Golden Gobi Tour #2

It was the first day without so many kms to drive and we were driving parallel to high mountains to reach the largest and most spectacular sand dunes of Khongoryn Els (300m high, 12km wide, 100km long). They were even more spectacular as in some parts there was snow, so contradictive landscape as we all have desert sand dunes in our mind in really warm countries. We drove over the mountains reaching 2.000m on an almost non-existent passage next to herds of sheeps, cows and horses. We enjoyed an amazing view over the desert that was underneath us.

Just before sunset, we had a short walk around the ger camp, meeting camels and enjoying the beautiful land and sky colours. Dinner more or less was the same as the previous ones, saltless soup and a lot of white loaf for getting some calories of energy. Having nothing to do before go to bed, we decided to play some poker just to see how two British, one Swiss and two Greeks can gamble and bluff better. Funny, but you could easily see the difference among us-the Swiss banker was a conservative player, the Greeks up and down and only ones bluffing, but still gambling and the other two just dependants mainly on their luck. After consuming a bottle of Ghenggis vodka (best Mongolian) and a lot of smoke from the stove we enjoyed the cossyness of the warm -at last wood burning stove- colourful ger and went to sleep relatively late for our new schedule, midnight.
Next morning after having the usual breakfast at 9:00 (butter, marmalade, bread, tea or coffee) and some advises from Gedoff about riding camels, we headed towards the sand dunes just 5km away, but when you are riding a camel everything looks so slow and dull!
Nevertheless, it is an experience to travel with such a big and friendly animal that is called the “ship” of the desert. The Mongolian camels have always two humps and if they are in good condition these humps are always firm and tall. Despite that they smell pretty badly and spit all the time they provide a decent way of transportation in the desert being able to carry 250kgs and stay without water a whole week and without food a whole month. We left our hairy animals at the beginning of the dunes, started climbing over the dunes which is really tough and exhausting thing as declination is high at some points and sand sucks your feet. From the top the view is outstanding, the sand, the sky, and the cold wind reminds you that it is a desert during wintertime. We took tonnes of pictures and getting back to the ger camp was much faster we got used to the camels and we went faster. Night-time it was a unique experience to observe the stars, maybe the most starry sky we have ever seen, as there is no light pollution at all, no humidity and no clouds in the country of blue sky (250/365 days). We wish we knew more constellations :(
[Tina where is the telescope?]

Golden Gobi Tour #1

It took us one day and a half to organise our trip around Mongolia. We were a bit reluctant to follow the crowd and drive exactly the same route as anyone, we also thought to rent a just a driver and do it on our own or get the local buses from region to region. However, it proved that you need many weeks to travel around this country and to make the most out of the days we had was to arrange the trip with our hostel “Golden Gobi”. Mongolia is huge, difficult to drine through it as there is hardly a road network. ... actually there is a huge one, but after rains, snowfalls and sandstorms, it changes constantly every other month.

Eventually we left one fine morning 2 British guys, Dan and Richard (22), a Swiss one, Pierre (33), the two of us, the driver (Jigme) and our fat cook-guide (Gedoff) in this Russian jeep (manufactured in 2008 without seatbelts). It was only 5km from the city centre when we left the urbanised area and suburbs appeared so different to us. They are huge areas covered by gers and slight wooden fences separating a group of gers from others according to which family the belong too. It was only 10 min later when we left asphalt and driver joked that it will be only off road route from now on. We laughed that time, but it proved to be true and the most off road kms we have ever experienced.
First lunch break took place around noontime, when we stopped at a ger (see Leventis on the Greek highway). First time we saw a ger from inside; mother was cooking something in a huge pot set on the oven, father was bringing some weird things to light up the stove and children palying around, staring at the foreigners. You could see some jeeps or bikes passing by and making a small stop to eat there. Food was home-made pasta, with potatoes, few vegetables and tiny pieces of mutton. Quite untasty, but this proved to be more or less our food in the rest of the trip. We went a bit of trekking in the surround rocky Mountains and we headed on to the ruins of an old monastery (Sum Khokh Burd). Only some kms further was the place for our first night, ger experience. It hardly fits 5 beds inside and has a short door to enter; decoration is thick woollen carpets on the floor and golden needlecraft at the side “walls”. It looks like an Indian big tent, but u can stand in most of its space. There is a stove that keeps you warm in the centre of it, but the owner came around 7 to light it up and then around 6 in the morning to refill it. In-between these hours we freezed a bit, although in a sleeping bag, and we thought to complain next morning, but we haven’t seen nothing yet. Dinner was a vegetable soup from our cook, much tastier and we had few hours to spend until the candles went off.
Breakfast’s usual hour was at 9.00 and we had a long trip the second day in order to reach South Gobi. We passed Mandalgov, a small town of 13.000 people and of course no sewage system, water and pipeline network or asphalt anywhere. They hardly have electricity network with many blackouts during the day. Our destination was 360 km away so we had an easy lunch on the way. Jeep stops, baggages get out, small folding table, 7 stools, ingredients for sandwiches and tea – Oh yes, tea was a must three times per day minimum-chocolate split to 7 parts for desert. So easy, but so tasty. Crossing so big distances makes you hungry although u haven’t done much. We arrived late afternoon, dark already in Dalanzadgad to overnight in a house where they rent one room with dorm beds. Electricity and water supply seemed luxury for us even the second day. It was last chance for a shower till the end of the trip, but we did the mistake to think that we are still very clean ;) ….

San bai nuuuuuu… first impression from Mongolia ….

We arrived really early in the morning in the capital of Mongolia. Youth hostel owners seeking travellers and “Golden Gobi” was the one that found us. Hospitality of locals was already visible from the very first ours. Their attitude regarding tourism is quite different than Russians. The temperature was –10 C or even less and the whole city smells coal burning. I guess it resembles the industrial developed cities in Europe many decades ago. Anyhow, Mongolia was so many years a part of Russian or Chinese countries and you can see the influence in their architecture, alphabet (cyrillyc), lifestyle, economic dependence (China controls 70% of the whole market).

Ulaanbaatar or UB or the city of land cruiser is an Asian city by all means, Chinese restaurants, traffic jumps, street sellers, inpatient drivers, pickpockets, pubs, night clubs, dodgy neighbourhoods and air pollution. It has a completely linear development and a major road crosses the whole city, it is called Peace Avenue. The main square Sukhbaatar, named after the person that gave them their independency in 1912. However, the heart of the city is the Department Store. 6 floors with cosmetics, clothes, supermarket exchange office that indicates the rates for all transactions, and the smallest Ikea ever seen. Tugrik is their national currency, so easy for Greeks to remember it.
The very first day we visited a reflexology centre for a recommended foot massage, which was wicked and cost was 10 €. Not really cheap for here, but affordable for Europeans. Next experience was a buffet of BBQ and at last we had proper salad, noodles, horse meat, cow tongues and sheep. The most expensive meat in Mongolia is chicken. No wonder why, the lethal disease is still recent and China is a neighbour country ;)
We are heading to the borders of China in a more adventurous way, as the direct train to Beijing is once per week and we missed it. That’s a nice experience to share in a future next post. However we have to complete the "Golden Gobi Tour" we had for 11 days all around the Country. That is real Mongolia ... stay tuned ...