Blogs from Mongolia, Asia - page 80

Asia » Mongolia May 22nd 2005

Searching the neighbours Roads are not roads, but tracks on the dusty ground - dusty only because we were too early in the year for proper green and tourism. Maps are not maps, but pieces of paper with some black dots for villages and lines connecting them - imaginary roads straight through the country, turns only if there happens to be a mountain or a sand dune in between. Only people who call orienteering their sport of choice try to read maps in Mongolia (sometimes even successfully) - others stick to the normal Mongolian way which in other parts of the world is called womanly: ask for directions. Houses are movables and that is what people do about twice a year: they take their sheep, horses and camels, pack their belongings and move. Every year in ... read more

Outer Mongolian adventures.

Asia » Mongolia January 7th 2005

Statue of fat guy

ChrisHughes

Terribly sorry not to have written for a while, but- over the christmas and new years festivities i didnt really do a whole lot worth reporting on, as im sure my distinguished readership would be wholly uninterested in tales of drunken exploits. not that i drink. Anyway merry christmas and happy new year, i hope you all had a great time and im sure oundle was, as always, excellent fun. Whats that i hear you cry? what have you been up to? well, since i last wrote about lake baikial i have undergone many a trying test of my fortitude and composure, the most demanding of which took place apon my embarkation of the train to mongolia. I left Irkutsk on the overnight train to Ulan Ude, from there i caught a train to the russian ... read more

Easy tiger

Asia » Mongolia December 14th 2004

Runaway

Sken like a Ribble fluke

I wish I had a photo of myself jumping onto the moving train as it pulled away from the station at the Russian - Mongolian border. The timetable said that we were stopping here for 5 (yes five) hours, so there seemed to be no problem with going onto the platform and using the loo but I when I emerged, the train was moving away from the station, all the doors were shut and I may have used the word 'bollocks'. There goes my passport and worldly goods. My futile attempt to ride the train didn't pay off as the doors were locked. With yours truly holding onto the outside of the train, the driver put his foot down. I decided it was wise to jump off before I found myself frozen to the side and ... read more

Return to UB

Asia » Mongolia November 29th 2004

StephenWSmith

Back in the capital. Just wanted to post a quick message that I'm alive, in good health, and having the BEST time that i've had so far. Met a lot of great people. My new plan is to stay in Kstan for longer than i thought, heading to only Moscow and St. Petes for a total of a week or ten days. Then i fly too helsinki where i'll help a friend work in his traveling trailer food cart around the tourist areas (work/live for free!) and then it's straight to Berlin I think. from berlin i 'll head to milan, rome, back up to paris, london, fly to arizona, and i'll be home after that. I'll write more about the Gobi trip tomorrow morning before my train. i just can't write now. happy thanksgiving. ... read more

Departure

Asia » Mongolia November 19th 2004

StephenWSmith

Today is the 19th and i'm leaving again tomorrow for a 9 day trip into the Gobi. I didn't want to do such a long trip but I have to because this is the only group i found to go with. There are only about 10 tourists left as it's so cold. I love getting all the personal emails from everyone. I can't write too many back as it's so expensive, but please keep 'em coming. Linda please print them out for Grandpa too, I hope he can read this stuff. I will be out of communication again for the next 9 days at least. On the 29th i'll be taking the night train up to Irkutsk which is in Russia, from there I may only have time to shoot directly to Novisibrsk which is my ... read more

Countryside, gers, shit bags, pouring blood, doctor

Asia » Mongolia November 18th 2004

StephenWSmith

I have just arrived back in Ulan Bator from a 9 day ride through the Mongolian countryside. I'm tired but I feel great. I've gotten a lot of emails from people asking about the temperature and yes... it's between negative 20 and 30 degrees C, which in F is a lot colder than you might think. It's a frozen country, but it has really added to its charm because the amount of tourists in this country you can count on two hands. Therefore I really got a sense of an untouched Mongolia, especially on this trip that I have been on. I arranged to hire a Russian jeep and driver through the hostel/guesthouse that i'm staying with 4 other people. Two couples, one from the Netherlands (Winny and Joost) and one from the UK and New ... read more

Arrival in Mongolia

Asia » Mongolia November 7th 2004

StephenWSmith

The historical image of the Monguls as a people of savagery, violence, and conquering their neighbors is NOT helped out at all by the beauty of their language. When men speak this language it sounds like a chicken being flogged, boiled, and raped at the same time. It's a throaty mess of sounds which made me reach for the earphones, Halls, and some tea. I was getting a sore throat just experiencing it. To top things off the kid on the top bunk across the compartment was about 12/13 years old. The Mongul going through puberty is an even funnier sound. It's more throaty than Arabic and less wide spoken than Basque. Oddly enough when the women speak it it's quite pleasant sounding. I truly believe that was their weapon. Perhaps I'll find out tonight at ... read more

En krog po Mongoliji

Asia » Mongolia » Gobi Desert August 27th 2004

Pri domacinih

gogy80

Bok! Pa sem nazaj! Uf, 10 dni Mongolije je hitro minilo in doziveli smo veliko zanimivih pripetljajev. Na pot smo odrinili z novim pol kombi pol dzipom Mitsubishi, nasim Mongolskim mongoloidnim soferjem Brdavsom (iq70, ), vodicem po imenu Gala, Stevie (26 let, NZL), Kristjan in Almut (32 let , DDR), Gregor(???, SLO), in jaz (24, SLO). Prvi dan je bila sicer samo voznja proti Gobiju, ves dan, kuhali smo si sami ob poti. Ceste so speljane malo tu, malo tam (makadam), nobenih oznak, za pot vprasas najblizjega nomada na konju. Ko smo enkrat zgresili, so nas povabili v ger na koscek najbolj nagravznega konjskega sira in skodelico najbolj nagravznega konjskega mleka. Pokrajina sama stepa, polno konjev, ovc, koz, kamel, orlov, jastrebov... Vecer prezivimo v eni vasi, in Slovenija igra biljard z Mongolijo 1:1. Soferju zacno utripati ... read more

Ulaanbaatar

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar August 17th 2004

Igra z golobi

gogy80

BOK vsem skupaj! Najprej dve stvari, ki sem jih pozabil napisat v prejsnjem mailu. Nisem povedal, da je bil tista vasica na otoku narejena povsem iz lesa. Kot v Asterixu in Obelixu. Pocutil sem se, kot da bi prisel na divji zahod, ulice siroke, po sredini drevesa, seveda nikjer asfalta, elektrika na generatorje, ne, in tudi tekoca voda jim je tuja stvar. Stranisca pa... Joj, pretezko je obujat ta spomin. V Irkutsku pa je bil koncert Deep Purplov. Cena? Sitnica. Najcenejsa karta 14000sit, najdrazja pa 35000sit. Pa naj se kdo rece, da Rusi nimajo denarja. Zdaj pa na pot. Zjutraj smo se podali na vlak (Gregor, Kiwi in jaz). V vagon pa smo dobiil eno totalno prfuknjeno Americanko (od kod pa bo drugace?) Fak! Skoraj sva znorela. Na meji se je smejala policaju v faco! Mi ... read more

Crossing Mongolia

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar August 1st 2004

The Mongolian

jw_tajana

By the time we woke up the train was rolling to the stop in Ulaanbaatar - the Mongolian capital city. It was an interesting view. Normal, tall buildings are standing next to the typical 'gers'. 'Ger' is a round tent that allows the Mongolians to move around and be, well, nomads. Even in the capital city. The coolest thing I ever saw. Can't imagine myself setting up a tent back at home in the middle of any city... We left Ulaanbaatar shortly after and the scenary changed. Very different from Siberia. Little hills spread in front of the trains and there are no trees. No wonder they live in 'gers'. That was pretty much the scenery for the rest of the day. We liked it a lot. It is amazing how many different kinds of natural ... read more

Brief history of Mongolia

The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they conquered a huge Eurasian empire. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century. The Mongols eventually ...more history

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