Day 9-10 : Rest : Zhongwei, Ningxia and Camping in the Tennger Desert

I decided to take a rest day in Zhongwei, and thinking of picking up additional gear, I walked over to an outdoors shop a couple blocks from the hotel. When I walked in, there were five or six people in the small little shop, and I was greeted with a big "Hallo!" They asked if "Hallo" was German, I said I didn't know, but it was definitely an English word. They confirmed that we speak English in America, and pulled a chair up for me. One of the other customers was from Henan, and a debate broke out over just how "bad" Henan people are ("huai" vs. "zei").

They were thrilled to learn that I had ridden in from Beijing, as the guys who run the store were also bikers! One of the guys had ridden to Lhasa the previous year (which I've learned is the feather in every Chinese motorcyclist's cap). We immediately broke out the maps and they recommended routes (and are convinced I can get into Tibet no problem..)

I told them I was eager to ride through the desert, and they invited me to camp with them in the desert the following day. We made plans and I headed to a coffee shop close to this fellow:




I joined the Chairman and kept on an eye on the square from a neighboring coffee shop. Later in the afternoon, these ladies came out to the square for a little dancing:




The next day, I had the morning and afternoon free to explore. I headed out to Sha Po Tou, an area where the desert hits the Yellow River:




Afterwards, I turned north heading back into Inner Mongolia and the Tennger Desert. Shortly after entering the desert, I came across a solar power plant:




Finally, I had found the endless sands I had been searching for since leaving the grasslands near Hohhot:




Somehow, these grasslands exist right in the middle of the desert:




Close to the grasslands was, I think, a plant that had something to do with salt. At least all the white stuff around the plant appeared (and tasted!) like salt:



A ranch with Chinese and the Mongolian script that is common throughout Inner Mongolia:




Even the camels stare!




After riding around into the early afternoon, I went in search of gas and lunch. After a couple abandoned villages, I finally found a place to eat. The waiter and waitress (from Hebei and Sichuan) had recently arrived arrived from Beijing to work at their relative's restaurant. They weren't thrilled with moving to the middle of the desert to work in a restaurant and said they'd find a way to get back to Beijing before the end of the year. After I finished lunch, a couple of Mongolian men came into the restaurant and invited me to join them - one taught Mandarin at the local school and the other was a farmer. They were quite proud of being Mongolian, talking about Ghengis Kahn, their horse riding and motorcycle riding skills, and that behind Russians, Mongolians are the number one drinking ethnicity in the world!

By the time I left the restaurant it was pushing 6:00, so I headed for the campsite, only to pass my camel friends again:




Look both ways before crossing the street:




The campsite was pretty easy to find:




A biker keeping watch:




We got our tents set up:




The sun set:




And dinner hadn't arrived yet! We huddled up on top of a small dune and hung out for awhile waiting for the car with barbeque supplies to arrive. We waited... and waited... and waited.. and just before midnight, they arrived! And it was well worth the wait - they set up the chuar grill, skewered the lamb meat, and we feasted until close to 2 AM. Well fed and tired, I climbed into the tent hoping to be able to sleep well past sunrise...