Day 8 - Yellow River, Museum, and heading Home!

We were woken up this morning at 5 a.m. by the train lady picking up all the trash in every compartment. When she finally left we were able to go back to sleep but then at 6:30 she was back; she wanted our sheets. So we woke up pretty early, everyone was stumbling over each other trying to brush their teeth, wash their face, and get dressed. It was a funny sight. 

When we finally got to Lanzhou, we dropped our stuff off on the bus and went to get brunch. We got KFC, which was the only choice apart from a Chinese fast food chain, or spicy beef noodles. Since I had gotten sick twice already I was scared to try something new and didn't want to risk it again.

After brunch they took us to the city museum of Lanzhou. I have been to the Shanghai Museum, but this was nothing like it. I loved it. There were exhibition halls for dinosaurs, Chinese history, the Silk Road, fossils, traditional history, as well as prehistoric life, especially along the Silk Road. It was really interesting to see, especially the way the exhibitions and things were presented here in China compared to back at home in the states. 

After the museum our tour give wanted to show us the yellow river. It is supposed to be one of the biggest and most important rivers here in China. When we arrived at the river, all we sad was this brown yucky water, we had to laugh because all the signs said Yellow River Mother. We walked onto one of the boats docked on the river and they were building a raft of some sort. It took us a while to realize that this was a pig raft. Apparently they take the pig, clean it out completely, fill it with air and tie it up, and then tie a bunch of them together to create a raft. It a really neat idea but pretty gross I must say.

Before we headed back to the airport they gave us a little free time and we spent it walking around Lanzhou and finding something to eat. At that point most of us were so tired and all we wanted was our bed and a nice shower, we went looking for anything that seemed close to home. We found Pizza Hut, which is actually a really nice restaurant here in China. We had a great meal, and belly's full got on the bus to head to the airport.

It was a great week and it was all so interesting. I am so happy that I got the chance to go travel part of the Silk Road. The history is amazing here, and the towns around and on it still have this feeling of the past to them. Its as if technology and the fast growing pace hasn't hit them yet, I hope it won't. 

I have to say though, my favorite part was the desert and of course the camels. Living on and by the water, the desert is something very foreign to me but also so intriguing. I can't wait to go visit another desert and hopefully ride more camels.

Pictures will follow shortly. Sorry it has taken me so long. Being sick, catching up, and a lot of school work keeps me busy.

I hope you enjoyed my week trip, or a little glimpse into what we did!

Love,
Stefanie

Day 7 - Mogao Groettes, Great Walls and Passes

Today we spent the day sightseeing. 

In the morning we went to the Mogao Grottoes which are caves in the sand dunes. Buddhist travel monks, who came here mainly from Tibet, used these caves for painting, sculpture, and lecture. All in all there were almost around 300 caves of all sizes. 

It was pretty neat to see the painting and the sculptures, each symbolizing an aspect of Buddhism that that monk taught, meditated by, or believed in. There was one cave that had a 36 feet tall Buddha statue in it so when we were standing at its feet, one could barely see the top of the head. Apparently this was the third largest Buddhist statue in the world.

After the Mogao Grottoes they took us to another part of the Great Wall. This part was over 2,000 years old and dated back to the Han Dynasty. It was pretty cool to see, even after 2,000 years of history and erosion, what was left of the Han Dynasty wall. The remains weren't much, but every time I am amazed at the history that lies behind it all. 

We also visited the Yumen Pass which is where merchants and travelers had to pass in order to enter into China from Mongolia. Now the only thing that remains is the huge rock, but I believe in ancient times, the walls were constructed around it and this was the only way for merchants to pass.

It was freezing today. It felt as if the temperature dropped over twenty degrees and nobody was prepared for it. I guess since we were in the desert, the temperature does tend to do that. 

That night we had another train ride ahead, but we didn't mind, we were starting to get used to it all. 

If you didn't get to close to anyone and you were able to get a few hours of sleep, you did pretty good. 

It was an interesting day and I think seeing history is always fascinating, much better than any history book. 

Day 6 - 骆驼！ (Camels!)

When we finally got there, we got on the bus and drove for a while but our tour guide let us check into our hotel and shower and change. The train ride was great, but there's nothing like a shower to make you feel better after two long days.

For lunch, they took us to a local family, where we could help make dumplings and they had a surprise for us. At the beginning of the trip, they told us that we wouldn't be able to ride camels, it would be too expensive. So when we went to eat lunch at the family, which had a camel farm, they said that we would be able to. Yay!

We'll they took us out to one of the saddling places and one by one, or sometimes in packs of two, they would bring out the camels. I've seen pictures of camels before and I've seen them in movies, but seeing them right in front of me is nothing like I imagined. These things were huge, and when I say huge, they were kind of scary. They were such interesting creatures though, each very different, and some of their facial features and expressions were comical.

They let us get on them one by one, where the first group set off and then finally we were all saddled as well. The way camels get up is weird and interesting. It's like they have four knees, first you go forward, then it feels like your falling backwards, and then forwards again, till your finally upright.

And then we started, it was definitely an experience. Riding a camel is nothing like a horse. It is smooth yet rocky, relaxing and fun.

They let us ride the camels for a while. We rode them through this cemetery of a kind. I believe it was were all the past travelers and natives were buried. It was so cool looking, each plot has a stone and a wall surrounding it. You could see plots for miles and miles and each had its own wall or surrounding rocks.
After a while we got to the desert and they let us dismount and climb the dunes. As before I was again amazed at the deserts beauty and how calm and peaceful everything was. These dunes are humongous and so cool to run down from. One of our friends decided to climb the highest and then run down it, we didn't see him for a while and thought the worst, but finally we heard a celebratory scream, I guess he didn't get dragged into the sand.
Our ride back was just as awesome and I must say riding camels has been one of the coolest and neatest things I've ever done.
When we got back they had lunch ready for us and we ate so many dumplings.
We went for a walk, exploring the little village. They were drying corn and cotton in every front lawn. I never figured out what they would use the corn for.
They gave us the rest of the afternoon off and we set out exploring the town and looking for souvenirs. It was a small town so it didn't take us long, but we found out they had a night market. We went back to our hotel and relaxed for a while and later that night went out again and went to the night market. It was cool seeing all the souvenirs here compared to back in Shanghai. Its so interesting to see the cultural difference of one country.

Day 5 - Rainbow Mountains

Our tour guide and teachers let us sleep in today and it felt great. Not having to wake up super early and taking a relaxing morning. I think we all needed that.

We headed out at eleven and took the bus to a local market. There our tour guide told us to find food and meet back. My friend Lindsey and I found this restaurant and we had yummy noodles, they tasted just like fajitas with noodles. Delicious. After that we walked around the market a bit and of course I was craving ice cream. We found a huge supermarket next to the market and we each bought a tub of ice cream. Even though it was freezing it was so worth it. 

We finally made our way back to the bus but literally had to walk across the whole town in order to find our bus. It took forever too, we'd stop here and buy a snack there, and of course a pictures too. I saw one of the funniest things, a sign saying emergency toilet. I still am confused as to what deems something an emergency toilet. Things like these, when I first came to China surprised me and totally baffled me, but now they are just followed by a "oh China", we're so used to it.

When we got to the bus we realized we were missing two of the students. We then followed by calling and driving around the city looking for them. Turns out they were just in the supermarket buying ice cream too.

We went to see a part of the Great Wall. Our tour guide told us that this part of the wall was 600 years which was really cool. The wall wasn't that great, but it was still neat to see that part of the history. We walked along and on top of it, at times being in China, at times in Mongolia.

After our walk along the Great Wall we continued our way and were surprised by our tour guide, he took us to see the Rainbow Mountains.

When I say Rainbow Mountains, I actually mean mountains with all sorts of colors. They were beautiful and such a fascinating sight. They drove us around in a bus, at full speed, and we had four spots were we could walk around and take pictures. We were such tourists, running around everywhere, just taking pictures of everything. It was so cool though and the scenery was amazing, it was hard not to. 

I was really happy we had the chance to see the mountains, and its amazing what nature can do. 

After the mountains we headed back to the train station. We took an overnight train back to Lanzhou, the city we started in. This was an experience. We each got a sleeper, so there was four people in each compartment. It was an interesting experience.

Since we had fifteen hours to kill, we played games, watched a bunch of movies, and just hung out and had fun. My first over night sleeping on a train experience. At the end we were so tired, I actually slept really good. 

Day 4 - Surfing the Badain Jaran Desert

I got up this morning super excited to go to the desert. I still wasn't sure what they meant by Jeep surfing but it sounded fun. 

We took the bus for a while and drove almost to the middle of nowhere. We could see the desert getting closer and closer. 

When we got there, there were eight jeeps lined up for us. We divided into four people for each jeep, having a leader or a teacher in each one. We were off soon after that. 

When they said jeep surfing, they literally meant, jeep surfing. We four wheeled through the desert, the first part was rough getting into the real desert. After that we raced up and down sand dune after sand dune. 

There were times we couldn't get up a dune and our car rolled down the dune again and we had to rev up so high in order to make it up a dune. It was just like a roller coaster. Our driver whipped our car here and there, up and down sand dunes. When we were at the top of a dune our car would dip down it again, I though our car was going to fall over. It was so scary.

We had to stop a lot though, a lot of people got sick or the cars would get stuck in a dune and not make it to the top. When that happened all the jeeps would stop together to wait and we'd get out and take pictures or just enjoy the view. The views were amazing and I loved being there. It was really cool, real cold, but the desert is just a fascinating place.

I can keep talking about it all but it's so hard to explain. I took a few videos and so many pictures, I'll post them all so you can see.

On our way back out of the desert, one of the cars broke down and we had to stop at the top of one of the dunes and wait for them to fix it. We all got out and explored or looked around. After a while everyone played games or just sat and talked. About and hour or so later, they finally got the car fixed, but it was getting late so we had to hurry back. 
We didn't make it out fast enough and it ended up getting dark while we were still in the desert. 
That was the scariest part, driving around in the desert when it was all dark. I don't know how our driver did it,but we made it out in one piece. Every once in a while we would fall down, because our car had passed another dune and dipped down. Our driver turned on karaoke in our car, I think he knew I was getting really scared.

When we finally made it out of the desert I was so happy. I was scared to death, but this was an experience I am so happy I was able to have. I love the desert and it is one of the most beautiful places I think there is. 

We go back on the bus and made it back into the city, eating dinner at out hotel. After a while these men walked in as well and we finally recognized them as our drivers. I think they were laughing because we were all dead or exhausted from our day and that drive. 

It was definitely and experience for the books.

Day 3 - A day traveling, a new experience

I woke drenched in sweat, I guess my fever broke over night.

We all got up and got dressed, brushed our teeth with water bottles and headed to get breakfast.

Our host moms made us rice and hot water, bread, butter tea, and yogurt. The rice and water was good, it was just like Rice and milk that my mom makes back home, and delicious on a cold day.

It was really early so most of us were still half asleep anyway, but we all managed to get on the bus on time.

Thankfully I fell asleep again because the ride back was scary. There was one point I could have sworn we almost tipped over, I'm surprised we didn't because one side of the bus was definitely not touching the road. It took us a while to get out of the mountains, but it also gave us all a chance to sleep. Five or so hours later we were finally back in Xiahe (夏河).

We had to run because we had to go catch a train to the next city. We made it to the train station and even had a lot of time to spare. The train station was interesting, a huge hall with so many seats. People were everywhere, not only sitting on the seats, but sitting and lying everywhere else too. It was a picture.

I was freaking out though, our train was supposed to leave and we had about five minutes left and we were still standing inside the terminal. It was funny because I was freaking out and all the teachers were as calm as can be. I guess here in China you don't panic until the minute your supposed to board the train.

When we finally went out to the terminal to board the train we probably moved around three or four times. We were told we only had about three minutes to board the train and there were thirty of us and we all had luggage.

Now the funny part was, when the train came some of us got on, but then it stopped. Apparently thirty other people had taken our seats we had paid for and there was no more space. Out tour guide had to get on the train and boot everyone out of our seats so everyone could get on and get a seat. About half an hour later we were finally all in a seat, not our assigned ones. It felt as if we were on top of each other. There were people standing in the corridors and people sitting on top of each other. Definitely an experience. The train was seven and a half hours so we spent it reading, playing cards and games, and trying to sleep. It was fun though, my first train experience here in China.
We finally got there and made our way to our bus. We had a few hour ride to our next city and everyone fell asleep again.
Our tour guide took us to another family style restaurant but I think everyone was so out of it and tired at that point, dinner was pretty quiet and relaxed.
Everybody was really happy when they took us to our hotel. I took a shower and felt so much better. I could feel two days traveling and everything just wash off.
Our friend had brought his laptop and so we watched a movie, but soon everyone went to bed. It had been a full and long traveling day. Tomorrow is jeep surfing in the desert, we were all excited.

Day 2 - An old town and new friends

I woke up feeling pretty rested. Even though it was freezing and I never really figured out how the heaters worked, the beds were really comfortable and I slept well.

I took a shower, which felt great since it was freezing here. Showering in China is interesting, the biggest challenge is to not get everything in the bathroom wet. There is no shower stall and the drain is the floor of the bathroom, and usually there isn't even a curtain.

When I left for Shanghai, I wasn't really counting on going to the North and the Silk Road and therefore I didn't really prepare and back for ice cold weather, so when I came on this trip, I packed just about every warm item of clothing I had, which wasn't a lot. Thankfully a few friends of mine lent me some warm jackets, literally saved my life.

I bundled up and headed out for breakfast. You won't ever really enjoy a cup of instant coffee as much as you do in a freezing small town in China. I was so happy when I realized we had coffee and they served us homemade bread and yogurt, along with jam and sugar.

Xiahe (夏河）is a little town West of Xi'an, which starts the Silk Road in China. It's biggest scenic spot here is the Labrang Tibetan Buddhist Monastery (拉卜楞寺), one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries outside of Tibet. The town is populated mostly by Tibetans but also Hui and Han Chinese, two major ethnic groups of this region.

Labrang Monastery is one of six great monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism. It contains 18 halls, six learning temples, a golden stupa, a sutra debate area, and is home to almost 60,000 sutras, or students of Tibetan Buddhism.

We began our tour at the outside of the monastery at a temple where habitats of Xiahe go every morning to pray and meditate. We walked along them, spinning huge revolving scripts around a huge building. Apparently believers go around this temple about three times each morning. We only made it halfway around the temple. Along the way we stopped at a store, known for its beautiful TangKha Art. These beautiful works of art take anywhere from one month to almost a year to finish, but it is clear when you see the intricate patterns painted on them. Each Buddhist family at least has one TangKha painting hanging in their house, usually in a place where they meditate.

We kept walking and of course, the tourists we are, we had to take pictures everywhere. At one point we were taking pictures in front of a beautifully carved gate, when two little boys, dressed identically would run up to be in the picture. I was taking a picture and when I looked at my camera I saw one of the boys was standing beside me, I hadn't even noticed him when they were taking the picture. They were cute and so happy we all wanted them to be in our picture, they were having a blast.

We wanted to get a better view of the city and hiked up one of the surrounding mountains and the view of the temples and monasteries, as well as the town was great!
Finally we entered the Labrang Monastery. Out Buddhist monk tour guide took us from temple to temple, and it was fascinating learning about it all. They had a temple for learning the reading and ancient texts. A temple for learning the languages, one for learning writing and reading, one for theology, and philosophy and so on. Apparently philosophy was the highest learning institution and every monks goal was to graduate from that temple or stage.
We walked into one of the halls and about 80 monks were in there meditating and it was really fascinating seeing them all chant, and as we walked further into the temple, to where we saw the sutra, monks were eating and meditating. It was hard to really understand our guide because he was translating for our Buddhist guide so I didn't really understand it all. It was great to be able to see it all though.
We had lunch at another local restaurant, family style of course and it was delicious. After lunch we made our way to the Old Town. The bus ride was long and at times scary. We had to drive through mountains and the streets were not very good and usually had huge holes. We finally made it though and greeted our host families. For the rest of the afternoon we explored the little old town, interacted with the families, played games, helped make dinner, and climbed a mountain. The town was surrounded by a huge was and only had two entrances. We climbed on of the mountains outside the wall and the view was amazing. Mountains went on and on, in the distance we could see snow covered tops, and we were able to get a great view of the town.
It is amazing how these people built this little town in the middle of nowhere, hours by bus away from any other life form. Their town is set in a valley, surrounded by huge mountains that stretch on forever. The town is populated by only about 600 people, and they have no source of income. They own herds of sheep which they use for milk and meat as well as making their own clothing and they also have five cows they use for milk and meat.
What I found was interesting was they sent their children into the cities to work, who then send back money. The parents take care of the grandchildren and this form of living has worked for almost a hundred years now.
We spent the night there, me and three other friends stayed in one of the houses which contained a brick bed, also used as a seating area, a stove and a closet. It wasn't the most comfortable but the experience was what it was all about. I was still sick, so sleeping right next to the oven helped a lot.