We went on a Grasslands tour! When we were on our way to the grasslands, there was a stretch of straight road, so we were driving fairly fast. We ran over something on the road and BAM! Our tire on our car popped!! Our minivan swerved all over the road. While we were swerving, I was trying to figure out what I could hold onto. It was good that no cars were coming the opposite way at the time. Amazingly, our driver was able to keep the van on the road. We all got out of the van while they changed the tire. Maybe I wasn’t the most scared though. Again, we were sitting in what we figure are the safer seats in the middle of the van. One Australian guy who had been sitting near the front in the middle kept saying how scared he was. He said the whole time he was imagining himself going through the windshield in front of him.
The condition of the grass was pretty bad, but we enjoyed the trip. We went horseback riding. It was the first time for me! Nobody spoke English, so they couldn’t give me instructions. They just motioned how to turn right, turn left and stop. They said stuff in Chinese, but I don’t know what exactly. We started out… and suddenly the horses began to run!! I almost cried. Whaaaaaa, nooooooooo!!! There was another Australian girl in our group and she helped me a bit. My horse was clever. He could understand guide’s voice. Also, my horse and the Australian girl’s horse seemed to be friends or siblings, so they stayed close together. Little by little, I got used riding. I could run fast! I was really enjoying it. I think I’d like to try horseback riding again! :-D After riding the horses for about 2 hours, we walked around few hours. Then we returned and saw Mongolian wrestling and horse racing. We started supper around 7pm then watched traditional Mongolian dance. Afterwards, we were also able to dance a bit. We slept in a yurt (a traditional Mongolian home). It was very cold that night, but with the blankets we were warm enough.




大草原ツアーに参加しました。
なんと、途中で車のタイヤがパンク！！
運転手が上手いこと止まってくれたおかげで、怪我もなく済んだ。
パンクして車がジグザグ走ったときはどうなるかと思ったが・・・
キャンプ地に到着・・・季節も少し遅かったせいもあるけれど、草原のコンディションは良くなかった。
でも、生まれて初めての乗馬を体験！！
説明はもちろん全部中国語。少しだけ英語が混じってたけど。
もちろん中国語の説明なんて分かるわけがなく・・・
教えてもらったのは右に曲がる方法と左に曲がる方法とストップの仕方のみ。
ハイ、それでは出発！・・・っておいおい！私メッチャビギナーなんですけど！これだけでいいの？
出発してすぐはゆっくり歩くだけでよかったんだけど、すぐに走り出した！！
えええぇぇぇぇぇ～～～ちょっと、ちょっと待ってよ～～Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!
泣きそうになりながら必死で手綱握ってた。
同じツアーの人達も止まってくれて、「戻る？」って尋ねられたけど、お金払ったのもったいないし、意地でもやってやると思い、ガンバッタヨ！
同じツアーのオーストラリア人の女の人がすごく上手で、教えてもらいながら進んでいった。
幸いなことに私の乗った馬はすごく利口で、ガイドの声を聞き分けて判断するし、オーストラリア人女性の馬と友達か兄弟らしくいつもくっついて走っていた。
他の馬は、利口でない馬もいた。何を言ってもやってもいうことを聞かない。
私はラッキーな馬に当たったんだわ！ ＾０＾！
次第に慣れてきて、メッチャ早く走れるようになった！まるで競馬選手のように！
皆、私が始めての乗馬には見えなかったって言ってた！すごく上手だったってさ！＾０＾v
乗馬が終わったら、数時間散歩して、その後モンゴル相撲と競馬を見た。
ディナーの後モンゴル舞踊や歌を披露してくれ、観光客の人達とダンスをして夜を過ごした。そして、モンゴルのテント式住居のパオで寝ました。