The Adventure to Daqingou, Inner-Mongolia
Monday, 19 October 2009 10:04
On June 5th at 5:35 p.m., Lifepegs started the Expedition trip to Daqingou of Inner-Mongolia with 82 members. The theme of this trip was creativity, so members were divided into two teams fittingly named the “designers” and the “inventors.” During the trip, the two teams competed with each other in small games, including an ongoing “tick-battle,” and bigger competitions as well, such as the picture hunt. Winners received special badges in commemoration of their victories at Daqingou!
Arrival
After six hours travelling by bus, we arrived at Daqingou and went to sleep in our inner-Mongolian yurts right away. The next morning after breakfast, we made our way to the underground forest. Everyone enjoyed the beauty of the forest, including the clear, cool water from streams flowing through the woods and the peace brought by the nature preserved there. In the afternoon, we went horse-back riding - some of us pretending to be knights while others imagined we were really just a bunch of cowboys. In the evening, we watched a Mongolian bonfire show and were all very impressed by the display of ancient Mongolian culture through dancing and singing performances.
River Drifting!
The next day, we travelled a little further out to Sanchakou for some “river drifting!” Campers excitedly collected not only the multiple water guns being sold by clever vendors ahead of the river, but also buckets for really soaking each other! A few insightful folks bought the rain slickers as well, but some of us (targets) were not so insightful. After coupling into our floats, the water war began… with raincoats, water guns, and water buckets! You can imagine the screaming, water-throwing, hysterical laughter, and soaking which followed! Every camper was thoroughly exhausted after the thirty-minute ride down the river, but at least we all had a chance to dry in the light breeze of the trolley ride back to Daqingou. Lunch time brought steamy Mongolian-style milk tea as well as Mongolian pies, and we all quickly found our appetites, diving into the hot, delicious treats！
After lunch and few more minutes of last-minute shopping, we reviewed happy memories of our trip as we quickly replayed our pictures. Then it was time to load on the busses again and leave our lovely place in Daqingou. We were contented to travel however, with loads of newly-purchased Mongolian cheese and beef jerky. During the trip back, we stopped for a break and took a picture of the whole Life Peg’s Daqingou group in a beautiful lake-side field as a keepsake of our visit to the Mongolian grassland.
What did our members have to say?
Chen Lei, a member of our trip, commented, “I enjoyed the beautiful scenery as well as the kindness of the people [in Inner-Mongolia]. And it was quite an adventure to explore the underground forest!”
Another member named Chen Lei (also known as “Lucky Star”) remarked, “Riding the horse is definitely an unforgettable experience for me. When I was riding the horse under the burning sun, wearing a cowboy hat, I really thought I was a cowboy!”
Another member, BinBin, said, “We were really happy to share together and to help each other. We had fun!” And one student from Taxation College, Zhang Hao rightly observed, “We can sum up this trip in one phrase, which is, coming back to nature with friends that will last forever. It relaxed me from the pressure of college life as well as helped me get to know many friends. I am totally into it!”