"Remember: vodka doesn't freeze until about -30 so keep a high percentage in your blood.."


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Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar
February 10th 2008
Published: March 1st 2008
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Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar


Dasvidanya Russki...Dasvidanya Russki...Dasvidanya Russki...

The view out of the back carriage.
These were the last brotherly words of advice given to us by Damon before we departed for colder climates. Well Damon, we can safely say we have heeded your advice whilst in Mongolia and kept our ratio of blood:vodka up at all times. Not too sure whether it worked as we are now both carrying the worst flu bug we have ever had....we gave it our best 'shot' though!

Arrived in Ulanbaatar at about 6:30am after a further 35 hr train trip. 9 of these hours were taken up with waiting at the border. Not too sure why we had to sit and wait so long as the passport process was over with quite quickly but apparently this is always the case....nothing happens quickly in Russia (I think this is the national motto??) and it seems Mongolia is following suite. Our time on the train was passed chatting to English cabin-mates. Lorna was off to tour Asia and Gus was about to embark on an amazing sailing adventure across the pacific, circumnavigating the globe via train and boat.

We were picked up from the train station by our lovely host Gana who greeted us with a smile and a
Windy and about -27 degreesWindy and about -27 degreesWindy and about -27 degrees

Still beautiful though!
big "Welcome to Mongolia"...a bit of a contrast to be greeted this way after stoney-faced Russia! We were off to a good start when Gana served us a big plate of mutton dumplings for breakfast and upgraded us to a private ensuite room in his guesthouse. We were his only guests and were treated like royalty for our entire stay here.

Arriving in the midst of Mongolian New Years celebrations meant that the city was virtually shut down....never fear though as Gana insisted that we eat with his family at every opportunity. We were whisked away to friends houses for traditional new years feasts and formalities which included eating copious amounts of dumplings, bottomless vodka shots and present giving. We soon learnt how to greet people in the traditional Mongolian way and got to sample many traditional foods such as home-made cheeses, milk tea and airag - a drink made from fermented mare's milk which tasted like liquid blue cheese mixed with tangy yoghurt.

We took a tour out with Gana and stayed overnight in a Ger which was a great experience. Our trip took us out to the countryside visiting several local villages and Gana's wife and daughter also came along for the ride. We continued our dumpling eating and vodka shotting at more of Gana's friends houses and even picked up some more friends along the way to really fill the car up.

Mongolia would not be a good place to travel if you were vegetarian, worse still vegan. We ate more dairy products and meat in these few days than we have in a long time and sampled even more traditional foods such as a cheese made from the first cow's milk after calving and a gelatinous mixture of hide, tendons and cartilage....nothing goes to waste. Each ger also had a huge cooked carcass on the table (mutton or beef) which was picked at by the guests....the fat being the most prized part. Lucky we had brought our dental floss with us! We even helped one farmer herd his cattle out into a very dusty paddock, the cows seemed to be eating their own manure just to redigest the left overs - tough times given the temperatures, their bony carcases attested to this.

Once we had settled into our very own private Ger complete with very funky interior decor, we braved the sub zero temperatures (which at this stage must have been getting close to -30) to climb a hill behind the village. We were greeted with views down the valley...Kirstyn finding it a bit hard to see as her eyelashes had frozen once again! More mutton fat and vodka for dinner and we settled in for an early night.

Our hosts were obviously a little worried that we would not be capable of putting more logs on our fire and stoked it up so much that our Ger turned into our very own Banya and we sweated the night away...even opening the door to let the freezing air in. As a result of the many temperature changes providing an ideal breeding environment in our respiratory system, it was from this point onwards that we began to endure one of the worst flu viruses we have ever experienced. Perhaps we should have eaten more colostrum cheese and animal cartilage and drunk less vodka........

Our tour ended with a trip into Terelj National Park seeing Turtle Rock and visiting a Tibetan Monastery in a very scenic location before heading back to Ulaanbaatar. New years was nearly over and we were able to
Keeping the blood percentage up.Keeping the blood percentage up.Keeping the blood percentage up.

This loot cost about £8 altogether, we got the expensive stuff!
spend the next few days exploring the city, visiting the National History Museum and the Museum of Natural History (we managed to get ourselves locked into a dinosaur exhibit in the latter and spent about half an hour wondering if we would become part of the collection of creatures now extinct!). The city was easy to explore on foot and the restaurants all catered in some way to English-speaking tourists allowing us to experience more Mongolian mutton and even sample some of the local brews.

Getting tickets out of Mongolia proved more difficult than we had hoped and we ended up, with the help of Gana, with a train ticket as far as the Chinese border town of Erlian. Apparently from here there would be many sleeper buses waiting to take us to Beijing.......


Additional photos below
Photos: 21, Displayed: 21


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Mmmm this looks yummy...Mmmm this looks yummy...
Mmmm this looks yummy...

We were just happy to see some signs in English.
Do you think it is cold outside???Do you think it is cold outside???
Do you think it is cold outside???

Cool patterns of ice on Train window
They drink beer too!They drink beer too!
They drink beer too!

Tasting a Mongolian brew
Shed shotShed shot
Shed shot

The shed where they keep the cows onvernight in winter.
Helping out on the farmHelping out on the farm
Helping out on the farm

herding bony arse cattle
Keeping our blood warmKeeping our blood warm
Keeping our blood warm

Jason, Gana and one of Gana's friends sharing a few shots in the snow.
The crewThe crew
The crew

Gana and his family and friends pose with us for a shot for his new website.
Ger decorGer decor
Ger decor

Inside our Ger.
What a viewWhat a view
What a view

Looking out from the Tibetan Monestary...great place for meditation.
Mutton, mutton, muttonMutton, mutton, mutton
Mutton, mutton, mutton

Jas downing yet another mutton soup and some dumplings.
Icy roadIcy road
Icy road

Ready for take off.
Playing in the shadowsPlaying in the shadows
Playing in the shadows

Looking out over Ulanbaatar


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