Blogs from Terelj, Mongolia, Asia

23 novembre 2012 Le Trans-Mongolien, c’est 7858km, de Beijing à Moscou, en passant par la Mongolie. Le Trans-Mongolien, c’est 3 pays, 3 cultures, 3 histoires, 3 architectures, 3 gastronomies, 3 langues, 3 visages. Mais je ne peux dire 3 paysages, parce qu’il défile et change constamment, surtout de Beijing au Lac Baïkal en Russie. D’où j’écris, une tasse de thé et un morceau de poisson fumé à mes côté, acheté sur le quai de Slyudyanka. Voici donc comment a débuté cette aventure que j’attends avec impatience, depuis que l’idée de faire ce long voyage nous est venu! Nous quittons Beijing à 8h05 le matin, en compagnie de Liz et Mich, un couple Austro-Canadien, et de Mickael, un canadien de Halifax. C’est drôle qu’on soit autant de Canadiens pour faire un voyage semblable à ce qu’on peut ... read more

On tour for three days with Red (Singapore), Erica and Sharon (Sweden) our first destination was Kharkorum. This involved a seven hour journey in a delapidated mini bus on one of the few roads that exist in Mongolia. The scenery was superb with a variety of colours, it often looked as if someone had painted the backdrop. The countryside was covered with herds of goats, cows, horses and sheep. On the first day we had a close encounter with a group of camels who were very obliging when it came to taking photos. Thinking that the camels looked a bit shabby Red assured us that's what they always look like. We continued along empty but incredibly bumpy roads arriving at our accomodation - a ger - early evening. A ger is traditional accommodation - a round ... read more

The smoky brown haze of Ulan Bator disappeared behind us, trapped in its basin, as we headed southwards to Terelj National Park. The smooth rolling hills gave rise to fantasies of multiple blue runs on the wide treeless slopes. The snowed road unfurled before us and corralled camps of tourist gers (yurts) punctuated the clear white landscape. Eagle eyes spotted two black shapes, wolves we were reliably informed, racing along a hill's ridge, disappearing over the crest in pursuit of unseen quarry. Clumps of firs, possibly spruce, increased with the strange rock formations still visible under their snow caps. The van bucked and bounced over the rutted track as we veered off the road. A black dog wandered out of the trees, curious to see the source of disturbance in this otherwise silent landscape. The crunch ... read more

Sunday June 26th 2011 was the most interesting birthday in my life. I used to dream of seeing Mongolian steppe and gers. On this day my dream came true. Myself and two Australian girls, whom I met at Khongor Guest House, traveled on a one day tour. We left Khongor Guest House at 9am and back at 4pm. Terelj national park is located 70km away from Ulaanbaatar. If I travel alone, I would have to pay US$80 for renting a 4-seater car with driver. As there were three of us on this trip, each had to pay US$42. I didn't do horse ride, so the guest house deducted US$4 for me. The landscape along the way was amazing. We stopped at the Turtle Rock for taking photos. After a short drive, we got into a group ... read more

To a grinding halt we stopped, realising that it just may be cold outside - with defrosting snow and all!! As we stepped of the train and gave brief farewells to fellow travellers, we realise that yes, we hadnt prepared very well for the elements. The company we organised our visas through, had a guide to pick us up - Tunga - who looked more like a drag queen than anything else, but nevertheless spoke fair english and seemed nice enough. With initial reservations, we were transferred to our first homestay. On the approach to the house we were mortified when we pulled up at a graffiti stricken concrete council flat type building, maybe 10 storeys high and looking like a backdrop for the movie romper stomper. As we climbed the interior stairwell, our reservations heightened ... read more