The very name 'Mongolia' has an especially magical ring to it for me - as do a very small number of places, such as Timbuktu, Tibet and Madagascar. So when I was living for a year in China, Inner Mongolia (the Chinese part of the vast steppes region) was a must-visit destination. We set out on our journey from a beautifully old-fashioned and almost miniature railway station in northern Beijing - a building that reminded of something from Noddy's 'Toyland'. Sentimentalist and souvenirist that I am, I keep the train ticket in my wallet to this day. Our seats were already occupied by solid capitalist-disapproving citizens who were not to be moved. I happily spent the night on some sheets of newspaper under a row of seats. The first stop on the way to the grasslands was the city of Hohhot -- in Mongolian 'the blue city', symbolizing, in the culture, the sky, eternity and purity. The metropolis used to have -- maybe still does have -- lots of rather severe and forbidding Soviet style buildings and monuments, echoes of a time when the two great socialist superpowers were closer friends. So not a place of the greatest charm I would have to say. On the second day in the city, there was a mildly unfortunate episode. I was keen to photograph a woman in traditional clothing -- perhaps visiting town from an out-lying area -- but all my efforts at going about this unnoticed were sabotaged by my Chinese friends who wanted me to have a good image. The woman was stood up in front of me to be shot, and she looked exactly as though this was what she was expecting to happen. I've included in the video but it needed some explanation as I usually try not to be the ugly tourist. After visiting a Tibetan-style temple outside Hohhot, we journeyed to a tiny hamlet on our way to the grasslands -- only a dirt road with handful of houses one deep on each side. As we wandered down the street people were almost hypnotically drawn out of their homes by the sight of a foreign devil -- then lots of laughter and pulling he hair on his arms. Then onto the steppes -- sprawling to the horizon in every direction in just two colours - the yellow-green of the grass and the blue of the sky. We settled into somewhat tourist-inspired yerts and passed our days in long wanderings across the grasslands, with the occasional visit to the local 'Shop', signed in Mongolian, Chinese and English! The dream come true! Enjoy!

• published: 25 Oct 2013
• views: 161