said, we entered the Forbidden City and walked about a couple of hours. It is a former imperial palace; so impressive and really you could spend days there looking at the individual rooms containing jade, jewellery, wooden structures etc. Or like me, just loving walking around the ancient buildings because it has such an incredible history having taken fourteen-years to complete by over fourteen-million workers and the fact ordinary people were not allowed to enter without permission! I love hearing the provincial Chinese talking when it is their first visit to such an amazing place they thought they would never access.
And one of my favourite sites is the rooftops..
Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious Chinese lunch of eggplant [of course], sautéed cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, a tofu dish [that didn’t look all that good but was absolutely delicious], string beans and mushrooms and duck pancakes for Jon. And a bottle of New Zealand white wine brought by a dear Chinese friend.
What a great way to start a five week holiday in the Middle Kingdom…so until next time!!
Sue's Fabulous Travels 
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