The Real Inner Mongolia
Written by Matt Fischbein:
It was a long bus ride yesterday, a little over four hours, due North to the camp site for our next visit in China, only this time the atmosphere was changing on us dramatically. No longer did we find ourselves in a skyscraper infused city, or neon lights to lead us down the street, just the sun in the day and the wind all around us.
We arrived at our destination by noon for a quick lunch, a very empty street filled with one story shops was all that seemed to compose the area of human development from where we were but it was early and most of us were just waking up so it didn’t really set in for us that we would be sleeping in this town.
The actual meal was a little different than most we have had thus far, many varieties of meat dishes filled the table and we only had a bowl to eat from, no plate this time. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was one of the small things that made us realize we were in a very different kind of China than before.
There was a little confusion about where we were going next, apparently is costs a little extra to take the raft ride down the river and the water level was very low so not many people thought it was worth the effort. But there was a large ravine close by which perked up a lot of us, well there were a lot of steps to begin with so a few people had doubts at first. It was a huge valley in the landscape covered with trees and wildlife, much like a nature center is in the States, with paths and signs leading the way. We all got a lot of pictures but I neglected to bring my camera so I will have to live off my sister’s pictures for this portion of the trip. It was quite interesting to see the trees intertwined like they were and the numerous stories about them or what they represent, one was two roots that formed separate trees yet they wrapped around each other like a couple and there was a third root that sprouted close by which is believed to be their child.
When we finished this trip we went to our Yurt to drop off our stuff and have a few class presentations. The structure was quite different, probably related to the Tipi, it was round with a central point that was the highest in the structure. Some looked to be made of wood, others some kind of fabric that was secured in place to keep insulation. Very spacious, but there were twelve people so it was a little crammed when we all spread out at night.
Dinner was at the same location as lunch only this time it was in a Yurt and we had live Mongolian music and dancing. It was quite entertaining, at one point that singer pointed out how popular their music is by stating through our translator that ‘Mongolians sing like people eat, everyone can do it.’ Our centerpiece for the evening was roast goat, served whole on a platter at the center of our table. Kind of strange to see it come out and placed on the table with the head and legs still attached, but they wanted to present it to us and bless us with the meal by showing it to us whole. They cut it up and it came back on three plates, one of which was the head… in two pieces… People didn’t seem too attached, myself being a vegetarian I consider it a missed encounter, but others claimed it was sort of a string cheese type of texture that was very hard to chew or cut.
On our way out I couldn’t stop staring at the same road, it really reminded me of a Western film like a town with no law and it is divided by two groups. Think of ‘Yojimbo’ or the man with no name series, maybe we were like that guy, the town savior, or the one that will bring the two sides farther apart. Either way, we left without a holdup this morning and all was at peace in the town with no name of Inner Mongolia.
-Matt Fischbein