Where Are We Going Sis? (姐姐去哪?): Day 3 - Sounding Sand Bay （响沙湾）

Exploring a desert has never been on my travel agenda. Brown stuff never interest me. :))) However since it's one of the must see & must do in Hohhot, I shall just do it. :) We are heading to the desert today. :))) Better fill up our tummies first. :) 

The journey from Shangri-La to Sounding Sand Bay is approximately 3 hours. Tyler & Tom were our chauffeur for the day. :) Tyler is a safer driver.

Hat, shades & sunscreen are a must! 

Arrived at our destination. :)

Shangri-La prepared lunch boxes for us and we had them before entering the theme park. Yes, this desert is a theme park. *.* 

I didn't like what was prepared for Lin & myself. :( Not Shangri-La's fault as it's challenging  to prepare meals for us with so much dietary restrictions.

Pastries for Tina & Simon.

Gobbling down Lin's gluten free pasta with red salmon. :)))

Gluten free brownies too. :)

To Lin's horror, we had to take the cable car to get to the theme park. :)))

As soon as we got off the cable car, we came to this hall strewn with lots of "Google" colors sand socks! Each pair can be rented for RMB10.

These socks are actually pretty cumbersome. 

Desert surfing vehicle

It took us two different rides to get to the final entrance of the theme park. 

Tips to avoid being struck by lighting. :)))

Tina & I went snapping away. :)))

We wanna try riding the camels too! 

These nose rings hurt! *.* Lin's not amused by the ride. :)))

We need a dip!!! :)))

Watching traditional Erdos wedding ceremony indoor is a good way to escape the heat. :)))

Time to call it a day. Two modes of transport are required. The train. :)

And the chair lift. Lin went crazy. :)))

Oh we did remember to collect a bottle of sand from the Gobi desert. :D

I find the desert trip a little man-made & amusement park like. As a result, it lacks the mysterious & adventurous elements. :(

Frankly I'm happy to be back at Shangri-La, enjoying my afternoon tea. :)))

Straight after tea, it's dinner at Shang Palace! :)

Exhausted...

We love every dish specially prepared for us by Jake. :)

Beef cubes with mushrooms atop pumkins.

Steamed fish with minced ginger

Samba prawns with broccoli

Stir fried celery

Fried rice

Chicken soup

Tomato, papaya, white fungus sweet soup. Thank you Jake for feeding us. :)

After a heavy meal, it's off to bed.