Journey from Moscow to Ulann-Bator took five nights and for days. First three days I was trying to adapt to much slower rhythm of life. After few years of hard working and very busy lifestyle back in England, this journey is a real treat for my body as much as for the soul.
For those who might not know us closely enough I would like to mention, that to take Tran-Siberian train was one of my old desires, so I was determined to do it on my own. In the mean tome Darius will complete all the required affairs in UK and will be joining me in China for more adventures together.
Early morning. The train arrives to Ulaan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia. I say good bye to my fellow travelers and keep looking for a driver holding a sheet of paper with my name on it, but can’t find him. Then I remember the e-mail from the hostel, confirming that I’ll be picked up. When the crowd disperses I realize I have to do something, so I grab a taxi, haggle couple dollars and moving towards the hostel in no time. On arrival I meet two French girls who also were stood up by a driver.
The hostel is set in a precast Soviet type building without any signs or adverts. After about fifteen minutes of knocking on the door we see the driver rushing into the building. In surprised voice he asks us where have we been and trying to prove that he was waiting at the train station, although we can easily see fresh sleeping marks on his face.
At the hostel I meet other travelers. Everyone has a story to tell and wishes to share their experiences. Some of them has already traveled to Southeast, hence I receive a lot of helpful advice. Our tour starts in a couple of days, therefore I don’t waste my time and rush to the embassy of China to get visa for the next country I'll be going to. Here I fill in the form and patiently wait in the queue...Application is rejected!! They want an invitation letter from China. I hardly refrain from telling the officer how unfair she is by issuing visa to a traveler before me, who also applied without an invitation and declining mine. I have no choice but to find someone in Chine who could invite me to their country and go back to the embassy after my long Mongolian trip to apply once more through fast visa issuing process.
The tour starts early in the morning by meeting the driver and a guide. We put our bags into an old Russian van and slowly move towards suburbs of the capital. For the first few days views doesn’t change much: just empty fields with several gears and the mountains behind them. We're moving towards South part of a country, about 150 - 200 km every day but nobody gets bored. It is six of us in the group and everyone is very chatty. The driver also keeps us entertained by singing his favorite songs. Every day we are stopping at the villages for lunch and visiting some touristic places. One of the better known places is called 'flaming cliffs' and is famous for yielding the first discovery of dinosaur eggs.
For those who might not know us closely enough I would like to mention, that to take Tran-Siberian train was one of my old desires, so I was determined to do it on my own. In the mean tome Darius will complete all the required affairs in UK and will be joining me in China for more adventures together.
Early morning. The train arrives to Ulaan-Bator, the capital of Mongolia. I say good bye to my fellow travelers and keep looking for a driver holding a sheet of paper with my name on it, but can’t find him. Then I remember the e-mail from the hostel, confirming that I’ll be picked up. When the crowd disperses I realize I have to do something, so I grab a taxi, haggle couple dollars and moving towards the hostel in no time. On arrival I meet two French girls who also were stood up by a driver.
The hostel is set in a precast Soviet type building without any signs or adverts. After about fifteen minutes of knocking on the door we see the driver rushing into the building. In surprised voice he asks us where have we been and trying to prove that he was waiting at the train station, although we can easily see fresh sleeping marks on his face.
At the hostel I meet other travelers. Everyone has a story to tell and wishes to share their experiences. Some of them has already traveled to Southeast, hence I receive a lot of helpful advice. Our tour starts in a couple of days, therefore I don’t waste my time and rush to the embassy of China to get visa for the next country I'll be going to. Here I fill in the form and patiently wait in the queue...Application is rejected!! They want an invitation letter from China. I hardly refrain from telling the officer how unfair she is by issuing visa to a traveler before me, who also applied without an invitation and declining mine. I have no choice but to find someone in Chine who could invite me to their country and go back to the embassy after my long Mongolian trip to apply once more through fast visa issuing process.
The tour starts early in the morning by meeting the driver and a guide. We put our bags into an old Russian van and slowly move towards suburbs of the capital. For the first few days views doesn’t change much: just empty fields with several gears and the mountains behind them. We're moving towards South part of a country, about 150 - 200 km every day but nobody gets bored. It is six of us in the group and everyone is very chatty. The driver also keeps us entertained by singing his favorite songs. Every day we are stopping at the villages for lunch and visiting some touristic places. One of the better known places is called 'flaming cliffs' and is famous for yielding the first discovery of dinosaur eggs.
When we reach desert area the weather changes - temperature strongly increases. When I see skeletons of camels and horses on an open sand fields - a strange feeling whelms me. By midday we reach the sand dunes. It's the hottest time of the day, thus everyone takes a place in the gears to rest. In the evening, when the sun starts to set, we start to hike the dunes. It is not as easy as it seems, but what a great euphoria when we finally reach the top!! All the hard work is paid off.
The skies in Mongolia are incredibly blue in daytime and full of stars at night. And the sunsets here, especially in Gobi desert are magical...
The skies in Mongolia are incredibly blue in daytime and full of stars at night. And the sunsets here, especially in Gobi desert are magical...
Next, we move towards the Northern part of the country. Now landscapes changing more drastically. We see the grass once again and it's getting greener and richer as we move. And we also set our eyes on trees! Yes, I see trees! It's incredible how after a week or so in a desert (with it's own beauty of course), my heart is filled with joy just by seeing the trees again. This feeling is indescribable, it must be felt to really understand and appreciate. Roads over here are extremely bumpy and slippery, especially after the rain. We reach our camp. It is located in a scenic place surrounded by green mountains, small rivers, a beautiful waterfall and flying eagles in the sky. Just a couple of days ago I was dreaming about the wind and lower temperatures and now is so chilly, we even have to fire a stove for the night!
Our next camp is by the 'White lake' where we settle for three days. After walked around the territory and have read one third of my book, I shyly knock on the landladies kitchen door. By offering my help with dinner preparation in return I get all the answers about Mongolian cuisine. As the housewife is a brilliant cook, right away she shows me how to make a Mongolian sweet.
The next day we have a lovely horse ride to the volcano. Winds over here is so sharp that after two hours of riding through the rocky mountains we reach the destination shaking and with blue noses. But as we arrive to the volcano we are very happy to see a lady selling mare milk tea - exactly what we need to warm up.
So we go for twenty days visiting temples, hot springs, stopping at the villages for lunch and settling at the campsites just before the sunsets.
Our last camp is based by the lake named 'Kovsgol'. It is the second largest freshwater lake in Asia (the length is 136 km), which holds seventy percent of fresh water across Mongolia.
Although the days are sunny enough, lake water is chilly. Given that the last shower I had was a few days ago, I slowly wade into the water and try to trick myself by picturing midsummer in my mind.
It turns out we are one of the last travelers in the Northern part of Mongolia this time of the year. Usually a month of September is very cold, therefore Mongolian families dismantle their gears and board up the windows of the campsite bungalows and move to the capital until the winter passes.
And our journey is rapidly approaching the end. As we're helping families to dismantle the camp gears we are caught by a cold and heavy rain which forces us to jump into our beloved van and move towards central Mongolia. After twenty minutes or so on the move we are accompanied by snow…
The next day we have a lovely horse ride to the volcano. Winds over here is so sharp that after two hours of riding through the rocky mountains we reach the destination shaking and with blue noses. But as we arrive to the volcano we are very happy to see a lady selling mare milk tea - exactly what we need to warm up.
So we go for twenty days visiting temples, hot springs, stopping at the villages for lunch and settling at the campsites just before the sunsets.
Our last camp is based by the lake named 'Kovsgol'. It is the second largest freshwater lake in Asia (the length is 136 km), which holds seventy percent of fresh water across Mongolia.
Although the days are sunny enough, lake water is chilly. Given that the last shower I had was a few days ago, I slowly wade into the water and try to trick myself by picturing midsummer in my mind.
It turns out we are one of the last travelers in the Northern part of Mongolia this time of the year. Usually a month of September is very cold, therefore Mongolian families dismantle their gears and board up the windows of the campsite bungalows and move to the capital until the winter passes.
And our journey is rapidly approaching the end. As we're helping families to dismantle the camp gears we are caught by a cold and heavy rain which forces us to jump into our beloved van and move towards central Mongolia. After twenty minutes or so on the move we are accompanied by snow…