We arrived at the desert and I was surprised by how windy and cold it was there. The wind blew sand everywhere, and it was impossible to just look straight ahead without sand blowing into my eyes. In order to combat the weather and the amount of sand, I purchased everything that the small tourist stand had to offer. This included some awesome yellow sand socks, a white mask, large sunglasses, and a cowboy hat. (Yes I have pictures of me wearing this, but these will not be shown due to the fact that I know what will happen if I do.) This gear allowed me to be much more equipped to face the sand, but I still struggled with sand getting in my eyes the entire time. I was blinded by the sand the majority of the time I spent in the desert. It was also difficult to take pictures because the sand would blow onto the camera and quickly damage it. Fortunately my camera still works, but many of my friends’ cameras were damaged by the sand and refused to work for the remainder of the trip. The ideal camera for the desert would be a sand proof camera if those exist, otherwise a waterproof camera would probably be a good choice.
Beside the wind and sand I enjoyed everything else about the desert. It was amazing to look at the endless sand dunes and to climb the steep sand slopes. The first thing I did upon entering the desert was purchase a ticket to ride an ATV throughout the dunes. I sped through the dunes, ramping up steep slopes, jumping off others, and flying down dunes that dropped straight off. It was much more safe than any driving I have done at my home though.
I couldn’t go to the desert without riding a camel, and rode one into the desert. A camel is not very comfortable, but the discomfort was well worth it since I don’t expect to ride through the desert on a camel very often. The desert was beautiful, and if it wouldn’t have been for the wind and blowing sand I would have spent a lot of time out there. We finally gave the camels a rest and decided to play on the dunes. For the next hour we played king of the hill, tackling and throwing each other down the dunes. After we all had enough sand in our eyes to blind us for the remainder of our stay in the desert we began jumping off the top of the dunes. The dunes were very steep; the top of the dune we jumped from was about 100 feet high, so it allowed us to cover a long distance before we landed in the soft sand many feet below. As fun as this was the amount of sand that was in my clothes and covering my body by the end of my time in the desert was enough for me to fill a large sandbox.
The last thing we wanted to do before leaving the desert was slide down the biggest sand dune on a sled. The dune was very high and steep so the sled ride to the bottom did not take long. The sled supervisor taught us how to use our arms as brakes so we didn’t go to fast, but I didn’t feel this was necessary and just went down the hill as fast as I could. I was surprised by how fast the sled flew down the hill, and thankfully made it down the hill safely. A few of the other members of my group were not so lucky and flipped their sleds on the way down, causing them to roll down the remainder of the dune. If I had to choose I would have to say that sledding down the sand dunes was more fun than sliding down the Great Wall, but both are a must for visitors to these areas.
Completely covered in sand, we loaded up into the van and began the four-hour trip to the grasslands. Since our schedule was now the reverse of what I had initially planned I would get to enjoy finding sand in places I didn’t know existed for the next day since there was nowhere to shower in the grasslands. My eyes really felt the effects of the sand and it took me about two days to get all of the sand out of my eyes. I also had to take my contacts out for a few days because the sand had scratched one of my eyes. Besides the discomfort caused by the sand I loved the desert and would recommend a trip there for anyone looking for an adventure.
Beijing Shore 