Where Are We Going Sis? (姐姐去哪?): Day 5 - Xilamuren Grassland (希拉穆仁草原) + Tyler's Farm (农家)

Dawn. We woke up at 4am to catch a glimpse of sunrise. 3 sleepy heads...zzz... *.*

Looking for breakfast :)

On our way to the dining room for breakfast ,we realised there was a bar within our compound. Didn't realise it yesterday. :)

Early risers at the breakfast table. :)

Porridge

Preserved olives

Sunny side-ups, bacon & mushroom

Beef balls

Apple juice

Roaming around after breakfast. :)

Wild flowers of the grassland :)

Archery. Great shot eh? :))) 

Lin & Tina couldn't wait to get out of the grassland, and so we were on the road again. :)

We stopped by the canola fields. :)

Can't beat Luoping's canola fields, but we were happy to see yellow! :)

Tyler brought us for Avena Nuda noodles (莜面) at a local store called 莜面大王. :) It's gluten free. I love trying out local cuisine as it tells a lot about a culture. :)

The Avena Nuda meal started with chilled cucumber. 

Beehive

Tyler showed us the way to savour this dish. :)

You dip them in a broth of lard & potato

Dun Dun - Thicker version of the beehive noodles and stuffed with potato and carrots. :)

Same way of eating

Tina

I self invited ourselves to Tyler's home yesterday as I wanted to try local home cooking. :))) However his parents were busy harvesting white radish and weren't able to cook for us. :) I told him we are happy just visiting his place. :)))

We needed to go through bumpy roads to get to Tyler's place.

Road to Tyler's house :)

Arrived :)

Tyler's house! :D

Love the self sufficiency of Tyler's place. :) Check it out!

Small but pretty grape vines.

Grapes! :)

Playing with HuHu under a canopy of grapevines.

This neglected one needed some attention too. :)

Apple tree

with lots of apples

Tomato plant :)

with lots of tomatoes

The chives are so well grown. :) Lin's ones were miserable. :)))

Beans

Gourds

Heading indoor for some respite from the afternoon heat. 

Chinese new year decor :)))

Harvest

Melons harvested from Tyler's family farm. :)

Lin was intrigued by this plant at Tyler's house. :)

Tyler packed one for Lin to take home. :)))

Tyler's mom & dad were busying cleaning the white carrots for sale in the market. :)

Clean & fresh! :D

We checked out the village and the fields with Tyler & the dogs. :)

It was so hot Huhu needed umpteen dips in puddles of water & ponds.

Off to the fields we go. :)

A pity the corns aren't ready to be harvested yet. :(

Tyler took us to his aunt's place. :)

Tyler's aunt keeps lots of farm animals. :)

Plum tree

Some melon

Huhu dipping in water again. :)

Crossing the fields 

The dogs enjoyed their afternoon. :)))

Tyler washed some melons for us. :)

Melons

Tina took a bite! :)

Nom nom nom...

Impossible to finish...I gave half to Simon & I had no idea what he did with it. :)))

Munching our way back to Tyler's home. :)

Gorgeous blooms along the way. :)

Making friends before heading back to Shangri-La Hohhot. :)

This little one was very pleased with the strawberry cookies we gave her. :)

Back in town! :)

And enjoying our happy hour at Shangri-La Hohhot. :)

Wine & cheese for Tina. :)

Coke & yoghurt for her too. :)

Our dinner was straight right up after happy hour. :))) Victor introduced Mongolian wine to us. :)

Sweet

Soup

My fav dish

Fish

Minced pork on melons, potato, carrots & daikon

Beef slices

Chicken on melons

Stir fried gluten free pasta. :) 

As for dessert, it's durian mousse. :)))

Ending our day with more fruits. :)))