Blogs from Mongolia, Asia - page 75

We woke up to a lovely morning in Bulgan House today. Across the hotel is a pasture with some horses. It was beautiful and serene. After breakfast, we were on the road again. Having lost one day on the van repair, we needed to catch up in order to reach Lake Khovsgol today. The journey was long, very very long. It was almost 8pm when we arrived at Moron, a town just before entering Khovsgol Nuur National park. We had dinner at Moron, and almost wanted to give up continuing with the journey, but we trudged on. Whenever we see a hill coming up, we told ourselves that the lake would be at the other side of the hills. Alas, hills after hills, we finally reached the park entrance at sunset. We thought we would reach ... read more

"Amarbayasgalant, one of the most well known and largest monasteries of Mongolia, is located in the beautiful Iven Gol River valley on the foot of Burenkhan mountain in Baruunburen som of Selenge province. " Having "lost" a day of travel at Darkhan, we left the resort early this morning to visit the Amarbayasgalant Khiid (Monastery). From the vehicle park, we have to walk a short distance across the grass field to the monastery. The red walls of the monastery, surrounded by the greenery of the mountains and grass field, is simply beautiful. Amarbayasgalant Khiid is one of the four great monasteries of Mongolia, and the most important one in the north. Built in 1737, predominantly Chinese style, it is also considered the most beautiful architecturally. Some of the buildings were destroyed during the religious purges of ... read more

Saturday 0015 Departs Singapore Changi Airport on CA970. 0615 Arrives in Beijing. Transit. 0850 Departs Beijing on CA901. (+1h) 1225 Arrives in Ulaanbaatar (UB). Here we are, on our second trip to Mongolia one year later. This time we were lucky to reach Ulaanbaatar on schedule. No more flight delay like last year. Muno and Puujee, our Mongolian guides, are already at the airport to receive us. So is Nyaama, who is going to be our driver for the next 15+ days. After checking into UB Hotel, which is the same one we stayed last year, Puujee brought us for lunch at the SilkRoad Restaurant. We have heard about the restaurant from PJ, and it is also a "Lonely Planet" recommended restaurant. We had western food, Tendori chicken, etc. Food was quite ok. After lunch, Puujee ... read more

My short time in Beijing only allowed for a brief taste ... but it really was delicious, right down to the Peking (Beijing) duck we feasted on for my birthday dinner. Having arrived in Beijing from India, a few things became immediately apparent. The air was cool and crisp (down to approx 15 degrees from 45 when I left India) - quite a relief, as I was struggling to fit my winter clothes into my pack! As part of the planning for the 2008 Olympics there were trees being planted all around the city, blossoms were in bloom and everything was neatly organised without a scrap of rubbish. Construction in Beijing is going crazy, apparently whole city blocks of hutons have been razed and construction is underway on massive new buildings - all part of the ... read more

The train pulls into Ulaanbaatar at 5.30 am. We cannot believe that we are in Mongolia. Our first impression (despite being shattered) is that it is blxxdy freezing, and that the people smile here. We are met by a very friendly female guide called Ogii who takes us to our minibus where Brendan, Matt and I wait half an hour for a couple of people arriving on a later train. It feels so cold, it was about -15. The people turn out to be a couple called Claire and James from Belfast. We go straight to a decent hotel where we have access to showers and a sauna. The former was freezing which was a disappointment after the train, but we were mollified by the lovely sauna. After a hearty (eat all you can) buffet breakfast ... read more