Advertisement
Published: December 12th 2005
The Gobi is one brutish beast of a desert. That's not referring to the drastic climate changes we encountered (mid-60s by day, low-30s by night) or the vast remoteness of the area (about 1000 miles of barren landscape from the SW to NE). Its traversing through the hellacious terrain of marred dirt and rock in a minibus that battered us so severely it felt like Ike Turner had given us a once over (that one's for you Jamey).
For 6 days we traveled in a 1970s VW Combi throughout the SE of Mongolia. They call them roads, but they're really just tracks laid down in the dirt by previous jeep expeditions (the country has only a little over a 1000 miles of paved road-- mostly branching from the capital, Ulaan Baatar, towards commercial destinations, i.e., not the desert). We drove 7 hours a day on land that was slashed and torn, sometimes muddy, sometimes rocky, all the time beating the living sh!t out of us. Off-roading is fun for an hour, maybe two-- 42 hours gets a bit tiresome.
The trip itself, however, was a great experience. When we weren't getting punished in the car, we were exploring ice
The gang heads off in the Mystery Machine
Solving such mysteries as, "What animal does this shit belong to?" and "Is there any drinking water nearby?"canyons (sans the ice due to the "warm" climate), trudging across sand dunes (unexpectedly, the desert is comprised of only 3% sand), riding camels and horses, and staying overnight in nomad camps. The overnight stays with the nomads is all the rage-- if you're in Mongolia, or have been to Mongolia, or are going to Mongolia, most travelers will ask if you've slept in a Ger- the indigenous peoples' mobile home. It's a way to get a taste of the nomadic culture.
Gers are a circular shaped dome tent- about 20 feet in diameter and 6-10 feet in height. The roaming herders who call them home usually pack up 4 times a year, looking for the lushest grassland for their animals (usually goats, sheep, camels and horses). It's a decent abode- very clean and very intimate. The only possible discomforts for those not used to the lifestyle are the sleeping arrangements (they'll give you a pad which lays like a sack of potatos), the food (which is surprisingly delicious at first but they do that Mexican food deception of using the same ingredients in just different arrangements-- in this case it's always mutton, potatoes and rice) and staying warm
throughout the night-- there's usually an iron stove in the center of the Ger- but th'aint no trees in that thar desert so the only fuel is, ready for this one?-- horseshit. Yeah, petrified dung. For those who've never set fire to turd before, (for shame) it burns quickly so you have to wake up every half hour to keep shoveling it in the stove. In the cold season, it would seem you almost never get a full night's sleep.
But in the end, these were all just minor inconveniences when compared to the great things we saw on the trip-- stepping outside in the middle of the night to look at the stars and seeing them all across the sky, even just above the horizon like those artificial panoramic skies in planetariums. Seeing the sun cast some wicked shadow patterns along the sand dunes. Watching the children contribute to their family's welfare by herding sheep and saddling horses, rather than being hypnotized by Disney movies and Playstation. It was really a great experience. There came a moment one night, just after 2 in the morning, when I had to wake up for the 3rd time on fire duty,
when it was 30 degrees outside and 35 in the tent and I was breaking off bits of shit with my bare hands when I paused and ask myself, is this really worth it? And yeah, I think it was.....(cue melodramatic string accompaniment, aaaaaaaand......close).
Advertisement
Tot: 0.089s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0576s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Suzanne G.
non-member comment
Fantastic
Hey! Your trip seems fantastic, I am quite jealous. I can not wait to read more and see more pics. Be safe and have fun!