Sesser

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal The Mongolian camel driver-guide Enkhtuya, left, owns 30 camels, used for tourism and the fur that goes into camelhair coats.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal A rare grassy patch in the Gobi Desert provides the camels a roadside bite.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal Mongolian camel driver-guide Enkhtuya A stuck-in-amber, landlocked bubble of the prehistoric past, the Gobi is also one of the greatest paleontological sites in the world.

Dunes Struck 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal "Over the course of the week I spent crisscrossing the Gobi—traveling an average of 50 to 100 miles most days—I got a glimpse, both literally and figuratively, of the other side of the world," writes Mr. Sesser.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal Occupying just 1% of the Gobi, the dunes are a 60-mile-long stretch of peaks and valleys sculpted by the winds, rising in some spots to as many as 600 feet above the desert floor.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

"Our two-humped camels, Bactrians, were much more pleasant to ride than the one-hump Dromedary variety I once rode in Egypt," Mr. Sesser notes.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal Avoid putting hands near a camel's mouth, warned Enkhtuya.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal Another famous sight in the Gobi is Bayan Zag, or "the flaming cliffs."

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011

Stan Sesser/The Wall Street Journal SAND SPURRED | The writer on camel trekking the Gobi's 60-mile stretch of famous sand dunes.

Dunes Struck 2011

"Arguably no ger camp in the Gobi can rival Three Camel Lodge for comfort and amenities," Mr. Sesser writes.

Camel-Trekking Across the Gobi 2011