Hohhot train station
We arrived in Hohhot, the capitol city of Inner Mongolia, early in the morning and transferred from the train to a tour bus. The plan was to freshen up in the hotel before breakfast and then venturing out onto the Steppes.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Inner Mongolia. But like much of my tour experience, I was amazed at how new and modern the major cities are. Friends who had gone before me just a few years ago described a very different experience. Of course, this was true in Beijing because of the Olympics. But it was also the case in more remote areas.
Hohhot Hotel
Hohhot isn’t one of the international hot spots for tourism so there are no 5-Star hotels. Restaurants are also a bit limited. But I would say that it is comfortably modern. And, as in most of our tour through China, we were treated with great kindness.
The buffet breakfast at this and most hotels was surprisingly generous and stocked with many local specialties. There were trays of fresh fruit and large pitchers of juice. Rice for breakfast is a given along with fresh vegetables and soup. There were also various kinds of steamed buns and unusual sweets. I wish now that I had taken notes of the names of some of the more unusual foods. But they also served the traditional milk tea. And while it wasn’t served with ceremony at the breakfast buffet, it was delicious.
Mongolian Milk Tea is called Suutei tsai, made from brick tea that has been boiled with salt, milk and water. Frequently some grains will also be cooked into the mixture.
More on Suutiei Tsai and the Naadam Cultural Festival!
But I leave you with the photo of our hotel room tea service. Aaaah . . . .
Tea in Hohhot
