http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , Mongolia , Ulaanbaatar en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 10:14:07 +0000 Thu, 23 May 2013 10:14:07 +0000 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.. 39you look mighty beautiful39 then was finished by 39for this hour of the morning39 .. so quickly became backhanded...as much as we werent expected to be complimented we39ve realise http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-785342.html 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. Wed heard a few horror stories about the Russian border crossings and hadnt bothered to register our visas but had no problems. Navigating UB was pretty tricky our map was a few years old and already out of date lots of construction http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-749582.html ltspangtI woke to a heavy frost and a few snow flakes in the air.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.ltspangtThe ger camp had been a great experience. Nassa estimated that at least 70 of the population still live http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-748933.html 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 twothree 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 favourit http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-748834.html 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 waiti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-748833.html 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 busje of aut http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-739768.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-738895.html Day 57 Sunday 12th August 2012 to Day 62 Friday 17th August 2012The Wild Wild West of Asia Welcome to MongoliaWild 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-738586.html Blog July 1 3 Train ride Dalian to Beijing to UlanbaataarOn 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 Kyle39s fridge after eating we got to work. I sew Kyle39s 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 Ann http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-737199.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-736018.html Day 21 July 21Back to UlanBaatar well at least the start of it. We dropped off the British couple who smartly were flying back and made a long bumpy drive north. It was more of the same desert steppe except that it was raining so hard it was flooding. Who knew that the Gobi desert was the wettest part of Mongolia In fact it rained more in the 5 days in the Gobi than it had in the previous 8 http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-735282.html Day 1 July 1It is time to begin the third major trip since arriving in the Middle Kingdom. First up MongoliaThe train to Beijing was at night so my partner and I left home after 4pm. We arrived at the train station with some time so we grabbed some chuar BBQ and sat down outside to eat. We headed into the station and got onto our soft sleepers. Roughly 1st class here. Our cabin was shared w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-735260.html Mongolia not quite sure where to begin with what so far has certainly been the most suprising and amazing part of the trip. I think the the only way to start is at the beginning.We arrived into UlaanBaator station around 6am the station looking very much like the Siberian stations we39d been seeing for the past 6 days which makes sense as the Soviets built the railway in this country. We http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-733203.html The next morning we were awoken by a 0330 alarm call Hello get up now please so we could get our 0410 taxi to the station to catch the Mongolia bound train. This was actually a Mongolian train Mongolian carriages and staff and we were sharing our cabin with a Mongolian lad who was studying in Moscow. Fortunately for us he spoke passable English so we could talk but unfortunately for him http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-732681.html We had a very pleasant 2 weeks or so staying with Cath and then Alice39s aunt and uncle in Melbourne and managed to get all our visas sorted in time to fly on 17th May to Shanghai.ChinaWe were met at Shanghai airport by a distant relation of Alice39s Ali who has been living and working in Shanghai with his partner Sabrina and tiny wee baby Rylie for 2 years or so.We had braced ourselves fo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-720440.html It is Tuesday May 292012 and I am packing and getting organized to leave for Hong Kong on Friday. The plan is to visit Hong Kong and Macau for 2 days then fly to Taiwan where I have a downhill bike adventure and mountain hike booked for the Tarako Gorge. After Taiwan it will be back to Hong Kong for the flight to Mongolia on June 7th. Total team size this trip is 14 and a number of people are do http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-720138.html Mongolia is country with an ancient culture and antique historical remains of all stages of Human history in Central Asia. Attracting the attention of international tourists and bringing them to Mongolia Naadam has been registered with the Intangible Heritage Fund of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO just before its start this year elevating Mongolia Na http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-719510.html ltspangtltspangtltspangtAn early train from Irkutsk and we were soon full steam ahead towards Mongolia. The train route took us alongside Lake Baikal for several hours before the terrain turned slowly more brown yellow and we caught first sight of small herds of animals in the distance. The border crossing whilst smooth enough took an age over 7 hours. With that we said our goo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-717974.html I am writing to you now in an absolute fury seen as I just wrote 2500 words and for some rageinducing reason it decided not to save what i had wrote so if the tone of the blog is rather angry don39t take it as a reflection on Mongolia. It will probably be a lot shorter as well cos I cant be arsed now.Left Irkutsk Monday night got the train to UlanUde at about 10.30pm arriving at 0630 the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-708573.html Horseriding through Mongolian hills http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Mongolia/Ulaanbaatar/blog-708336.html