The Landscape

It took us over an hour on the train before we got out of the Beijing.
At first, the train went through an area of small, but steep mountains where the train seemed to spend as much time inside tunnels as it did outside. Every little flat piece of land was used for farming, but there wasn't much to use.

Gradually, however, the landscape flattened out and we passed many villages that were surrounded by flat farmland.

By the end of the first day, we were getting into the vast area known as the Steppes. These are dry grassland areas, where there is in fact very little grass - it's very short and sparse. This is the land of the Mongolians (who live on the Chinese side of the border as well).

We stood in amazement at the endless expanse we saw go by us - hour after hour. Occasionally, we could spot a few animals - either cattle, sheep, or even camels, and sometimes wildlife such as antelopes. Sometimes, we would see more dead carcasses along the way than we'd see live animals. At times, the sparse grassland gave way to sandy dessert. Every so often, we'd see a ger (or yert) - the round tent of the nomadic peoples who live on this land.

NS Board member Steven Lonsdale checks out the scenery. Emily Karpik celebrates our arrival to Mongolia - she was one of the students who advocated it as a destination.