Mongolia - 22 May till 28 May - day 28 till 34


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Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar
May 29th 2009
Published: June 5th 2009
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at the borderat the borderat the border

After 7 hours on the Russian border, 3 hours at the Mongolian one looked like a split second.
After the positive experience in the Buriat country we were very much looking forward to Mongolia and we were not going to be disappointed with the days that followed.

When boarding the train for Ulaanbaatar in Ulan-Uday, we were joined by a team of young Mongolian sportsmen in their Adidas tracksuits with 'Mongolia' written on their back. It was the Mongolian boxing team coming back loaded with trophies from some competition in Russia. One of them was the Olympic silver medal for his category.
As we shared our four berth compartment with two charming young swiss girls, the Mongolian sportsmen passed by our place a bit more than 'normal'... They started joking with the girls when waiting at the Mongolian border, we took a few pictures.
Robson had his picture taken with the Olympic champion as well.

We had to wait 10 hour when crossing the border with Mongolia, mainly due to the Russian way of working.
On arrival in Ulaanbaatar, a crew of the National television was waiting to interview the coach and the champions.
But we had our own welcoming team. Zolco, our guide was waiting for us with a warm welcoming smile, a smile that won't
CheersCheersCheers

We shared a 4 bert with Anna and .. From Switzerland
disappear for the next 6 days. On the parking we met Jagaa, our driver.
After a quick tour of Ulaanbaatar where we saw first hand how quickly this city is changing, we left for a 350 Km drive, south west toward the Gobi desert where we were going to stay the next 3 days with nomads.
Closer to their place we stopped at a school to pick up Uuganbaatar, their oldest son who is 6 years old. Nomad children stay at school for 21 days. They then come 'home' for a WE and so on. Uuganbaatar loves his school and was disappointed that next term would be shorter as summer vacation starts in June.
Jagaa gave him a soft drink, but the boy didn't open it.
He got more and more excited as he started recognizing the region where his family was based this spring.
After greeting mum and dad he became inseparable from Uuganbayar, his little brother of 18 months. He then opened his bottle of soft drink which he had been saving so that he could share it with his brother.
He was also impatient to ride his horse as he clearly shared his father passion for horses.
Our carriageOur carriageOur carriage

Most russians got off at thew border. Our 'international' carriage was left on its own. We had to cross the tracks on foot to get to the platform.

At first our contacts with our hosts were very limited as it appeared that they were extremely busy. They had about 150 goats, 60 sheep, a few cows and 30 horses to take care of.
Their camp consisted of 3 Ger tents. One of them was reserved for the family (husband, wife, 2 kids and grand father), a smaller one was mainly used as a kitchen and a third one was used as a kind a 'living' room where they meet guests, watch a solar powered black and white TV and have other social happenings. This Ger tent was going to be our home for the next 3 days. This was not a touristic place, we were with nomads in the Gobi region. Water is scarce here, days can be hot and nights cold. There is no shower, not bathroom, no toilet. We watched our face and hands with mineral water, the rest had to wait. It also appeared that when you get used to it, the Gobi desert is a quite fashionable bathroom facility.
We didn't do that much the first day nor the second one, as I tried to recover from a heavy cold and lack of sleep on the train the previous nights.
There is a lot of wind in the Mongolian steppes, so Robson played with his kite, trying to initiate Uuganbaatar. We also went with him and Zolco to sand dunes close by and had a great time there.
Our guide Zolco metamorphosed soon into a cook. It was indeed she who prepared our meals, with some help from Jagaa.
Our third day was our best day. We stood up earlier as we were going to visit the ruins of Karakorum, the capital of the Mongolian Empire in the 13th century. It is here that Genghis was declared the Great Khan by the Mongolian clans.
The city was destroyed by the Chinese under the Ming dynasty. The site is today occupied by a Buddhist temple that we visited.
On a hill above the city a giant stone turtle can be seen, it is all what survived from Genghis Khan's capital.
That evening we tried to help our host in milking their goats. It is quite something. They first have to gather them, bring them into a closed area, select those to be milked, attach them to a rope, milk them and finally free them in orderly fashion.
My job consisted of attaching the goats to the rope while Robson was catching all those who escaped. When our hosts asked us to stay one more day, we knew they were (half?) joking, but we also understood they were very pleased with the help provided.
In the evening, everybody came in our Ger and we had a very interesting chat, Zolco being the interpret.

We had a great time and were sad to leave when we just started connecting better with the family. There is one thing though that we were craving for: a shower!
This means that although we were sad to leave we were also very much looking forward to our new base: a touristic Ger camp. We were about 350 Km west of Ulaanbaatar and had to go 30 Km east to find that camp, most of it off road.
We left early morning and arrived around 4 PM at the camp. While I was dreaming to have a shower in my Ger, I came quickly to realise that that Touristic Ger camp was a real camp. We were in real Ger tents, then only differences with the stay at the nomad camp were that there were no nomads in the camp, the beds were softer (but too short!) and there were showers and a restaurant in a central building. A kind of fake-real Ger camp.
As we just experienced the real-real thing, we were wondering what we were doing there, wouldn't it have been better to stay and relax in a comfortable hotel in Ulaanbaatar? With those thoughts in mind we went for dinner. And there it happened, we met THEM. 'They' were going to make our days so much more enjoyable and the nice thing is that 'they' stayed with us till Beijing. It was a group of people who met while traveling through Mongolia. 'They' were Terry and Madeleine from York (UK), Anna and Ruth two English girls on their way to Africa, Mick, an English guy who did not mind sharing his pole dancing skills with Robson , the "sistas" from Bermuda, Julie and Kim, traveling with their uncle Harry from New York and their friend Nickie from London. It was a nice group to be with and our stay at the Ger camp took a different turn, we very much enjoyed it. Amongst other things we 'hit' the bottle trying our arrow shooting skills and the vodka spilled on the ground.
Robson could play with his kite, given the steady winds blowing through the steppe; we also did some horse riding a kind of mandatory activity if one visits Mongolia.
The nights were very cold there and some snow was announced.
After a couple of nights at the Ger camp, we went to Ulaanbaatar for our last night in Mongolia. In the evening we went to the national theatre and were literally mesmerized by the high quality of the show. It was first class, a mix of dance, singing and music. The Mongolian National Orchestra playing all traditional instruments was a revelation to all who attended.

When we left for the train, it started snowing, it was 28 May!



Additional photos below
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Boudhist templeBoudhist temple
Boudhist temple

mainly tibetan boudhims in Mongila, like in the Buriat region of Siberia.
On our way to a nomad campOn our way to a nomad camp
On our way to a nomad camp

One of the few 'tarmac' roads we took. half of the 350Km was off road.
Our campOur camp
Our camp

the nomad family's camp where we stayed for 3 nights.
UuganbaatarUuganbaatar
Uuganbaatar

At 6 he is very at easy galloping on his horse through the steppe.


10th June 2009

Wow
Mongolia has so much mystique. Thanks for sharing. i wish i could go there but from what ive gathered, its cheaper to go to wealthier countries than to underdeveloped countries like mongolia and africa. and mongolia is beyond my budget at the moment but i hope to visit someday. thank you
12th June 2009

Fantastic!
It's fab to be able to follow you around on this! (especially when I'm in my office! no envy at all...not a bit..., really none whatsoever!)
13th June 2009

Great to see your blog!
Hi guys Madeleine and I are back home in York now but still in China in our minds! Missed you on your last day at the red Wall Hotel but we felt we had at least said goodbye and had our hugs at the restaurant in the Oriental Plaza in Beijing. (Hope you enjoyed the aubergine Robson!)... We have some pics to email you but will do this later... When in China we heard that our neice Claire and her husband Adam had been delivered of a new baby - a boy - and they have named him - BEN!!! This news was long awaited and his name is such a bonus to us - as we know 2 Ben's - one in York and one is YOU - on a year long travel with his partner! Robson - I hope you are not too dissapointed - we do have another neice expecting a baby in America - but I am unsure of the odds of her having a boy and naming him Robson - but we live in hope. Wishing you guys all the best - we missed you as we were on our own once we left Beijing. But had a great time in Xian and in Shanghai. Will follow your blog avidly--- Love from Terry and Madeleine
17th June 2009

how fab
hi Boyz, just one more of your gang. how beautiful Haloung Bay looks. back at work, but like Terry & Madeleine- still on the trip in my head. took ages to get used to the bed being still and the scenery not moving outside the window. Love the blog. Miss you loads. nikki xx
11th January 2010

Hey my team
Hi zebra kkk its me Mongolian boxer uka.
8th February 2011

Pic
I like your pictures..its all nice ..thank you..

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