Home»China and Mongolia

In June/July 2012 I traveled to the remote hill tribes south of Guilin in China. After flying from Fargo/Denver/LAX/Beijing which is around 14 times zones, I flew another three hours to Guilin. The driver I would have for the trip picked me up and drove me to the town of Yangshuo, where I met my guide Zhou Hong Guang who went by the name of Jack, after the fictional character Jack Dawson in the movie Titanic. Jack had a degree in civil engineering but became disillusioned with field and started guiding full time.
The next day we set out early, and boarded a small boat for our trip down the Li River which runs thru the Karst Mountains. I have to admit, it was one of the most picturesque areas I have ever visited. We would stop along the way and visit old villages that had changed little in the last several hundred years. The next day we traveled to the Dragon River where we again floated the river and stopped at more ancient villages.
We then traveled further south into the Longji rice terrace area. This area is totally different than the flat rice fields you would see along the rivers. The villagers take advantage of the mountain sides and dam large areas and plant rice. The fields have an intricate system of irrigation from rivers that start in the high mountains. After hiking this mountainous area for a couple days you get an appreciation for how strenuous the work is.
One of the most interesting tribes in the Longji terrace area has to be the Dong Tribe. The women of the tribe who work and live in the area cut their hair one time when they are 18 years old. For most women, that is the only time they cut their hair. The hair is saved and is woven into their natural hair. There are photos showing one lady removing than reweaving the hair.
The next couple days we traveled around the Longji area and visited more villages, markets, historical sites. Jack is 27 years old and liked to hike. So my day usually started about 5-5:30 in the morning and continued into the early evening. We did a lot of hiking into some of the most photographic areas anywhere. Also, Jack thought I should have a good view in whatever village guest house we stayed in, so rather than have a room on the first floor, my room was always on the top floor.
A few of the remote villages had internet so I was able to send some photos back to people in the US. Also, I carried my IPAD as my internet connection. Anytime I brought the IPAD out to see if I could connect to the internet, a crowd would gather around. Even though I could not communicate with them verbally, we communicated through the photos I had saved on the IPAD. Although the villagers have seen snow, the photos of snow and snowstorms in MN really got them excited. Sitting on an old bridge, surrounded by several elderly men and showing them photos and to see their excitement was one of my most memorable times of the China trip.
From Guilin, I flew back to Beijing, stayed overnight then early the next morning I was back at the airport, boarding a plane for Ulaanbaatar ( UB ) Mongolia. I was met at the airport by my guide Bayasaa and transferred to my hotel in downtown UB. The next morning we boarded a plane for a 1 ½ hour flight south to Dalanzadgad, a small town in the center of the South Gobi province. We met our driver who drove a 4WD van and departed for our first ger ( yurt ) camp. The camp was located in the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park. This camp is close to the Flaming Red Cliffs of Bayanzag. The cliffs are the spot where in the 1920s Roy Chapman Andrews from the American Museum Natural History in NYC did a series of dinosaur expeditions driving a fleet of Dodge cars from Beijing. It was in this area where Andrews discovered nests of dinosaur eggs as well as other prehistoric animal skeletons.
We traveled deeper into the Gobi Desert to the Khongorlin Sand Dunes where we stayed for a couple days and I had the opportunity to ride the two hump camel to the dunes. After having previously ridden the one hump and now the two hump and since there is not a three hump, I can happily say my camel riding days are over.
We then traveled into the Eagle Valley where we hiked to one of the 68 remaining glaciers in Mongolia.
During the tour of the Gobi we traveled approximately 600 km. Most people in this area are still nomadic and continually move their gers and camels, horses and goats to new grazing areas. The nomads usually live in one ger and have another ger set up for cooking. The nomads use camel dung to heat the stoves since there are few trees in the area. Some have satellite televisions that are powered by a small wind generator or solar panels. Many still use their pack animals to pull small trailers loaded with their dismantled gers but some have Russians jeeps which are said to be great expedition vehicles.
We then flew back to UB where I spent the night. The next day I flew back in Beijing, where I spent the night and had the opportunity to visit Tiananmen Square and several surrounding parks and historical sites.
The next day I was back at the airport for the flight back to the US.