I quite like the fact that the authorities don't often seek for proper approval when sign writing. I prefer to think that they get someone like Mr Tourette to do it instead ... more »
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Sunday, August 3
Wednesday, July 9
Camel Convoy
by
Matt
on Wed 09 Jul 2008 21:36 CST
 These are members of our tour group on camels, preparing to scale the sand dune and bracing for a brief spurt of terror as the camels, supposedly sure footed, feel like they're about to topple over as first they climb the dune and then lurch forward once they've crested the peak ... more »
Moon Lake Oasis
by
Matt
on Wed 09 Jul 2008 21:28 CST
 This is the lake where our hotel was situated in the middle of the Gobi Desert. Strangely it was covered in a thin layer of mosquitos. It was impossible to get anywhere near the waters edge without being eaten alive by the little blighters ... more »
Tuesday, July 8
Desert Road Sign
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 23:27 CST
 There were a handful of road signs placed on the route we took, obviously for the drivers benefit, but I found this one the most amusing. In the unlikely event that some mentally deficient person thought to drive their car on the desert, I don't think they would have made it this far ... more »
The Military Truck
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 23:19 CST
 This is the truck used by the Mongolian drivers to get us across the desert and to our hotel. It's an ancient thing, almost as old as the dunes it ploughed through but that's not to criticise it ... more »
Sand Dune in the Gobi
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 23:13 CST
 I quite liked the rather pristine nature of this dune and was a little upset that the driver ignored my pleas to careen up it and carve tyre tracks everywhere ... more »
The Desert
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 22:55 CST
 The Gobi Desert appears almost as soon as the Helan Mountains are left behind. Stretching on as far as the eye can see are the sand dunes, making their way slowly across the province of Inner Mongolia ... more »
Helan Mountains
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 22:48 CST
 hese peaks form part of the Helan Mountain range and the natural border between the two Chinese provinces of Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. On one side lies the baked and parched Gobi desert and the other holds the still quite dry but altogether more hospitable city of Yinchuan ... more »
Oriental Pyramid
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 22:38 CST
 Unbelievably this structure is over 4000 of our years old and houses some really ancient dead people, who were once very important ... more »
Western Great Wall
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 22:32 CST
 This is me bravely posing on a crumbling segment of the western section of the Great Wall of China. Mere moments after this photograph was taken, the ruins gave way, sending me plummeting to Earth in a jumble of ancient bricks and sand ... more »
The Gobi Desert
by
Matt
on Tue 08 Jul 2008 11:13 CST
To celebrate that I’d finally secured a job in Beijing, Hannah and I thought we should go on yet another holiday. Having never been to a desert before (unless you count sailing down the Nile through the Sahara as going to the desert - I don't) we decided that we'd go to the Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia (curiously, Outer Mongolia is a country in its own right, whereas Inner Mongolia is a Chinese province, although both speak the same language). We both liked the idea of sitting by an oasis and looking out at the sand dunes as they flowed to the horizon and beyond ... more »
Monday, July 7
An Apology
by
Matt
on Mon 07 Jul 2008 23:40 CST
I feel the need to write an apology for those people (particularly MJ, who has been the most vocal) for my tardiness in updating my blog. My only excuse is that I've recently got a job in Beijing and I've been in my "settling in" period, where I needed to get used to getting up early again and going into work (quite tiring when you haven't done it for 8 months!) ... more »
Thursday, May 15
Zhangjiajie Valley Floor
by
Matt
on Thu 15 May 2008 12:00 CST
 The peaks from the point of view of the valley floor. A huge presence towering into the sky sees everyone gazing up with their mouths slack jawed and not looking where they're going ... more »
Sandstone Peaks in the Valley
by
Matt
on Thu 15 May 2008 11:51 CST
 They rise up like giant stone nails from the tree carpeted valley floor, as if the devil is hammering away below the Earth's crust ... more »
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