A Geographer in the desert - Experiencing Dunhuang in the mid-1990's

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Eventually I reached the track leading up towards the massive sand dunes. Many camels were tethered while men sat alongside, chatting. Resisting calls to go ‘camel riding’ I walked on, wanting to be alone in the desert. Apart from an isolated cottage, there was initially no hint of habitation or vegetation. On that first visit to the dunes, it was early morning, just after sunrise, with the landscape bathed in an ethereal light. Ahead lay ridge after ridge of sand. Walking, I kept going deeper into the emptiness. I thought of early travellers who if they made mistakes with direction could be so easily consumed by such a desert.

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