Blogs from Mongolia, Asia - page 8

After our all night experiences of our China/Mongolia border crossings last night and dealing with both lots of authorities at each border, we could now settle back into enjoying our Mongolian experiences. We were still crossing the Gobi Desert which was nothing like I had imagined it for other than its vastness for, this was a green desert which didn’t fit my image of it at all. Due to recent unseasonal rainfall, we were very lucky to be seeing it at its best but, at the same time felt as though we had been robbed of our true experience in imagining what it would be like to be crossing one of the world’s most inhospitable areas as, we were looking out onto something totally different and felt that there was something wrong with this picture. This ... read more

Two hours after we left Beijing, our plane touched down in Ulaanbaatar, a world away. Mongolians speak a guttural language that sounds closer to Russian than to Chinese and it is written in the Cyrillic alphabet. Almost nothing is translated into English, and the Soviet-era architecture renders the buildings indistinguishable from each other, so our first impressions were surrealistic and disoriented. However, as time passed and we got used to their ways, we fell in love with this country. The people we met were gentle, kind, and friendly; the landscape breathtaking. A 360-degree horizon, rolling hills and valleys, pristine mountain lakes and streams, vast prairie grasslands, and untrodden deserts reminded us most of Wyoming and Montana east of the Rockies, but without any fences or roads and even fewer inhabitants. After centuries of subjugation under the ... read more

GOBI DESERT TOUR Vulture Valley After breakfast we broke camp and wandered through the valley following the little stream. The walls rose up steeply on both sides and Soko actually pointed out an Ibex, the curved horned mountain goat, but it was too indistinct for me to see it. There were snow patches in the deeper part of the valley and a lovely shallow ice cave like a ledge of crystal translucent blues, greens and white. When we reached the other side we met several large touring groups that were only entering the valley for a brief way. We also saw nomads galloping their horses across the hillside. Looking behind us we could see the vultures wheeling overhead, but with no binoculars we could not see their beards or white chests. We met an unfortunate Ibex ... read more

GOLDEN GOBI GUESTHOUSE GOBI TOUR As we traveled further south we stayed with more families and learned more about the ger. Sometimes there were separate ger for tourists who visit the desert. Usually these had five beds circling the inside wall. This was far more comfortable than sleeping on the floor. Oh, and I must have hit my head at least ten times in eight days because the doors are only about four feet tall. The ger has two stanchions inside that hold up a wheel like center into which staves are positioned much like a giant umbrella frame. The walls are expanding lattice covered with sheep felt. An unpainted summer ger with frame, felt and weather proof outer cover costs about 2300 dollars. The walls are often covered on the inside with carpets for added ... read more

I have been trying to catch up on my blogs. It seems like it wouldn't take any time at all to write a few words and post them. Unfortunately I am not a computer geek and I struggle with each entry. Not only that, often there will be no internet for days on end. Here in Mongolia so far I have had easy access, but I am in Ulaanbaatar, the largest city in the country. Tomorrow, actually in five hours, I will be leaving for a nine day trek to the Gobi Desert. It is a very primitive trip but I am looking forward to it because I have been in the city since June 15th and for three days I just stayed in my hotel room and rested. Two wonderful massages (really different experiences from ... read more