Yearning for a glimpse of nomadic life

The sun was about to set over the grasslands of Ordos.

It was the right setting for my first experience in a traditional Mongolian tent house, except that the yurt I entered was far from the real deal.

It was a fancy commercial establishment that had large banquet tables and delicate chandeliers, not a weather-beaten dwelling made of bamboo or wood and felt, the way it used to be when nomads roamed the steppes with their portable homes and livestock.