Arrival in Henan Mongol Autonomous County

Photo: Manager of the hotel in which we spent most of our nights in Henan Mongol Autonomous County (August, 2010).

28 July 2010

Sander and I have to make our money last. We have no choice but to make every Yuan Renminbi stretch as far as possible. We can't leave China before our flight, and don't want to leave Amdo in Greater Tibet until the last possible moment because our money goes further here. This has meant a change in lifestyle.

We can't graze through the course of a day simply because an abundance of food is available in the refridgerator or cabinets. We have no refridgerator or cabinets. Processed food in China is expensive, although there is a lot of it and it's beginning to show on the waistlines of the more affluent Chinese in the form of pounds.

Meanwhile, I'm shedding them. I eat meals and seldom anything in between. I've gotten used to being hungry. That has been a big step for me. Before this trip, at home, I never went hungry for very long. At the slightest urge, I shoveled or woofed something down. But not now. I even wake up famished because I don't eat before bed. If I'm hungry at night I drink a cup of hot water. At home, I had a couple beers.

The first day we arrived in Henan, I had a regional beer to celebrate even though I had a headache. I didn't realize that my headache was the beginning of altitude sickness. It was a mistake drinking the beer with altitude sickness. I haven't had a drink since and feel no need to. It's odd, but I feel better, thinner, healthier, than ever. I would like to think that I'm acquiring a heightened sense of discipline, but it's really a matter of necessity to stretch our money. The true test will be after we return home and I have food all around me 24 hours a day. But for now, this lifestyle has been good for my wallet and waisteline.

Sander, on the other hand, I try to keep well fed at all times. He doesn't need to lose weight. But he doesn't have the option, like the yaks and dri around us, to graze through the course of the day. So Sander might be losing a little weight too. I hope not. But as Big Tiger and Christian often say in Muhlenweg's book about their adventures in Mongolia, "It can't be helped."