September 2, 2015 Sainshand, Mongolia to Erenhot, Inner Mongolia China

Today we left Mongolia and entered Inner Mongolia, China.  The distance was only 217 km (136 miles), but because of the border crossing and China's need to impound our motorcycles overnight, we were boots up at 8am.

The whole "ger" staff came out to see us off and have their pictures taken next to or on a motorcycle.

The sun was just peeking above the horizon.

It's a magical moment to be alone (almost) in the morning desert light.  Emptiness is all around, but it is so peaceful.  At least for the passenger.  David was busy concentrating on the road ahead, alerting me to any major bumps and holes.

The first gas stop was back in Sainshand.  The smaller bikes wouldn't make it to the border without a full tank, and gas stations with good gas are far apart.  Once again we had smooth open roads.  Tempting as it was to go all out again today, everyone stayed together because of the upcoming border crossing.

We noticed fewer herds of animals today, and even fewer Gers.  We did however, come across a herd of camels.  Asian camels, unlike the African variety, have 2 humps.

Janus decided to get in for a close up.  I expected the animal to be either aggressive or timid.  They basically ignored him until he got as close as the above photo and then they just calmly walked away.

Apparently there are a lot of camels in this area and the locals are proud of it.

The road remained well paved and line of sight was great all morning, until we were very close to the border.

Then the road just ended.  Seriously, jus stopped.  We were dumped onto sandy dirt to ride for about a mile.

Eventually we got back onto pavement and approached the Mongolian checkpoint at the border.

We parked in a line and proceeded to jump through all the hoops necessary to get out of Mongolia.  All drivers were given a slip of paper that needed to be filled out and stamped four times.  It was like a scavenger hunt trying to get the necessary stamps to leave.  For most of us, the first three were relatively easy.  But several drivers couldn’t get the lady to give them the third stamp.  No reason given.  Eventually, that did occur.  By far the worst part of the process was getting the exit stamp on the passports.  We, being the civilized westerners that we are, lined up to patiently wait our turn.  However, it soon became evident that there were different rules at play. 

Mongolian drivers let their friends, or even any one that looked like a friend, into the front of the line.  We were not getting any closer to our fourth and final stamp.  We decided to play by their rules.  We crowded close to the window in a scrum formation, and wouldn’t let anyone else get close to it.  Finally, it was our turn.  Dave and I handed the woman our passports and bike documents.  Dave got his stamped, and after a little explanation that I was his passenger, mine too was stamped.  Mary Jane and Steve were next.  The official took Steve’s passport and stamped it, but then told Mary Jane to go into the building next door.  All passengers need to have their passport stamped inside. Mary Jane’s protested that she had stamped my passport, as a passenger – why couldn’t she stamp hers as well?  To no avail. 

It was then that a nice gentleman from a group called “Around the World Unlimited” stepped in to help.  He was Mongolian and spoke the language.  He took Mary Jane and Mona inside to get their passports stamped.  A few minutes late he ran back out to his car and then back inside again.  In order to get the exit stamp, a fee had to be paid.  Neither lady had any  of the local currency – we had used it all at the last gas stop.  This guy paid for their exit stamp!  How nice can someone be!

Finally, everyone had four stamps on the white paper and the exit stamp in the passport.  See all the happy faces?!

Well, there’s always someone who wants to clown for the camera.

 We left the Mongolian bureaucracy behind…

…headed towards China.

Boz couldn’t get out fast enough.

We waited in line again.  At first it seemed as if we would not be allowed to enter.  John’s conversation with this official yielded a curt, “You wait.”

We have new Chinese guides joining us for the next five weeks in China.  They were waiting at the border station.  After we got hold of our guide by cell phone, and she was allowed to come to the gate, the official made some additional inquires and allowed us to pass on to…

…another line.

Here we waited for an official to check the motorcycle VIN and engine number against the ones sent in prior to our arrival. They even had the guide remove all the bags from the van so Marilyn’s wrecked bike could be checked.

I tried to be stealthy as I photographed in the border zone (read – no photographs allowed), but my favorite photo bomber caught on.

After three hours of trying to get through the border crossing we were in China - but not our motorcycles.  They were to remain impounded overnight to be thoroughly checked over.  It’s common procedure, although why it’s done, we’re not entirely sure, because we locked the panniers and took the keys with us.  We went by taxi to a nearby hotel, the Pacific International Hotel – comfortable, but not luxurious.

Here we found the generous man and his group from the border and we again thanked him and his group for their help.

We showered and relaxed in our rooms for the rest of the day.  For dinner we went to a "hot pot" restaurant.  Each person is given a pot of broth to cook a variety of meats, fish and vegetables with herbs and spices of their choice.  Our west coast members have similar restaurants in their home towns, so they and our guides coached the rest of us on the cooking technique.  It was a good meal and happy evening.  The only thing lacking was a good pot of tea for Alex and Ida.  In Mongolia they drink hot water, not tea.  Go figure.

Tomorrow we will retrieve our bikes, go to the police station for Chinese drivers licenses, and head east toward Ulanchap - staying in the Gobi desert, but now with Chinese elements.