First trip of 2007: Inner Mongolia

On the last day of the year 2006, me and Kim (see below) got this crazy idea to go to Inner Mongolia. As Beijing was not cold enough, we wanted a bigger challenge: an average temperature of -15 degrees Celcius. And half a day later, we booked our ticket. The next day, we were in the plane.

This is the host family. From the left to the right: Ah Xiang, Tong Tong, Aunty (Jason's mother), Kim, Uncle (Jason's father) Jason, and me. The father of Jason is a very good artist/calligrapher His specialty is the handwriting of the Qin dynasty (200 years before Christ). We went to a Lama-tempel in Hohhot (city). The lama's are a variant of the Taoism. In fact the tempel was really beautiful, but I really don't like their gods, coz they were big and scary and in colors like black, gold with red lips. The atmosphere is very scary in general.
This is me and Jason, outside the lama-tempel. The wall behind us made me thinking of Tibet.
Halleluya, we saw sheeps!! In fact, it was too cold to go to the grasslands and the desert. But we haven't been to Mongolia, if we haven't chased after the sheep, am I right or not? .. They were just crossing the street! :D

This is a very typical old street. I loved this street. Of course, inside the little houses there are lots of souvenir shops. And there was no heating in the most of them, only those blocks of coal in an iron bucket! :D
We had lamb every meal we were in Inner Mongolia. Jason brought us to the most special restaurants: from a jungle restaurant till the traditional Mongolian hotpot restaurant. This picture was taken in one of the restaurants.~~
We couldn't see the grasslands, but there was a parc that looked like it in Boa'tou (City). We went there to ride on the camels. Now THAT was an experience. I got seasick on that hairy anymal.

Fruit after exams~~

I just finished one of the most difficult exams and I’m eating pomelo while writing this blog... For those who don’t know what is a pomelo: It’s a sort of a big grapefruit.
Once in Belgium, I was eating pomelo in my room, while expecting a friend coming to visit me. Maybe that was a bad idea because when Ari entered the room, he looked to my table and yelled: “Yalai, what’s this? It looks like a monster!” =D

I felt quite embarrassed to have a monster on my table. But they are so tasty! However, I never feel being a lady whenever I’m eating these monsters, neither when I’m eating watermelon, spare ribs in tomato sauce or noodles with chop sticks. After eating, I always look like I came back from war~ ^oo^

Anyways, one more exam to go, and than my duty in Beijing is officially over. I will move to Shanghai next month, after spending Chinese New year in the little village of my grandma. Normally, I wanted to travel during this period, but grandma absolutely needed me to come “home” at Chinese New year.
… Well, I WILL get my traveling… in the train. As I need 12 hours to go to Shanghai and another 10 hours to go back to Guangzhou.

Ok… that’s it for now. I need to clean up this war~~ =D

I have a long distance relationship~~

I have a long distance relationship with my parents, my sister, my brother and my snow white fat pussy cat.
I have a long distance relationship with my friends, my room, my home town, my favorite hot-chocolate-cake-coffee house.
I miss challenging conversations, being crazy or just hanging out with my friends. I miss the innumerous dinners with my friends in my parents’ restaurant….
I miss the way I am, when I’m with you…
…
Long distance relationships are tiring.~ “Missing” hurts….please don’t blame me because I am “away”~~

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Blame our mother earth to be that fat! ~