To the Plains

Another gorgeous morning in Inner Mongolia.

Our first stop in a long day of driving was a very picturesque birch forest. Though it did remind us of scenes from House of the Flying Daggers and we worried about knives flying through the trees.

As we drove we saw lots of cows.

And plenty of sheep.

I guess they look pretty much the same everywhere.

Lots of yurts too. There were the tourist yurts

and then the genuine ones.

We enjoyed simply taking in the sights of the countryside as the landscape changed from northern forest to grassy plains.

We had lots of fun in the little towns trying to decipher the meaning behind the English version of various signs, or just having a good laugh.

And my favourite:

For our last evening in Inner Mongolia we're staying in the Russian border town of Manzhouli, a major centre and heavy coal mining town. Trying very hard to look like it's bigger than it is, with tacky tourist attractions that failed to impress.

And plenty of bright lights.

And one more translation laugh: