After a refreshing night in Baotou city, we were up early once more, and started making our way to the Kubuqi Desert in Ordos.

I’ve never seen a desert in my life before (tell me where to find one in Southeast Asia and Central Europe), so this was pretty exciting stuff. I realise I’m always super excited when planning for trips, but just before arriving at a place, there’s always this short fleeting doubt to whether the place is indeed going to be as awesome as I expected. I think it’s the fear of disappointment. So I desperately try to tone down my excitement some notches down just before arriving. “Meh, it’s just a place with a lot of sand innit?” (Am I the only one who feels this way when travelling?) I’m sure I’m not the only weird one out here~ Most times, I end up being blown away by how the place exceeds my original expectations.
This desert was the same. I won’t lie, it was pretty strange to see a mini desert themepark at the start of the desert. For a 280yuan entrance ticket, you get to sit on the cable cars back and forth, play desert golf, watch an Ordos wedding musical (huh?), free dip in a pool, hire a camel, hire a wrangler, and many other stuff.

I also did some Ziplining (Flying Fox), and Sand Sliding for additional 80yuan altogether. D wasn’t able to do either, unfortunately due to the 180cm height limit (that guy’s too tall for China) and adding to that, his broken shoulder.

All that themepark-ish activities over, we explored out further into the desert, getting these pictures on foot, from on top a camel, and from a wrangler.

I’ve never seen so much sand and drank so many bottles of water before. But all in all, it was a good experience popping my desert cherry at the Kubuqi Desert.

I came to the desert, and the desert left with me…quite literally.