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Published: October 28th 2008
We got off the Trans-Mongolia train from Beijing at Ulan Bataar where we were hoping to be met by the staff from the Golden Gobi, a guest house we had been recommended by a couple in Nepal. We had sent a booking request over email before we left and we didn’t know if they had any space at there, let alone pick us up from the train station. Luckily, they were there and were picking up the couple we had dinner with at the border the previous night. Though they did have space they didn’t have any double rooms so we were in dorms for the night.
From the little we know about Mongolia before setting off we knew that it was very difficult to travel independently with very little in the way of public transport and hardly anyone outside the capital speaking English. We heard that the Golden Gobi also arranged great tours that they organise for groups of people that get together at the guest house. Having been at the guest house just a couple of hours we nearly joined a tour that was leaving the next day but decided it was just a little too soon and
Goats
Rich helping to mark the families goatswe wanted to get our bearings in Ulan Bataar first before heading off.
We hung around at the guesthouse in Ulan Bataar for a few days and bumped into a nice guy called Mark from Belgium who we had lunch with, chatted about tours and realised it would be good for us all to go on a trip as we wanted similar things. He mentioned a couple he had spoken to from Holland called Eddie and Martine and we got chatting to them. Shortly afterwards, they were coming along and they mentioned a Danish guy called Jonas who they had spoken to. We all met up with him later when we decided all six of us would be going on our trip and went out for a meal to celebrate. We were really lucky to meet such a great bunch of people, we all got on so well and with a group that size we though there may be some trouble but there was absolutely none for the whole time we were away. Our trip would be a total of fourteen days and we had two vans between us with our drivers Bate and Douga and our guide Dolgmaa
with her understudy Ogi.
The Gobi Desert
We spent the first few days heading south towards the Gobi desert. One thing that we noticed immediately was that once we were outside the capital the roads literally disappeared. There were tracks where other cars had gone before but there was no real difference from the land just next to it. The scenery was great and although it was all pretty much arid desert landscapes it seemed to change a lot. We spent our first night with a lovely Mongolian family who knew our guide and made us all very welcome. They were taking their goats to market the next day and asked us if we could help by marking them so it was quite entertaining to watch Rich and a couple of the others running around trying to pick up the lambs so the owners could mark them with paint. After a traditional Mongolian meal we all went out on the rocks for a spectacular sunset before getting tucked in by our guide - no really - she actually tucked Mark in bed.
The next couple of days were spent pretty much driving solidly towards the sand dunes
of the Gobi Desert but stopping at some amazing sites along the way like the ‘Flaming Cliffs’ and another area that looked like the Grand Canyon with some really interesting colours. We were both surprised at the variety of landscapes we were seeing in Mongolia. We also stopped at an ice gorge which fills up with snow and ice during the bitter Mongolian winters and doesn’t melt till about August. It was impressive to be walking on ice not far from desert land in the summer! We camped there for the night in a tent with just the two of us which made a break after two nights with the six of us in a ger.
When we finally got to the sand dunes we stayed two nights with another Mongolian family though this time they were more geared up
towards tourists and it was no where near as authentic as our two other evenings with Mongolian families. This time there were a few more gers for their guests/tourists and there was even a pool table outside in the middle of the desert though we were pretty disappointed that they were actually charging people to use it. While we
were there we did a camel trek for a few miles into the sand dunes which was pretty funny. We had our camel guide (who couldn’t speak a word of English) in traditional gear leading the way and us on the camels trying to get them to so what we wanted and stop drinking from the streams and eating the grass.
Unfortunately, Jess became really ill in Mongolia and spent the afternoon after the camel ride resting in bed. In the evening, the group, without Jess who was too ill, climbed up the sand dunes for sunset. It took well over an hour to climb them and was really hard work and we just managed to catch the end of the sunset before heading back down which literally took five minutes.
The Eight Lakes
After the Gobi we drove towards an area called the Eight Lakes. We would leave the vans (and drivers) for three days while we trekked though mountainous areas where the vans couldn’t drive and would meet them on the other side. We spent a total of three days passing through the Eight Lakes - the first two on horseback and the last trekking.
Jess had been looking forward to the horse ride for a while whereas as Richard wasn’t that bothered. We got set up with our horses that we were told were ‘semi-wild’ which we had no idea what we meant till we got on them. Martine’s horse decided to go galloping off and Rich’s horse was obviously the naughty one of the group as they kept it under a really short lead from the outset. Instead of walking normally like all the other horses it was kind of jogging on the spot and you could tell it had anger issues. After a couple of hours the horse guide let Rich’s horse go and it behaved really well until we got to a rocky area. Rich foolishly tried to speed the horse up a little by giving it a little kick and it went berserk. It galloped off so fast over the rocks and Rich managed to stop it running but then it was turning round in circles and trying to throw him off. It went back on the lead. Then it was let off after it calmed down and then it did the same again before going back on the lead
- Rich grew to hate that horse.
We camped in tents while passing through the Eight Lakes and stayed up with everyone by the campfires though Jess could only manage so much as was still seriously ill and we were both starting to become a little worried. She was vomiting regularly with high temperatures, bad stomach etc. One pretty disgusting moment was when Jess was being sick outside and the dogs that were there to protect the cattle were catching Jess’ puke before it hit the floor!
The last day we trekked in the rain where we met back up with our drivers. After a short drive we made our way to another great family that our guide knew. Again, they were so hospitable and we played with the kids and the father regularly came into our ger to put more wood on the fire as we were soaked through. That evening there was an incredible rainbow that the photos don’t do justice.
Staying with the Mongolian families was a real highlight for both of us as we got an up-close chance to see how they live and they were all so incredibly friendly. As the families
are nomadic they don’t grow any vegetables and pretty much live off the cattle they own. We were offered all sorts of food including goat, camel and yak curd which was left out on the roofs of the gers to mature. We were also offered butter tea which was incredibly salty and also butter cream (haven’t got a clue from which animal though) which was actually really nice. Rich ate the lot including some funny meats, one of which turned out to be stomach that was really not very nice!
The Hot Springs
After several days of roughing it throughout Mongolia we had all been looking to the hot springs where we’d be able to get a hot shower and soak in the baths. However, when we got there we were all a little disappointed as the place was completely geared towards tourism with lots of gers lined up like hotel rooms in the site. It was great to freshen up in the hot baths but somehow didn’t feel right after all those lovely evenings with our genuine and incredibly friendly Mongolian hosts. The next day we made our way to an impressive Tibetan temple before heading back
to the guest house. In the evening the whole group that had gone on the tour went out for a meal and Rich ate horse in the vein hope it might be the one he rode for two days. After two nights in Ulan Bataar we caught the train back to Beijing where we were hoping to start our overland trip through China in Vietnam and South East Asia.
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