Jump ahead:
Day 1 | Arrive Ulaanbaatar
Day 2 | State Department Store, Gandantegchinlen Monastery, National History Museum, Sukhbaatar Square
Day 3 | Mandalgovi, Dalanzadgad, Gobi Oasis Lodge and Eco Camp
Day 4 | Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park, Canyon of Yoliin Am, Bayandalai, Camels, Khongor Els, Gobi Discovery Tour LLC Khonger Camp
Day 5 | Bayanzag trees, Flaming Cliffs, Gobi Tour (Dinosaur) Tourist Camp
Day 6 | Car Repair, Baga Gazriin Chuluu, Erdene-Ukhaa Tourist Camp
Day 7 | Drive back to Ulaanbaatar, EVSEG Factory Store, Tumen-Ekh Folk Song and Dance Ensemble
For my recap video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbPtgmWga_8
Mongolia! I was looking for something different to travel for and nobody I know has ever been or even knows much about Mongolia, including myself. Researched a bit and found there are direct flights from Tokyo and all the things people do seemed to match all my interests so I committed to going. There isn’t much internet presence in terms of tour companies, especially local ones, but luckily I came across Ayan Travels. They were the only company that combined everything I wanted to do/see in really what was a perfect itinerary for me… plus they’re a local company which can be a big advantage for this kind of trip. Communication with Mona from Ayan was very easy and they were always quick to respond to all my various questions. I only had to book my own international flight to Ulaanbaatar and they would take care of the rest.
Due to the nature of this trip, I also researched and purchased additional medical insurance… something I’ve never done before but I would recommend everyone to at least look into once. Everyone’s needs are different, and I can’t say you’d need it for every trip, but it’s just part of being a responsible traveler I guess. If anything it raises your awareness and helps you understand your own insurance(s) policies better. I ended up going with Seven Corners… it was customizable for what I needed (mostly evacuation coverage) and most affordable based on my demographics.
After registering for the tour, I tried to study as much as I could, whether it was reading, watching movies, Googling, etc. The one book I read was pretty good, “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford. It was really eye opening to learn about the history and lifestyles of the people. The more I researched the more fascinated I became, making this one of my most anticipated trips to date.
Things I was most looking forward to were camel riding in the desert, the Golden Eagle Festival in Ulgii, and hopefully horseback riding at Terelj National Park. I was a little worried about the food, especially dairy things but I made sure to bring lots of stomach medicines this time hehe. Looking forward to just being out in the middle of nowhere and experiencing the nomadic lifestyle, something so unique and different that is hard to experience anywhere else in the world. Wasn’t sure if there’d be much to do in the city of Ulaanbaatar but I could only just wait to see for myself when I got there.
Ulaanbaatar is just a 5-1/2 hour flight from Narita… relatively short. The time difference in Ulaanbaatar was only 1 hour (2 hours in Ulgii) so traveling by itself was easy. Probably the hardest part was trying to pack minimally (10 kg check-in, 5 kg carry-on for 13 days)… wasn’t going to have much room for souvenirs ehehhh.
Day 1 - 9/27/19
Since it was a relatively short and direct flight, I chose to go with MIAT Airlines due to their flight schedule and cost. Their airplane was old, not the best, with 3 x 3 (single aisle) seating but I got lucky with the middle seat being empty. Boarding at the gate in Narita was all at once so naturally people made a line early. People had so many carry-on shopping bags and even guitars (only supposed to be one carry-on allowed under 5 kg)… but the airlines didn’t do anything about it. Of course, by the time I boarded it was hard to find overhead space for my one small bag. Food on the flight was just so-so, there wasn’t much leg room, and they only had those tiny flip down movie screens every 5 rows or so… Their movie selection for this flight? Empire Strikes Back and Age of Ultron. In hindsight, I might look into other carriers next time, but overall it was at least a tolerable flight. I was too busy anticipating the rest of the trip to care about the one flight.
Landed at Chinggis Khaan International Airport at 1910. Not the biggest airport… smaller than I expected but was able to get through immigration without any slowdowns/problems. Customs form was only required if you’re declaring something so I didn’t need to fill one out.
Amara, my driver from Ayan, was already waiting at the customs exit with my name card. She showed me upstairs to quickly exchange some money, $100 @ 2661 MNT/USD (market rate was 2667), so the exchange rate is negligible.
The drive to the hotel (Holiday Inn Ulaanbaatar) took about an hour, arriving just before 2100. Driving in the city is all willy nilly, pretty much just filling in the gaps where you can despite the painted lanes. There are both left hand/right hand driven cars but you drive on the right side of the road. Bad traffic everywhere. Here they blink their hazard lights twice for thank you and three times for sorry, almost like Japan but amusing to me for other reasons. I also noticed many used Japanese cars, especially Toyota. Left lane is the designated fast lane but it’ll also have the occasional bicycle rider weaving in and out… definitely not a bike friendly city.
There are taxis out and about, but supposedly you can catch a ride with any random car by just holding your arm out, palm facing down. A willing person will eventually pull over and possibly give you a ride depending on where you’re going (the average rate is about 1000 MNT/km). It seemed to be a common thing when I saw it happening but our government website warns against doing this, especially at night. Walking around certain parts of the city at night is also advised against, more so for women (which is unfortunate but how things are here). The only other mode of transportation in the city is to catch the bus, but those always seem to be as packed as a train in Tokyo after working hours.
I unloaded my things in the hotel room, then went to the hotel restaurant on the second floor for a quick dinner before they closed at 2200. It took 30 minutes to get my steamed lamb dumplings, which were a tad on the heavy side but not bad. Beer was good… overall, just 19500 MNT total for the whole meal (about $7.40 USD).
There was a small mix-up about the number of nights I’d be in my room (should be two since I came a day earlier before the actual tour begins) but the tour company cleared it up right away with the front desk and called me right after. Initially, I was told we’d be meeting at 0900 the next morning for the city tour but it quickly got changed to 1300 in order to wait for a couple others to fly in.
Day 2 - 9/28/19
Ate breakfast at the hotel at 0800. They had a good selection/variety… just more western cuisine. It was still early when I finished so I went walking to the State Department Store… less than 15 minutes away. I kept to the main streets but even they weren’t anything fancy… didn’t expect it to be anyway. Crossing streets when walking is at your own risk, even with crosswalks and street lights.
The State Department Store was better than I expected in terms of the types of shops. Things aren’t necessarily cheaper or more expensive there, just depends on the brand. Of course the imported items cost more. The top floor is where all the typical souvenirs are (it’s pretty big). Read this was kind of the one stop shop for tourists in Ulaanbaatar which is why I thought to check it out. The silver bowls were nice but I didn’t know enough about them yet to buy one. I was just looking at the moment since I still had to think about space/weight limitations on the upcoming domestic flights. I was also curious to see what else I might find during the trip before coming back to Ulaanbaatar towards the end.
Before leaving, I went to the grocery store on the bottom floor just to look around. They had all the usual things which were relatively cheap but again the imported things do cost a little more. Bought some water since I couldn’t trust the tap water at the hotel. Prices are calculated to the single digit but there’s not really a bill that small so it seems they just round off anyway. At that point, I didn’t really care about 10/2661 MNT. There weren’t many English signs anywhere, even in the mall. Went back to my room to rest from 1100-1300 before I’d be meeting some of the tour group for the first time.
I finally got to meet my guide, Zorigt aka “Zero” and two others from the group, Steve and Carol, in the lobby at 1300. The remainder of the group was supposedly flying in later at night I guessed.
Our first stop was actually lunch at Modern Nomads. We had salted milk tea to start, while our guide explained the ankle bone/fortune telling game on the table (landing position represents different animal characters and you use a chart to find the meaning of it). Our driver, Baaskaa, also ate with us which I think is not so common for most group tours but we thought it nice to have him included. If I had to try to describe it, the salted milk tea tastes a bit like the last bit of milk after eating mini wheats (not frosted). It’s actually supposed to be made with just black tea, milk and salt…. it wasn’t my favorite drink but I suspect it’s one of those things you could grow to like over time. The dumplings we had were very dense/heavy with meat but good. There’s also more veggies than I thought there would be so far.
After lunch we went to Gandantegchinlen Monastery, which is said to be the most important for Buddhist in Mongolia. There’s a very tall Buddha statue inside with a lot of prayer wheels along the perimeter. They charge extra to take pictures inside the monastery so I just passed even though it was cheap. I’m used to it being prohibited in most other places anyway. Mongolia Buddhism comes from Tibet so the customs are a little different from those in Japan. The newly constructed meeting center and the smaller prayer hall were also slightly different from what I’m used to seeing in Japan. Our guide reminded us to be careful of pickpockets here also.
After the monastery, we drove to the National History Museum. They also charge extra to take pictures inside so I passed on that again. Usually I’m not big into history museums but it was just fascinating to me at the time, I guess more so because of the book I had just finished reading before the trip. It also might’ve been because of just how much I now feel is typically misunderstood/misrepresented about Mongolia, with it all still being new to me as well. I asked and talked with Zero here more than I usually would talk to a guide.
After the museum we walked over to Sukhbaatar Square which is basically the center of the government, stock exchange, and opera theater. Lot of people just hanging around and kids playing. We just took pictures and hung around briefly. One kid thought it’d be fun to run his little motorbike into me on purpose. Got back to the hotel at 1800 and had dinner at 1830 with just Steve, Zero, and Baaskaa. Set course meal, too much food… was too full to finish, good conversation though.
Some other random facts from the day from our guide:
Military obligation, not mandatory but must pay after age 28 if you don’t serve. Good students at certain universities can get by with just 3 months service (usually during the summer).
Mongolians probably like movies, burgers, and music the most about America, though Burger King is not doing so well here so McDonald’s won’t be coming. KFC is more popular because chicken is harder to come by than beef.
Some might say Mongolia is trying to be the Switzerland of Asia, with it’s complicated political position between Russia and China.
Seems language teaching is shifting to more Chinese rather than English.
The population of Ulaanbaatar is almost double what it was designed for… new people are not allowed to move into the city now and the government is still trying to figure out the best way to remedy this.
Day 3 - 9/29/19
The first full day of the tour and heading down South to the Gobi. I was joined at breakfast by Steve, Carol, and Carol’s daughter Jenny. Along with our guide, this group made up our car party for the entire first part of the trip, which I have to say was probably the best car for me to be in.
Checked out of the hotel at 0800, leaving the city in two different vans… the other van filled with three other people I’ve yet to meet. We stopped just outside the city to get supplies at a store billed as the Mongolian “Costco”… It was in fact more like a Safeway I think. They did have some generic Pringles which I bought in case my stomach needed settling on the ride.
From there it was a big highway to where the new airport was coming up… within an hour from the city (if no traffic, probably two hours with traffic). The city quickly turned into country as we continued our approximate 9 hour drive South to our ger camp for the night.
Made a couple stops here and there to look at animals on the side of the road and to “stare at horses”, which is a polite way of asking to use the bathroom. Roads were rough the entire way, having to avoid pot holes the entire time but I was honestly surprised it was paved the whole way… I expected more dirt roads actually. Couldn’t really take a nap seeing as how every time I would start to doze off another pothole would wake me up. Just a whole lot of empty lands, random gers, herders, camels, birds, horses, goats, sheep, steppe mice. Conversation in the car kept things going nicely, and it was especially lucky to have access to our guide for the entirety of the drive in case any questions popped into our minds. Never been with such a well traveled group… I was easily the least traveled person in the group, with one person having already visited over 100 countries.
At about the halfway point of our drive, we stopped in Madalgovi (the first major town we came across really) around 1245 for lunch at Burd. Everyone agreed to just order the dumpling soup to make things easier and faster. This was the first time I got to officially meet (what I thought would be) the rest of our tour group… Robert, Olivia, and Elizabeth. Seven of us total now, with two drivers, and one guide. As for the restaurant, it really seemed out of place (fancy?) and the food was just so-so… it still took a little long for the the food to come and they forgot about our drink orders until close to the end of the meal.
After leaving Mandalgovi, it took another 4-1/2 hours to get to our ger camp for the night. The terrain for the second half seemed more flat, with less cows and goats but definitely more camels. Just so much vastness… some even compared it to the surface of the moon except flatter.
Rest stops were a bit amusing at first but soon became the norm… guys to one side of the road and women on the other (using the van for some privacy). You basically just spread out in different directions and do your business… if you’re lucky you might have some small bushes to hide behind but otherwise you’re just out in the open on the steppes.
Seems the speed limit was about 80 km/hr but we’d average about 100… some places I saw as low as 50. Our driver would slow to 80 every time we passed one of a few dummy police cars on the side of the road (I wonder how often they’re actually real or moved around?). They’re usually sitting on blocks with blacked out windows and a little solar powered light flashing on the roof.
Stopped for gas as we entered the city of Dalanzadgad… there must’ve been at least 6 or 7 gas stations all in one spot for some reason. We then drove through the city (supposedly one of the richest provinces in Mongolia with a lot of development going on) and then not much farther to our ger camp. Only the very last 2 km after the city to the camp was on dirt.
We finally arrived at the Gobi Oasis Lodge and Eco Camp just after 1800. I was surprised at how nice it was, even getting my own room with a key. I really didn’t know what to expect so I guess this camp raised the bar from my previously low expectations. My ger had three beds inside with a small light, table and stools in the middle… everything I’d need.
Dinner was family style with beef, pork, and chicken. Three women from Germany, Iris, Viola, and Susie joined our group at dinner, bringing our group total to ten now. It wasn’t expected but apparently we just didn’t get to meet them earlier because they were staying in a different hotel in Ulaanbaatar (one more favorable to Germans? and also supposedly way more fancy than the Holiday Inn – no complaints here though).
Didn’t see many other people staying in the camp this night. The showers were good enough (or as good as one could hope). It had shower slippers, lockers, curtains/stalls, and hot water most importantly (though the water pressure was lacking). Air was very dry here so drying things such as clothes is easy. All in all, I was done for the night by 2000.
Day 4 - 9/30/19
Just a small breakfast at 0700… got some warm food and coffee at least. Left the camp by 0800 and entered the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park around 0820. Had to wait for a ranger to show up in order to pay our entrance fee so we just looked around in the museum/display building and also the little gift shop next to it.
From the entrance we drove about 10 km more into the valley before starting the actual hike at Yoliin Am. Zero told us to be back to the parking lot in 2 hours so I took off on my own in front of (almost) everyone. I tried to keep up with Carol who opted to ride a horse for part of the way (I think it was about 16000 MNT but they didn’t go that far). It was nice and cool, especially in the shade. Luckily I didn’t get as sweaty as I thought and my shirt stayed relatively dry despite the expected temperature being 29 deg C.
Made it to a clearing where some horses were. Went up on the hill side to get a better angle of them with the valley in the background. Also, took a break up there… so nice and peaceful. The horses were a little cautious of me so I did my best not to bother them much. Didn’t see any bearded vultures or ibex in the canyon yet but there were a few different birds and a ton of cute little pikas. Coming off the hill I inadvertently chased some horses down to the water so I was able to get more pictures and video there on my way back out.
After about 15 minutes of hiking back out I ran into the rest of the group still coming down. They were looking for a glacier but apparently it had already melted not too far from where I met them. They kept asking if I saw any ice and I was like “huh?”.
Ran into an old man selling some souvenirs but I still didn’t get anything yet. He did have some bone carvings that were quite unique but I was also worried about bringing those things back through customs. It was cool that he was willing to hike into the canyon a little bit with all his goods though.
At about the same time we ran into the salesman, we thought we saw a bearded vulture flying but it was so high up and far away nobody could get a picture. Apparently I missed a really brief viewing of an ibex with the group behind me too but seems it was still far away. In the end it was about 2-1/2 hours of hiking… my Garmin was going a little crazy tracking so it definitely was not 7 miles hehe… I think we settled it was just somewhere around 4.
Not long after leaving the parking lot, we pulled over to the side of the road for lunch. Our guide had gotten a bunch of to-go boxes from the previous nights ger camp fill with noodles and sandwiches. The food was just okay… cold heavy noodles definitely makes you thirsty. Supposedly the noodle dish is something of a test for women… if they can make that dish good then she would make a good wife… just an old saying. This was also probably the closest I’ve ever sat next to dung while eating but at least it wasn’t stink hehe.
After lunch, we packed up and left again at 1300 for another long driving session. We made a to stop in Bayandalai for gas but the attendant was on a lunch break so a line of cars was forming. In the meantime, our guide decided to get more water at a small mini mart nearby and then after about 30 minutes we finally were able to get gas.
From Bayandalai it was all off-road driving for about 3 more hours… the roughest driving so far on this trip. The drive took us from Bayandalai due West through the valley towards the horizon… with me always wondering what came beyond it. A part of me kept imagining an ocean would appear on the other side… stupid I know but maybe that was just the islander in me (or I watched Hidalgo one too many times). The entire time we could see sand dunes in the distance just South of us… and of course when we did finally reach the horizon…. more of the same.
At 1715, we finally made it to a family of gers where we’d be getting a chance to ride some two-hump Bactrian camels. First they invited us into one of the gers where we got to try some airag for the first time (fermented mare’s milk). They passed a bowl around for everyone to drink from… luckily Steve passed so I was the first to drink from it. As for the taste, let’s just say I didn’t drink it again for the remainder of the trip hehe… a bit sour with a long after taste…. What I didn’t know though was that the fermentation process is supposed to remove the lactose from the milk so it’s supposed to be really easy on the stomach, even for lactose intolerant people. Also, the alcohol content is only like 2% so while there is a minimum drinking age in Mongolia, it usually doesn’t apply to airag. On the way out of the ger, I also made sure not to trip on the doorway as they say you’ll take all the good luck our of the ger with you (not so good for the hosts).
After some shuffling of the camels, we eventually all got our rides sorted out and everyone got on board. Getting up and down was a bit surprising but otherwise the ride was not so uncomfortable… just a bit more swaying and a lot higher up than say a horse. There was always someone from the family walking at the front of our small groups, and each of us would just hold the rope of the camel behind us. Overall, we rode for a little less than an hour when our guide decided we were going a little too slow. Our goal was to make it to the Khongor Els sand dunes in time to take pictures of the sunset so we ended up dismounting our camels, got back in the vans and drove the remainder of the way to the dunes.
Once at the dunes, we basically just had free time to walk around at our own pace. Some of us choose to hike to the top of the dunes (more challenging than you’d think, especially at the top where the sand is so loose). We made it just in time to get some pictures with the sun setting and enjoyed the panoramic views from the top. Whenever I imagined the desert before this trip, this was almost exactly what I had in mind… so vast and beautiful. It got dark pretty fast after the sun set so we all scurried back into the vans for the short drive to our next ger camp (less than 10 km).
It was just after 1930 when we got to our second ger camp. The camp tonight (run by Gobi Discovery Tour LLC, Khonger camp) was definitely not as good as the first. After the first camp raised my expectations, this one brought it back down fairly quickly. I did get my own ger again but it didn’t have a lock/key when I moved in so I had to leave my bag in Steve’s room during dinner until they brought me one.
The electricity to the ger turned off at 2230, despite the paper in the room saying 2300. Couldn’t flush toilet paper in these camps (though this applies to all the ger camps during the trip really) and water pressure in the showers were very low (just above a trickle). I also couldn’t close the top part of the ger where the stove pipe usually goes out so it got really cold at night. I guess one positive of that though is the clothes I washed in the sink basically dried overnight inside the ger (except for the socks which I left outside for a little bit the next morning). There were a little more groups at this camp, including one very young Korean group and another Chinese group (with a man who kept bugging me about my attempts at night photography). It also didn’t help that I was starting to feel a little sick in the stomach and nauseated driving back to the camp in the dark… uh oh…
Day 5 - 10/1/19
It was a cold, windy night and my stomach problems were confirmed the next morning with diarrhea twice. Note to self: Bring own toilet paper next time… people take all the ones in the shared bathroom leaving none even at the camps). Took two immodium (first time having to do so) and became really anxious about the longer drives now… didn’t feel well all morning. Ate very little breakfast at 0800 and our departure was at 0915.
At the beginning of the drive I asked Zero about the gers… he said a basic ger might cost about $1000 and lasts for about 9-10 years. A family can usually take down a ger in about an hour not including furniture… I thought it was really impressive compared to how long I take with Ikea furniture hehe.
We drove on dirt roads again all morning but it wasn’t as bad as the day before… made it into the next town for gas at around 1230. Noticed we had a flat tire at the gas station so we had to pull over at a tire shop nearby to get it repaired while everyone hung out at the local mini mart. I mostly just stayed outside, drying my feet in the sun. My stomach was holding up so far but I was still feeling a little nauseous so I took another immodium and tums.
The tire change didn’t take long and we made it to our third ger camp by 1330 (Gobi Tour Tourist Camp). Thank goodness for less driving today… just couldn’t help having that anxiety of longer drives with stomach problems… especially when you’re with a group of people. This camp was much nicer than the previous camp… no outlet in the gers but a lot of outlets in the recently renovated main building/restaurant. Facilities were all much better, including inside the gers… I even saw a ping pong table in one of the open gers and an optional laundry room (though the bathroom sinks were still proving adequate).
We all had lunch at 1400… decidedly took less risks with the uncooked foods. Then we had some time to rest until 1630. Clothes were all dusty and smelled like goat… it was hotter again today but at least it was shorter and easier overall.
At 1630, we went off to see the nearby flaming cliffs about 10 minutes away but first we stopped to see some of the desert trees of Bayanzag. Goats eat the roots of these trees (making them harder to grow back) which work to stabilize the ground and prevent further erosion and spreading of the desert. Due to the popularity and money from the cashmere, more herders are focusing on raising even more goats which means less and less trees. I thought maybe I shouldn’t buy goat cashmere… but it’s one of those things where they can’t give up the money it brings in. Supposedly the government is stepping in to help preserve and grow more trees though… hopefully they gain some ground in that effort. Also had a good talk with Zero about globalization from the Mongolia perspective… interestingly enough, the US-China trade war benefited Mongolia… our loss is their gain I guess? Another incident involved Japan wanting to lease some land in Mongolia for 99 years but the government said no since technically you could own the land if you kept it just a day past 99 years… it being too risky. They say, “You can give your neighbor a horse and wife but never your land”… Just another old saying.
After walking among the trees for a bit, we finally went over to the flaming cliffs. Supposedly there are a ton of dinosaur fossils here… first discovered accidentally by some Americans a long time ago. We had some jokes in the car about naming new dinosaur species and the mite’s they’d probably come with but of course we didn’t find any bones. What we did get was about an hour to walk around on our own around the flaming cliffs (from 1730-1830)… it really reminded me a lot of my past Arizona/Utah adventures.
Dinner was at 1900, followed by a nice hot, comfortable shower… better than the other camps so far in all regards.. except for maybe the hardwired car batteries for light and no outlets in the ger… no biggie.
After washing some clothes and cleaning up a bit, had a small photo session with Steve and Susie with the gers and milky way… learning about settings and strategies from the two pros. I guess we were pretty lucky in how all the stars were lining up for us. Got some decent photos using my headlamp as backlighting… of course nowhere near as nice as theirs though. Learned and practiced with my camera a lot on this trip… being around the pros helped a lot and I appreciated all their tips. Glad I didn’t bring my tripod for nothing! Though I tried, I still couldn’t focus on a star even with the ISO turned all the way up… but I did as best I could at the time. As a bonus, I also briefly spotted a tiny little chubby butt mouse but couldn’t get a picture of it in time… it was cute though. Stomach was still okay at the moment… just hoped it stayed that way… the next day was expected to be much colder.
Day 6 - 10/2/19
Woke up around 0600 to eat breakfast at 0700. Then packed up my things for the 0800 departure. I was feeling a little more stable this morning which helped reduce some of the anxiety of another long day in the van.
We departed the ger camp at 0800 but just after leaving we had some car trouble… The three drivers took some time to figure out what was wrong and then they had to work together to replace the u-joint (at least that’s what they called it, I’m not much of a car person). They already had all the replacement parts on hand and they went about it like this was more or less a routine fix. The vans are all the personal vehicles of the drivers and don’t necessarily belong to the travel company so maybe this helped… plus it’s pretty much inevitable having to troubleshoot problems when you’re driving out in the middle of nowhere I guess. It was much more cold outside today… a big difference from just a couple days ago. Others did some yoga on the side to stay warm/keep busy since we couldn’t wait in our van. In the end it only took 40 minutes to diagnose and fix the problem and we were back on the road by 0850… good job drivers!
We made a short stop back at the first nights camp to drop off a key someone forgot to give back. A quick run to the toilet, then a quick shot into the city of Dalanzadgad by 1030ish to put gas. Worked out the price of gas to be about $3.40/gal, not self-service.
It was nice to be back on paved roads but actually, I was thinking it might be more dangerous driving on the road with all the dips and potholes and passing and swerving. Passing other trucks causes them to absorb the potholes and I can’t remember if I’ve ever heard cars honking backwards before. Saw the same decoy police cars along the road again… realizing now we’ve done way more driving than anything else on this trip so far.
Finally made it back to Burd Restaurant in Mandalgovi (same restaurant as before) by 1430. Zero pre-ordered lunch about an hour out from town so we got the food much faster this time. All the bread and noodles/pastas were so dense and dry and the portion was much bigger than I expected… having some of Steve’s chili sauce on the side helped more than a few times during our meals.
After lunch, we still had another two hours of driving off road to Baga Gazriin Chuluu (seemed like 9 hours in the car today). Anyway, this next place is known for all the granite rock formations and a small temple that was actually destroyed by the Soviets. We also got to see some old rock art on the way there. There was definitely no shortage in the variety of scenery so far on this trip… I enjoyed some of the rock formations here but mostly it was just peaceful walking around on my own for a bit. It was pretty cold at this point so I had to dig my outer layers out from my luggage already.
We got a little lost driving the 20 km to the camp from Baga Gazriin Chuluu. I honestly don’t know how the drivers were navigating the random paths with not even any big landmarks to use as way points. I think we were lucky to always been in the van with the guide at least… seems we have the best/fastest driver too. We also lost the other vans in our rear view mirror (it was pretty dark already) but apparently one of them had a flat tire so they had to stop and change it… they made it to the camp not too long after we did. Had to remember to refill my water bottle before leaving the car for the night… water in the camps is hard to come by (only usually get the one hot water thermos during meals).
Arrived at our fourth ger camp (Erdene-Ukhaa Tourist Camp) just after 1900. It was 3-4 deg C outside now but felt a bit colder with the wind. Got assigned one of the farthest gers from the main building with the door on the far side and no lights on the walkway. At the very least there was an outlet in the room but no extra blankets this time. It seemed like a much smaller camp in comparison but there were already more groups staying here.
Dinner came quickly at 1940. Basically a self-serve buffet line. I particularly like the chicken and soup… a nice change of pace from all the beef. I accidently stepped on Zero’s shoes in the food line and we had to shake hands to make peace. I totally forgot about that custom… I read about it before but never thought it’d happen, bad me ehehe.
Apparently the camp was closing in two days so there was no shower available which Steve and I had just been joking about as the reason we got the farther gers (easier ones to break down?). This was supposedly the end of the tourist ger camp season in preparation for winter… even more evident with such a big difference in temperature from just two days before.
Day 7 - 10/3/19
Today, breakfast at 0700 again and planned for about five hours of driving back to Ulaanbaatar. It was freezing overnight, even with all my outer layers on. My watch said it was below 5 deg C inside the ger. When I went to use the bathroom, there was no water (for flushing or the sink)… apparently the pipes froze. Needless to say, this was not an adequate ger camp at all and my least favorite of the four. I could only look forward to the hotel back in UB later this evening.
The drive actually ended up taking a little less than 4-1/2 hours back to Ulaanbaatar… stopping only a couple times for some photos of vultures on the side of the road and to “stare at horses”.
Stopped for lunch at a fancy place, The Grill Studio, right next to a little Buddha Garden and a war memorial called the Zaisan Monument. Started with a seabuckthorn salad and a shot of some kind of alcoholic drink. The steak was tasty but kind of a weird cut. The berry mousse dessert had a bit of a little cheesy taste to it.
After some others finished their coffee we went to a nearby cashmere shop. EVSEG is supposedly the #3 cashmere store but now #2 after the previously #1 & #2 merged into one company (but kept their old names)… confusing right? Anyway, seems items here were about 30-40% cheaper than they might’ve been at competing stores but still not as cheap as I was thinking they would be.
When all the shopping was done, we finally got to go back to the hotel and check-in again. It was nice to unpack and shower, even if just for one night. Lots of traffic again in the city… some of the worse I think. Apparently they’re already having to restrict car access in the city based on the last digits of the license plate numbers. On certain days, only certain numbered plates are allowed on the streets. Our tour drivers supposedly get a special permit which allows them to be on the road despite the restrictions in place. I can’t imagine how bad traffic would be if they didn’t have those restrictions… it already seemed so bad. Population of Ulaanbaatar is already more than twice what it was designed for.
We left the hotel again at 1700 to watch the Tumen-Ekh Folk Song and Dance Ensemble. This was a bit of a bonus to the itinerary but the tour company took care of the tickets… there was just an extra fee of 20000 MNT if you wanted to take pictures during the show (I passed). Some people came late and took pictures/videos without paying which was really irritating. This was the same group of people with the stupid tour guide who used a little girl to save seats for her group even though there was no reserved seating.
Anyway, the coolest part of the show had to be the throat singing… don’t know how they make the whistle sounds with the deep sounds but according to Steve’s friend Hillary aka “Hill” (ENT surgeon), there are vocal cords and false vocal cords which account for the two different sounds coming out at the same time… safe to say it will remain a mystery to me hehe. Dancers used a lot of shoulder movements and arms, like an energetic ballet. Musicians use some familiar instruments like the erhu, koto, Okinawan guitar, etc. The horse noise with the horse guitars was pretty great. There was also a contortionist and a big mask dance which was a bit comical to me. Overall the show was about 1 hour and 15 minutes and better than I was expecting it to be.
After the show we went to eat hot pot at the Little Sheep restaurant. It’s supposed to be a big chain restaurant from Inner Mongolia (China) – also in Texas according to Olivia and Robert – but this one happened to be the biggest Little Sheep in the world according to Zero. Oh yeah, someone asked so it’s also worth mentioning that there is no such thing as Mongolian BBQ, at least not in the sense the rest of the world serves it as… and the Genghis Khan set meal I had in Hokkaido? Don’t know what or why that is ehehe… embarassing now.
After dinner, got back to the hotel and we all said goodbye to our driver, Baaskaa. We each gave some tip which Jenny presented in an envelope and gave some beef jerky to him too. Great driver, fixed all the van problems, leader of the pack, and a funny sense of humor.
This concludes the first half of the trip… definitely got to see and do more than I expected. So many firsts for me… I really enjoyed all the scenery and activities but at the same time I was really looking forward to beginning the second half of the trip with the Golden Eagle Festival in Ulgii.
Stay tuned for more!