Bayen,Inner Mongolia

Population=300. !5 families. 17 families if you include the outlying grasslands.

The people here are all friends. Very simple people. To hear of airline schedules is big news.

This is a town untouched by development or tourism. There are virtually no tourist facilities. No hotel. No restaurant. No curio shops. There is nothing to buy here except simple foods and "The Wolf Man's" carvings.

It is on the famous Hulum Buir grasslands. It is by the Halair River by its most beautiful, photogenic, and primitive spot. Your heart will beat with its isolated beauty.
It is my favorite place on the grasslands. True nature beauty. Untouched. No civilization. Nature that even National Geographic dies not see, yet it is so close.

But will be soon setting up a Mongolian tent with friends in the compound of the only small store there. In the meantime we will stay in another Mongolian tent and use this town as a base to explore, learn to make Mongolian cheese, learn to make Mongolian yoghurt, and maybe they will have some FRESH cream. Cream so thick it is almost butter without churning it. On top blueberries or strawberries or fruit it is divine.

In this area you will spend two days. If the Mongolian tent is set up, you will stay here. Otherwise you will drive about a half hour to another Mongolian tent. You will learn to milk cows, make Mongolian cheese, make Mongolian Yogurt, and cook Mongolian food.

You will likely meet "The Wolf Man" and his wife. He likes to wear wolf's teeth around his neck.

I call him this because he is an artist with Wolf's teeth. He makes just beautiful wolf carvings. Actually, any carvings you want. Animals are his speciality. Carvings take two days, as long as he does not have to watch someone elses cows or sheep. You can order them and pick them up when we return enroute to Hailar or ManZhouli (assuming he can make them).

These carvings would cost about Rmb 400 in Beijing, and in the US$100.00 in the US. Here they are Rmb 100.

He speaks only Mongolian. He has been offered many jobs by those who know his talents, but for personal reasons prefers to live here in his mud and straw house with dirt floor. He makes money herding cows, as no one in this town will buy his art. People say the money is better spent on Vodka.

This is a 100% safe town. All friends. The proposed Mongolian tent (Ger) will be in a fenced compound. The roving horses, cows, and sheep will not bother you.

The Mongolian tent is very, clean. Blankets will be given. Toilets are outside. There is no running water. There is an adjacent sauna to get a hot bath/shower at night.

Be sure to bring a flashlight and lots of film. You will never, ever see a real Mongolian town, even in Outer Mongolia. Here people work herding animals. On special occasions they wear colorful Mongolian clothes, but usually just hard working Western garb.

This is Mongolia the way it should be seen. No tourists at all. Impossible. No hotels.

All is real home cooked food with fresh ingredients. Cooking is done with lake water (boiled). We will give you bottled water to drink.

The small store has the basics. We do have a car, so you can load the trunk with "goodies" such as Coke, chips, etc.

The small store has cold beer, cold drinks, and other basic stuff. If you want more, bring it .

All milk products are unpasteurized. But who needs Pasteurization? They are clean and fine.