Travel blog by Päivi & Santeri Kannisto

Here are some photos of our Palladium-Porcelain-Panda wedding anniversary (the 3rd). You can also watch more photos of our previous wedding anniversaries and wedding.

Travelling to Tibet by the new Qinghai-Tibet railway was awesome and easy. No notorious travel permits were needed. Tibet itself with its mountainous scenery and minority people reminded us of Bolivia, which we love, except that it was way more touristy. Still, at least the train trip was worthwhile. Our train trip started from Lanzhou, China. Originally we had tickets to Golmud only, where we intended to stop, but as we entered the train we discovered that it will go all the way to Lhasa. So we extended our tickets in the train without hassle. No-one asked for any travel permits.

Hohhot (Huhehaote in Chinese), is the capital of Inner Mongolia province located beyond the Great Wall in China. Many Chinese asked us why we were going there. According to them, there is nothing and the remote province is populated by "barbarians". Inner Mongolians call themselves Mongolians just like Outer Mongolians.Hohhot proved to be an interesting blend of modern China and Mongolian culture. You can feel the difference right away when you get out of the megalomaniac train station. Nearby streets are full of little eateries where people sit outside. In September the weather was already a bit chilly and people were keeping themselves warm by the fires, wearing jackets and wollen pullovers.