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1 September: Erlian

I was able to remain awake until just after 04h30, when I dozed off until 05h00 when a grim thin line appeared on the horizon. At least now I would be able to look out over the countryside and it's grasslands. This section of the country was known for its grasslands, almost like the Russian steppe. Leanne had also awoken and we watched as the sun rose and images of camels became visible in the distance. We arrived at the station a little later. Collecting our bags we made sure it was the right station and went in search of a hotel, a small prayer after our dismay in finding a hotel in Hohhot. We walked into what looked like a hotel and asked, it was our first attempt and they showed us a room that was huge in comparison to other places we had stayed with its own bathroom for only 60Y. We paid the man and settled in, showering for the first time in days! Feeling fresh, we went in search of food and to walk around town and utilize what little time we had.

The restaurant was two shops from our hotel, we sat down and looking at what others ate, made our selection. We were handed a large pot of tea, not the same as Chinese tea, this was a type of milk tea, which we first thought to be butter tea as they make in Tibet, very nice but rich. We ordered two dumplings and a plate of what appeared to be two pancakes infused together with a vegetable and egg filling.

After breakfast we walked around town looking firstly for a travel agency. There was a nomadic tribe that herded rain deer and both of us really wanted to visit their camp and witness it. Problem was we couldn't find it and the travel agency could only tell us about a ger camp 18 km outside town. One of the agents spoke very good English and was able to give us much information in this regard, he even helped us to find a taxi, but after weighing up the costs we decided to leave it. We would be able to visit a real Ger camp in Mongolia and also be able to do horse riding. It would be better to save the money and aggregate it for then. He asked us to meet him again for lunch as he was interested in South Africa and we agreed.

Walking back we fetched our camera and headed off to a mall he had pointed out, it was filled mostly with clothing, computer, cellphones and other toys. We wandered around for an hour, buying a nice pair of earrings for Leanne, before walking back. We walked back to the travel agency and met up with Duren.

He asked whether we like dumplings which we confirmed, after which he led us to a restaurant not to far away. There he set about to order an absolute feast. One plate with chili pork, another with meat from the head of a cow and lastly 3 plates of dumplings with 10 each and two large beers! It was so much food I don't know how we finished it, but after an hour 90% of it had disappeared! We wanted to pay, but he insisted to pay for us, the total bill was 98Y, far more than our most expensive lunch in all of our stay in China! From here he led us to the other side of town where we were able to exchange some Yuan for Mongolian currency, without his help I'm sure we would have been royally conned! We greeted him as he walked back to his office and we continued to wander the streets, we had found a section with literally hundreds of small shops selling jeans, clothes, electronics and anything else.

We walked back spending the rest of the afternoon relaxing in our room and reading, the lack of sleep was starting to get to me and I fell asleep for 20 minutes. When I awoke we returned to the hotel to give Duren a present, a small RSA souvenir with a flag and lions head, he asked that we contact him on our return from Mongolia to which we agreed. Returning back we bought some water and spent the last few hours reading before hitting the sack at around 09h00.