Erg Chebbi

One of my favourite experiences in Morocco was an overnight stay in Erg Chebbi. Situated in/beside the village of Merzouga and Hassi Labied, Erg Chebbi is a sand dune rising 160+m high. Several guesthouses/establishments have setup semi-permanent camp deep into these dunes, and arranging an overnight stay in these is one of the ways to enjoy the magic of the dunes.


Many many guides/agencies are available for arranging trips to the dunes. They are available in the villages Merzouga and Hassi Labied, further in the town of Rissani, and even as far as Er-Rachidia. There are camel treks into the dunes, 4WD and even quad tours into the dunes. However, the quads and 4WDs are pretty noisy, and one of the magic of experiencing the dunes is the serenity and quiet of the place. Most of these seems to operate near the edge of the dunes, so, my recommendation is to spend the night deeper into the dunes, away from the crowd.



I took a camel trek, starting out at 4pm and with a slow ambling walk up into the dunes, you can slowly admire the beautiful golden light play on the curves and lines on the dunes. Before 6pm, I reached our Berber tent, where we view a beautiful sunset over the dunes, and then enjoy our meal of tajine under the cool light of the magic hour. And in the night, you'll experience the surreal tranquility of nature, with barely the sound of swirling sand around you (but not before some hypnotic Berber music from your guide). And whether you sleep in the tent or find yourself lying on a mattress under the star-studded sky, what you would get is a night of the most restful sleep you'll ever get....

The Gobi

The Gobi Desert, while more well-known in Mongolia, emcompasses both China and Mongolia. The word gobi actually refers to the rocky gravelly terrain and while that covers most of the Gobi Desert, there are other terrain types such as the steppes and the famous sand dunes.


The Gobi is the biggest desert in Asia. Thus travelling in it takes time, and lots of it. Along the way, however, you'll be amazed to see the nomads living in their gher and living in this land for thousands of years. With horses as their main form of transport, and the kind of environment they contend with, you can't imagine the kind of hard life they have been living. And as you stand in the wind swept plains or steppes, you could really imagine the scale, the grandeur, the enormity of the Mongol Horde.


The other highlight of the Gobi Desert would have to be the sand dunes. Being wind eroded, the sand in the sand dunes are extremely fine. I visited one of the sand dunes, known as Khongoryn Els, which stretches 100km long, 20km wide and 800m high! There are many photo ops here, however, do note that because of the conditions, you have to be mindful of a few things :

• Changing of lens takes extra care. If possible, don't even change lens. If you do, do so within your bag or a trash bag or something. With the slightest breeze, the sand particles will whirl right into your film/CCD/CMOS!
  
• Even while taking photos, some photographers enclose their SLRs with rain gear. The sand particles are so fine that they'll squeeze into whatever space they can find. I use my SLR "in the open" and after a while, I can hear grinding sound when I turn my lens zoom! Yes, the sand can even squeeze into that!
• The sand particles even went into my tripod joints. But unless you don't intend to use the tripod (then don't bring up the sand dune!), then there's nothing much you can do to prevent that. After the trip, my tripod had to undergo "servicing" to remove the sand particles.
  
• Exposure wise, nothing really special. Just note that with the shadows formed by the dunes etc can lead to many interesting compositions.

The Gobi is definitely a highlight of a Mongolia trip. Easily seen in any tour package to Mongolia. The difference is how far into the Gobi you want to venture.....