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Blogs from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Asia
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May 10th 2013
Irkutsk- a short 20 hour train journey for our final destination in Russia. Its known as the Paris of Siberia. we got our first russian compliment on the bus by someone claiming to be a football player!.. 'you look mighty beautiful' then was finished by 'for this hour of the morning' .. so quickly became backhanded...as much as we werent expected to be complimented we've realised russians neither compliment nor smile! On arriveal to Irkutsk we found a hostel- again someones apartment, but this time it wasnt a dorm but was a bunk in somones lounge/office.. and seperated by a wardrobe and a piece of cloth hangining up. Didnt mind too much except at 1am when the women still was sat the other side with the light on.. being on the top bunk shining right in ... read more
October 13th 2012
We arrived in UB safe and sound – the scenery on the train on the way in was pretty amazing. Lots of wide open planes, seen some camels and wild horses. We’d heard a few horror stories about the Russian border crossings and hadn’t bothered to register our visa’s but had no problems. Navigating UB was pretty tricky our map was a few years old and already out of date, lots of construction, new roads and buildings etc… 4 hours later in the freezing cold we found our hostel and couldn’t wait to get nice hot shower … No hot water god dam it L!! Our mission for the first day was food, arrange train for Beijing (only two go a week so wanted to get this sorted) and book a nomadic Ger stay. Got some ... read more
October 9th 2012
I woke to a heavy frost and a few snow flakes in the air. After a very cold night in the ger it was time to pack up and leave for the capital city Ulaanbaatar. I said my goodbyes including the horse master who was still texting, spitting and smoking all at the same time. The ger camp had been a great experience. Nassa estimated that at least 70% of the population still live in gers. She lives in a ger with her husband but complained that they had little space, probably because they have a 42" LCD tv that he watches the premiership on and a front loading washing machine (she was very proud of her television). The drive to the city was bumpy and slow and seemed to take an age. The great views ... read more
October 8th 2012
To my surprise the fire in my tent was lit again at midnight and again at 6am with the staff just walking in unannounced. When I went to bed I was very warm but by the morning I was shivering in my two/three season sleeping bag and was very pleased to get up and go for breakfast. The food was again all local and very tasty, the pumpkin marmalade and yellow berry hot juice was a particular favourite. The temperature had dropped considerably from the day before and the wind was bitterly cold. Layered up, Nassa took us to visit a local nomad family. After walking for about thirty minutes in the cold wind we arrived at a young couple's tent. We were given fermented mare's milk (cold) to drink, cream and stale bread and some ... read more
October 7th 2012
The train pulled into to Ulaanbaatar station exactly on time at 1332hrs. As I left the train I said goodbye to the commandant who was clearly delighted to have shot of me and off I went. I was greeted at the end of the platform by the local guide Nassa a short plump Mongolian woman who just about spoke English. The Aussie sisters were also coming along to the Ger camp and off we we went to a waiting 4x4 car. The locals had to give us a push to get the car going, we were then on our way. We were taken to the Flower hotel to freshen up. I nervously followed as I was led through a dingy corridor to the sauna room. I was handed a towel and with my backpack still strapped ... read more
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September 7th 2012
On the road again. Dromen, organiseren en doen - reizen, ik ben er gek op. Wat wordt onze volgende bestemming? Hoe komen we daar en waar slapen we? Wat is jullie goedkoopste wodka? Dat meen je toch niet? Dat zijn de vragen die we onszelf het meest stellen tussen de bestemmingen door. De gekozen vervoersmiddelen zijn al talrijk: te voet, met de tandem, trein, bus, taxi, liftend in een bus(je) of auto, roeiboot, metro, tram, kano en niet te vergeten de waterfiets. Zowel doelmatig naar bestemming als recreatief op plaats van bestemming. Ik zat even te twijfelen over welke van deze ik wat verder uit zou wijden – en hoewel ik boeken vol kan schrijven over de voor- en nadelen van het verplaatsen per waterfiets (inclusief zijn historische betekenis) – lijkt de trein me ook wel ... read more
August 24th 2012
We had 2 full days in UB to recover from the jeep trip and get ready for the next country. We put the laundry in, got the blog almost up to date, posted the Mongolia guidebook home and found a really nice cafe that did really good food. It seemed to be where the office workers went after work. It meant our evenings were sorted and that we got a couple of nice dinners. We visited the National Museum one day, which was good but somewhat overpriced, and the Gandan Monastery the next. The monastery was pretty cool. In the big iconic temple they have a massive 26.5m standing buddha statue, a 2 high row of prayer wheels round the path for circumambulation of the statue and glass cases of small buddhas filling the outer walls ... read more
August 22nd 2012
Day 57 – Sunday 12th August 2012 to Day 62 Friday 17th August 2012 The Wild Wild West of Asia – Welcome to Mongolia Wild horses, rivers, mountains and deserts. Day 57 to Day 62 takes us through Mongolia and the halfway point of our adventure. We left Irkutsk on the 10pm train to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The taxi ride from the hotel was an adventure alone. The trick must be to go as fast as you can weaving through the traffic. Well that’s how they drive in Russia. The biggest difference is the number of backpackers/travellers on this leg of the Trans-Mongolian. From Moscow to Irkutsk, apart from the 50 odd Germans, we were the only non-Russians on the train. Now, it feels like a Contiki Tour. Our carriage is full of travellers. Swedes, Norwegians, English, ... read more
A tour through Mongolia´s steppes, mountains and Gobi desert
Published: August 14th 2012Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar
August 14th 2012
Blog July 1 - 3 Train ride Dalian to Beijing to Ulanbaataar On July 1st we woke up to a sunny and blue sky day. I decided to make breakfast: pancakes and hash browns and juice to finish all food in Kyle's fridge, after eating we got to work. I sew Kyle's backpack while he cleaned up packed and downloaded movies music shows for the trip. It was a fun and busy day. I rode my bike to Annie's apt. to leave it there and on my way back I realized I had no money on my phone so could not call a taxi so instead I walked to bus stop and took the local bus for supposedly 1RMB but the driver gave me "foreign" price of 2RMB! When I got to Kyle´s apt. we finished ... read more
August 6th 2012
Flight 9: Yangon to Bangkok was a bit rough. We were slightly delayed as the plane was late arriving, then they got us all on, we were just waiting for cargo to be loaded and said sorry because they have been on the ground for 25 minutes they have to complete some immigration thing. All up we were about an hour late and then took off and went straight into a monsoon storm. It was dark but from the lights on the wings we could see the rain pounding the plane. We shook, rolled and dropped consoling ourselves by the fact that we are flying AIr Asia and they must be used to this weather. It was fine once we were through it but it's not an experience we're keen to repeat and we were happy ... read more
