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Published: October 26th 2005
Lovely Mongolia. I am here at last! Our train ride from Beijing was the most pleasurable I have ever had. The Trans-Mongolian route is famed for its many traders and the large amounts of smuggling that goes on between boarders. I had mentally prepared myself for the worst and expected our cabin to be filled with some Mongolian guy's boxes of lord-knows-what. But Gerry and I were lucky this time and ended up with a cabin to ourselves where we could stretch out and relax. In fact, the whole train was half empty and I spotted not one shady smuggler type.
The scenery was once again spectacular. I used my trusty Trans-Siberian Railway Handbook that I purchased 6 months ago and finally got a chance to see all of the little things I highlighted so long ago while sitting at my desk in the Izumi Chu staffroom. My nerdy side kicked in again and I sat at the window most of the trip looking out at the kilometer markers. The book gives a detailed instructions on how to calculate where you on the map in conjunction with the markers. I knew to see a portion of the Great Wall, when to
Gerry on Guitar
passing away the hours on the Trans-Mongolian Raillook for camels roaming the Gobi desert, when to spot the atrociously blue train station that looked like a church. I was having a blast!
Having no Mongolian money upon arrival in Ulaanbaatar, Gerry and I were forced to walk to the hostel. However, our Lonely Planet guide book map failed us once more and a 400 meter walk turned into about 2 miles! Adding to the stress of the walk was the fact that Mongolian roads are not pedestrian friendly. I think my shoes aged 3 months or more from just that one journey. We were trudging along okay for about 40 minutes when Gerry turned around and noticed the front of my bag was wide open. I looked down and made a quick check of the contents. My eye-glasses were missing. NOOOOOO! I threw down my stuff and left it with Gerry while I ran all the way back to the station scanning the dusty rocky "sidewalk." No luck. My glasses were long gone. Of course it could have been worse, my wallet or camera could have been missing. And once Gerry and I got settled in the guesthouse I ran across the street and had a new
pair made. They are pink and a bit funky. But beggars can't be choosers. This is Mongolia, after all.
Anyway, things have been slowly improving. I really like watching the people here. So many felt and fur hats. And, the streets are speckled with people here and there in traditional dress. I am in love with the beautiful boots that many of the women wear here. We'll see if I don't make it home without a pair. 😉 It is biting cold outside, as well. And I have definitely been putting my Chinese thermal underwear and wool hat to use.
The Mongolian language sounds very Russian to my ears. And I am slowly learning how to read the cyclic alphabet. I think it will help me read signs and menus and things both here and in Russia.
Today Gerry and I moved out of the hostel we first checked into for lack of a good social atmosphere. We are now at UB Guesthouse and have a 6 day trip to the Gobi desert booked. We will be traveling by jeep with 2 other friendly travelers. Pierre from France and Thomas from Belgium will round out our group of 4 plus
Mates
Tomas and Pierre lazzing in the ger our driver. We made an enormous shopping trip this evening to get all of our supplies and foodstuffs (on the way to which I slapped a young guys hand off the zipper of my backpack). It's all very exciting! We will be staying in nomadic ger camps along the way. The staff at UB told us not to wash our faces because the cold and wind will make our skin cracked....sounds fun! There will be only once city where we can shower and check e-mail on the way. So if the computers are working down there you all can expect an update from the Gobi.
(If you are reading this Ochi, I am thinking about you!!)
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Jill
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adventure
What a fabulous adventure. Can't wait to see the pictures. The good ol USA will seem so boring to you when you return!! Jill