Blogs from Arkhangai, Mongolia, Asia
June 28th 2011
Here is a link to a video that Bulgaa made of our recent river trip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn8bADhQS4M ... read more
June 24th 2011
Rafting the Orkhon Gol - by Pat Phillips Travel adventure in Mongolia is a redundant phrase. All countryside travel in Mongolia is an adventure. Add an ingredient of whitewater rafting 130 kilometers of one of the most isolated and breath-taking canyons in the Mongolia’s Hangay Mountains, and the term takes on a new meaning. That is exactly what four intrepid wanderers did this past week with the travel adventure company ‘Mongolian River Adventures’, descending the magnificent Orkhon Gol through a road-less, wilderness canyon in Bulgan Aimag, approximately 300 kilometers north and west of Ulaanbaatar. In the spirit of shared-cost, budget travel, our group used public transportation to reach the Aimag center of Bulgan. Jostling and bouncing along in the crowded Russian bus, we were simply swallowed up by the grand open steppes. Looking with the eyes ... read more
July 16th 2010
We arrived in Tsetserleg, said to be one of the nicer aimag towns, but still very ugly, save for some surrounding mountain ranges, and stayed a night in a decent enough room of a hotel. The next day we arranged transport to the White Lake (Tsagaan Nuur), sharing a vehicle with two Americans working with the US Peace Corps, and one's mom and sister who came to visit them. The road was long and arduous and we were in the vehicle for something like six hours or so. It rained and the ground was muddy, we nearly got stuck several times and skidded around. By the evening, we stopped in a ger, had a good feed and better hospitality and made it to the small village near the lake by nightfall. We were lucky because the ... read more
July 7th 2010
Et c'est donc parti pour trois semaines en famille, au gre de ce que j'ai trouve au programme, lequel fut dense et goutu. Apres deux jours d'UB dont on a ma foi vite fait le tour, mais qui furent necessaires pour que je depose mon visa en vue de l'obtention du passeport chinois direction Zuun Mod, pour aller voir le petit Naadam. Naadam veut dire fete en langue mongole, et ca a officiellement lieu le 11, 12 et 13 juillet. Durant ces trois jours (feries) les gens s'affrontent en lutte (les hommes uniquement), puis en tir a l'arc et enfin en course de chevaux (ouverts aux deux sexes, mais dans des categories separees). Beaucoup de gens sortent leur deel (manteau traditionnel mongol), et la competition a lieu a l'interieur du stade de UB, avec une bien ... read more
June 19th 2009
Dawn had given fresh colour and perspective to the grassy, oceanic expanse of the steppe. The deep green, gently rolling contours, flecked here and there by the tiny white outline of a distant ger, were now free of the bullying heat that had harassed me for the previous three days. After a mammoth train journey from London to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's congested capital, I was relieved to be on the road, under my own power. In a land of horsemen and women, I was back in my own preferred saddle, cycling through an adventure tourer's wonderland of rugged, remote country. From the lunchtime St Pancras crush to a balmy late afternoon Brussels, from Cologne's beery Saturday evening swagger to the sobering thunderstorms of Sunday morning Warsaw, I had just managed to squash my luggage - my dismantled ... read more
Mongolie centrale : de Karakorin au Grand Lac Blanc
Published: June 15th 2009Asia » Mongolia » Arkhangai
June 7th 2009
Au sortir du Gobi, sur la route qui nous mène vers Karakorin, les paysages se transforment à une vitesse étonnante. Les plaines arides à perte de vue font place aux vertes collines, les hardes de yacks remplacent les troupeaux de chameaux, les aigles dominent les cieux et les premiers arbres épars se manifestent. L'ambiance au sein de notre petite troupe est plus que jamais au beau fixe. Jo, la petite Irlandaise aux yeux pétillants, intarissable sur les aventures qui l'ont menée aux quatre coins du globe depuis deux ans, est devenue la mascotte du groupe en nous enseignant un jeu de cartes populaire appelé "Shithead" (inutile que je traduise!). Pas une soirée ne passe sans que l'on élise quelques nouveaux shitheads, autour d'un verre de vodka, de vin ou de bière. Peter, jeune retraité australien, et ... read more
CENTRAL MONGOLIA TSENHER HOT SPRINGS AND ORKHON WATERFALL
Published: November 4th 2008Asia » Mongolia » Arkhangai » Tsetserleg
October 29th 2008
Km travelled 12383 29.10.08 We stood silently looking at the frost particles sparkling in the air, supported by a slow wind. It's time to go. Everything is already packed inside the car. We felt very comfortable here at the lake, and leaving is always a bit sad. Moogi and his family have been very nice and friendly. How different is their life from ours. A life dictated by the sun and the moon, the winter and the summer. One solar panel to put outside the ger during the day, enough to charge cell phones and watch satellite TV. The white lake sleeping between the mountains, always in front of your eyes. Before leaving the lake we made a stop at the shore to buy some milk and gave a lift to the lady up to the ... read more
CENTRAL MONGOLIA - HORSE RIDING AT TERKHI WHITE LAKE
Published: November 4th 2008Asia » Mongolia » Arkhangai
October 28th 2008
Km travelled 12163 28.10.08 This morning at 6.00 Moogi came to our ger to light the fire. The night inside two sleeping bags and under a rug has been warm enough. We relax inside while the animals are taken out for the day. We have plenty of time until midday when we'll go for a horse ride around the lake. We read our books inside the ger with sunlight coming from the top ring. During the night the horses are let free and in the morning they come back to the house, so we have to wait for them. When the time comes we're offered to wear the traditional Mongolian coat on top of our clothes so that will keep us warm during the trip. Moogi will be our guide. We start our way towards the ... read more
SURPRISINGLY GORGEOUS KHORGO TERKHIIN
Published: October 4th 2007Asia » Mongolia » Arkhangai » Tsetserleg
August 10th 2007
Have to stop @ Tsetserleg to do some food shopping then camp inside the Khorgo-Terkhiin National Park, one of the most beautiful place I've ever camped in. Rain was on and off our first night , woke up and it was a bit overcast, we prepared our packed lunch and off we go to explore this wonderful place, Bruce, Ron and Peter and I head towards the other side of the valley into the White lake area, stunning views from the top, rolling hills, volcanic ovoos, colorful gers, then later big, bright blue sky, perfect day to explore. It got a bit too hot midday and a good time to lounge around the beach. Ron and I initially planned on climbing the top of the extinct volcano, came back to camp for a few beers, and ... read more
