Char brings you to Mongolia

[Sammyboy RSS Feed]

An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Next up on my travelogue is Mongolia. This came right after the trip to North Korea. I came across a tour to Mongolia in China so I joined the tour. Flew to Ulanbaator, the Mongolian capital, from Beijing. 4 day 3 night trip. Unfortunately due to flight delays we had to skip the city tour at Ulanbaator. The whole country makes me feel like I'm in Australia

This tour is very different from most other countries I've been to.
1)the Mongolians are mostly nomads so they do not have many spectacular ancient structures/sites to visit. The temples are pretty pathetic.
2)the country is vast with a very small population so interaction with locals is mostly kept to the guide and driver.
3)the places of interest are spread pretty far apart, the entire tour was half day car ride, visit to the site in the afternoon
4)the tour focus more on understanding the nomad way of life and visiting/interacting with them. In fact you can choose to stay with the families if you want to instead of in a Ger camp
5)the temperature variation is ridiculous. Midday temperature was around the low 20s, at night it drops to sub-zero temperatures
6)My favorite part is probably the fact that once outside the city, your nearest neighbor is probably 2-3km away at the very least!!!!
7)Phone signal is pretty intermittent outside the city, needless to say don't expect broadband internet at the Ger camps.

And for all the Chikopeis in here unlike my North Korean one, this one no chio bu. I hardly met any bu to begin with

Ulanbaator City


Day 2: Elsen Tasarkhai Sand Dunes

Mongolian Shaman Idol


They called this an Awar. Some form of long distance communication method


Even the towns and villages reminds me of Aussie towns


Once out of the city, grass plains as far as U can see and your next door neighbor is at least 1-2km away


A tourist Ger camp



This is what the inside of the tent looks like


The Restaurant


This is what Mongolians eat. I asked if it's normal for them to eat at home like this and they told me yes.


A Buddhist Temple


The temple seems closer to the Tibetan style than ours



I have no clue who this guy is


Camel Ride into the Sand Dunes. 2 hump camels are unique to this part of the world



The Elsen Tasarkhai Sand Dunes


Inside the home of my Camel Guide


Day 3: Visiting a family with Horses to see horse milking


They first feed the fowl and pull him away shortly after than immediately start milking



Another home in the middle of freaking nowhere.


Visiting the Khustai National Park. These are wild horses. Apparently the only wild horses left in the world



A Marmot(middle of pic)


Day 4: Chinggis Khan Statue



Biggest Shoe in the world


The Terelj National Park


Yaks


Turtle Rock at the Terelj National Park



A Buddhist temple at the Terelj National Park




Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com.