Category: Inner Mongolia

And the Winning Prize Goes to.....

8/26/2014

... Marion! Congratulations Mani, you were the first to get back to me and correct my temporary blond affliction (sorry other Blonds!) informing me that it is a HERD of horses, not a gallop, nor a huddle, nor even a flock, lol... So, without further ado, here is your virtual prize:

Embracing something of a wave-particle duality, what's inside is pure possibility at this stage, and can be whatever you imagine it to be! I.e. another mountain bike, some cycling gear, cake etc.... Enjoy!

Now, onto the 'running' bit. No run this morning, but I got back to some strength/weight training. I was shocked to realise that I am down to doing this only about once a week, with the rest of the days taken up by running and cycling as I've recently bought a mountain bike. Why the mountain bike? I hear you ask (well, maybe). We-ell, Husband and I have registered for this event to be held on the beautiful grasslands of Xilingol next July! http://www.genghiskhanmtbadventure.com/ Clicking on this link will take you through to the page for the Genghis Khan Moutain Bike Adventure and Extreme Grasslands Marathon!!!

This is going to be awesome! So excited. Some friends of mine did it this year and highly recommended it, so Husband and I will be competing together, although not the running portion for him due to an old rugby injury (his knee). We will take part in two days of cycling (out of the three available) and I will also do the half marathon. We have opted for the 'long' option, so that means about 60kms on one day and 40kms on the other (the 'short' option was about 20kms each day). So, in between now and then I will be getting in as much training as possible while there is no snow and minus temperatures to contend with. However I still want to pick up my strength training and do more of that, so will be aiming to get a few more sessions in each week. It's all about balance right?

Who else is keen?? Fancy an amazing adventure to the beautiful grasslands of Inner Mongolia AND you get to take part in an awesome challenge too??! This could be your backdrop for a run or cycle next July if you come on over (although we'll probably be dressed in racing gear by then instead):

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Inner Mongolia (AKA 'the money shots')

8/24/2014

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There is one word to sum up my runs through Inner Mongolia (nei menggu): 'nature'. Probably my favourite runs of the whole trip, and an oft used mantra from my 50km trail race in the mountains courtesy of Husband/coach came back to me: 'one with nature'.

I had plenty of company on some of these runs, including cows, sheep, birds, hares, WILD HORSES (yeah, just try getting that song out of your head now. Yep, you're welcome!), and a puppy, to name a few. No human was encountered on any of my runs however (bar a couple of cowboys on motorbikes speeding off to herd his cows in the distance), and I truly felt 'one with nature', as per the mantra.

SO beautiful, and so peaceful.

The first run was during our stay in a farmer's traditional yurt / ger (a monglian tent). I'd asked one of the guys there, where was good to go for a run. To which he spread out his arms, indicating the vast choice of open running routes, i.e. the grasslands, d'oh... So, off I went bright and early the next morning about half 5 (although could have been even earlier - felt like it was light from about 3 in the morning out there!). I couldn't see where I was placing my feet on each step and sort of had to run with high knees, due to all the long grass. There was thousands of rocks and roots too, was actually pretty treacherously going, and I was worried about putting my foot down awkwardly and twisting my ankle. However, all was good, and I made it back to the campsite unscathed. Later that day, another of the guys there showed me some pictures of him holding up a fairly huge snake that is common to the land all around us. I asked was it poisonous/venomous to which he'd said of course. Hmmm, lucky I didn't know about that before my run!

The next three runs also took place in the grasslands of Xilingol, but further along, and from our own campsite (i.e. just the caravan and us) at the edge of a lake. We stayed here for four nights total, and it was the most peaceful tranquil place to camp. The farmers who owned the land would come and say hello on their motorbikes before they set off for some cow herding, but apart from that it was just Husband, puppy, myself, and bliss.

The runs I had from here were far less daunting and I had a sandy motorbike track to follow for most of the way, until the road opened up to a gravelly road, which later joined on to a 'proper' (although still small) road. Yep, we were 'out there' and felt respectably off the beaten track. It was exactly 4kms to reach the road, and once on the side of the road (still the grasslands, which covers a HUGE area) you could run left or right to various yurt campsites and streams. My 'usual' run out here was a gentle 11kms run across grass, sand, gravel, and swampy muddy land. The first one was an early one and I kid you not, I ran up to a group of wild horses (what's the proper name for a group of horses?? Do you know?) who swiftly galloped away upon seeing me. Two days later, I ran up to the same group of horses, who this time, did not move. I slowed to a walk and looked at them, trying to tell them 'hey, hello there, it's ok, I'm a friend!' What looked like the main dude, a fairly large white stallion with a long white main and tail walked directly towards me. Shit! Were horses aggressive? Or did he remember me from the other day and had come to check me out? Or, was he hungry and used to humans feeding them perhaps? He got really close (about a metre or so) and we just looked at each other for a while. I then started to carry on walking, and had to walk through the group (as they were all over the path) who seemed to be curious and calm this time, each one moving slightly and looking at me, but not running off like before. So beautiful and amazing to see up close, and I'm not a particularly 'horsy' girl.

We took so many photos of the grasslands, it was hard to choose which to upload here; have a look at the serenity and beautiful countryside that is 'nei menggu':

Ok folks, what is the correct name for a group of horses?? (I.e. a gaggle of geese, a flock of birds, etc...) First one to answer correctly wins a virtual prize. :)

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Upcoming Caravan Tour

5/4/2014

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This morning’s run was an easy paced 11-12 km run. My usual route through town to the river, then alongside the river and back through a couple of parks to home, stopping off to buy breads and tea eggs en route. The last kilometre or so were spent with Puppy – came back to grab her for her ‘walk’. Attempted a run or jog with her, but she is too easily distracted and jolts me unexpectedly to a stop by pretty much every tree. (There are a lot of trees in this town.)

Lately we’ve been thinking, talking about and planning our ‘amazing caravan around China adventure’, so I’d thought I’d share a little more re: the places we are aiming to visit.

We are hiring a caravan (plus a car and driver to tow it and us) for 28 days and during this time we are aiming to visit 6 new provinces, and many many beautiful places. The first stop being Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi province, some 535kms from here, closely followed by the amazing Poyang Lake (a HUGE freshwater lake, the biggest in China I think).

We want to visit some ancient villages, known as Hui Villages, and thus head to Anhui province to see and hike up and down yet more beautiful mountainous areas. So far: Huangshan and Jiuhuashan are on our list here:

From there, we will head over to Henan province and check out the very famous Shaolin Temple, Longmen Caves, and White Horse temple:

Then it’s on to Xian in Shaanxi province, to check out the thousands of terracotta warriors:

We then hope to drive up and into Shanxi province to visit the ancient walled town of Pingyao, and then check out some cave locations at Lijiashan and the Yungang Caves:

From here it’s up into our new province – Inner Mongolia – where we’ll be spending the next year teaching in a university, but before we arrive at our destination we want to visit the town of Hohhot and Xilinhot and then the majestic, vast grasslands and beautiful scenery and people at Hulunbeier:

To say we’re a little bit excited would be a huge understatement. Can. Not. Wait. Not sure how much access to internet we’ll have while we’re travelling and on the road, so if you don’t hear from me much in July and August, you’ll know why.

If anyone is reading this has been to China and can recommend other places that are worth a visit or that you loved, please get in touch! Would love to hear your experiences and what you thought of some great places to see.

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And the Winning Prize Goes to.....

Inner Mongolia (AKA 'the money shots')

Upcoming Caravan Tour

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