On a hot summer night, my friends and I left Datong for the City of Huhhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. The train was very crowded and hot, with no air conditioning. Even the aisles were filled with people and luggage. We stood for the entire five hours. It was about 4:30am when we arrived. It was pitch black and we had no idea where to go. Luckily, some local travel agencies were waiting to pick up their customers and we decided to tag along. Fortunately, they were heading for the prairie which was where we wanted to go anyway.

After having some breakfast in the city, we traveled by minivans for three hours to the outer edge of the prairie. The sky and the clouds seemed to be so low that we could touch them. Clouds changed their shape quickly. We were indulging ourselves in the beauty around us when suddenly our mini-van came to a stop by the side of the road. Broke down! We got out of the van and stretched. Not frustrated at all. After all, the day was so gorgeous, how could we feel bad? In about half an hour, we got a ride from another van that passed by. We arrived the prairie around noon time.

In the afternoon, we went horseback riding. This was my third time and I enjoyed it although I was a little scared at first. My friends' horses didn't want to move, but mine was just the opposite; it seemed to enjoy running very much. I loved the feeling of hearing nothing but the wind. At one point the horse ran down the hill towards a lake. I could tell the horse must have been thirsty because it began to run faster and faster towards the water. My right foot fell out of the stirrup and I couldn't control my balance. Finally, the horse threw me off. It happened so fast. I felt myself losing consciousness when my friends caught up to me. Lying on the

ground, I felt exhausted and my hearing was about gone. I felt myself drifting into my dream. My friends shook me and got me up off the ground. They insisted that I keep walking. So I walked around the lake. After a while, my ears seemed to open up and I could hear again. And no bones were broken, but my right elbow and hip were all black and blue. What an adventure!

We spent two days on the prairie and slept in a Mongolian tent. At night we went to the party held for tourists. The host and the hostess offered every guest very strong liquor, like vodka. And we had to drink it all to be courteous. My swollen elbow seemed grateful, but my head was really spinning and my feet couldn't seem to make good contact with the ground. Everyone sang and danced all night long. When we left the party and walked back to our tent, we saw millions of stars twinkling in the dark blue sky. Suddenly my heart was filled with sadness to think I would be leaving this place. When could I come back again?

Going home was extremely difficult. The travel agency couldn't get us return train tickets. We had no choice but take the bus home. This was the kind of bus that equipped with bump beds. Two days after departing Huhhot, we arrived in Beijing, still thinking of our adventures on the Inner Mongolian Prairie.