Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar 蒙古

Mongolia (14 May'2005) 蒙古

Mongolia is a place I wanted to visit; I never know when I will make this trip there. It doesn't come to mind to go Mongolia during this trip of mine to China.

Not Inner Mongolia - Having fun time in Monoglia

When my V friend in Beijing asked me want to go Mongolia with her when I was stuck in Xian, I thought, I've miss the chance and I've to make another time to go Mongolia. Never knew that my V friend was willing to extent her visa to wait for me to join her.

As Mongolia was not in my plan for this trip, I've no idea where to stay and where to visit but since my V friend was already there, she has already spent there for two weeks, she was able to brought me around in the town area.

How much do you know about Mongolia? As for me, I imagine Mongolia is a place of open field and a lot of horses in the field.

I hardly read books; I rather watch movies or watch TV drama series on moving action than to read book with all the still letters on paper. I've never had any movie or TV drama showing about Mongolia; therefore, I've no much information about Mongolia before I read about Mongolia.

When I was in Beijing, my V friend contacted me from Mongolia, she was asking me to join her, she knew it was also my dream to go Mongolia and when I knew my friend was willing to wait for me to join her there, I've no further question in my mind and I've agreed to meet her there.

Wow…a total different feeling and experience I had in Mongolia. Mongolia gives me a bit feeling on New Zealand. If you been to New Zealand, the feeling a little bit a like, because New Zealand also have open field for all the sheep. Of cause, Mongolia has a different to offer and it was also two different in culture and languages.

When I took an early train from Beijing to Mongolia, I was on board the train, there was a lady serving hot drink and I've drink it. I was on the same cubin with one Mongolian family, they don't speak English but one of the middle age man do speak English, so he help me to interpret whenever there was the train staff or officers come along.

This man was very nice to me, whenever he has food, he always offer it to me, he kind of taking care of me through out this journey until I reach Mongolia.

Let me share how I felt about Mongolia. In Mongolia, not many local speak English, only some do speak simple English in the town area. Mongolia has four seasons just like in Tibet, you can be at one area the sky blue and another location was cold and snow at the same time, is amazing. Any time of the year in Mongolia, you will need warm clothes with you.

When I reached Mongolia at the Ulan Bator train station, my V friend was there waiting for me and when I a light the train, I was looking around for her. It was very crowded and I took about 5 to 10 minutes to meet up with her at the train station.

The home hostel boss was at the train station looking for backpackers (customers), later on he drove us back to the home hostel, it was late afternoon when I reach there, after leave my bag in the home hostel, we went out for dinner, it was really cold at night.

In Mongolia you can easily eat goat meat in any restaurant or their small stall, as this is their standard local food, it come in the form a small cup size of rice on a plate with vegetables and goat meat. Other type of food is also not bad, is worth to try any type of food over in Mongolia, they are very nice taste.

My V friend has confirmed a 10 days tour package with the home stay hostel, so we were depart the town the next day early morning. Have all the warm clothes with us and all the cooking food and equipments with us in the van, it was a four-wheel drive van; allow us to travel up to hill route.

On our 1^st day journey, we saw wind coming in different direction and have cause the sands rise up like a …… what you call it? It starts from small and later on it gets bigger and it went up higher, you could see the it rotated round and round, if a sheep would be there, I guess the sheep would have caught up by the wind, just like the sands did.

Every night, we slept in the Mongolia Ger; it was very cold to sleep in Ger when there was no fire to warm you in the middle of the night, we were sleeping in the sleeping bag and on top of it, we were given blanket to put over us but at the middle of the night, the fire die off, I could felt my shocks and sleeping bag was wet cold feeling, I can't slept with my body straight, it was so cold that I'd to slept like a dead prawn position.

On our second night, we had one local man to perform to us (we have to pay for the performance); he could play a few instruments and sing his Mongolia songs to us. We did enjoy ourselves even though we didn't understand what he was singing.

Next day, we visited the first monastery in Mongolia, it was a small monastery no much to see, the structure of it, very a like the Tibetan monastery.

When we were about to leave the place and carry on our journey, our driver told us we cannot move on, our driver had drunk a lot last night and the local police tested him and does not allow him to leave, they have taken his driving license. We were unable to go anywhere accept to wait. The driver have no idea when he can have his license back, he try to call his local friend for help. We were there waiting for more than 2 hours, while we were waiting not knowing when we can leave the place, we started to have something to keep us playing and bought some food to eat.

Later when his local friend came and went to talk to the local police officers, later they drove to another place here and there to look for someone, we were there playing while waiting, we have no idea what was happening for the past few hours of waiting.

Finally when our driver was release his license and we were able to carry on our journey, we came to this big field (everywhere can see big fields), we saw many horses were there drinking water and eating grass freely. I see no owner take care of the horses and they were not tie up, what a freedom.

Next day (17 May'2005), we arrived at one of the lake; we were told that we would be staying there for two nights. At the lake, there was nothing to see accept the lake right in front of you and the big land for you to run as far as you want to. We see no building and no other people accept the owner of the host and a group of local people on a far away Ger. The toilet was very far away from the Ger; the toilet was making up of woods cover surrounding to form a toilet without a door. A toilet have no water for flashing system, it was just a big hole.

When come to nighttime, to think of going to toilet during the night, it was so far and cold outside. I did try going all the way to the toilet during the late night, it was dark, I've to carry with me my torch light.

Looking up to the sky, wow…there were so many stars in the sky. That night staying nears the lake, it was so cold, in the middle of the night hardly can sleep when it was so cold, I felt so weak, my heart pump so slow, below normal, it was like my heart felt so cold and hard.

Wow…. to our surprise, next morning (18 May'2005), outside was all cover with snow, no wonder we were freezing inside the Ger last night. Now I know how cold can kill one person. There were many people out there in the cold country die of freezing cold envelopment, they were staying far away from town, when help was needed but there was no one to reach out, no phone to make call, no one at the next door. This is really a pity when souls die of freezing and not food.

Really, don't under estimated cold, not only AMS (mountain sickness) can kill but cold also can take a person life, no wonder Tibet is not an easy place to live in, you might have the money to go there but if your body cannot take the cold or high attitude, your body will fall weak and die if no doctor giving you treatment immediately. Life and dead can be just blinking of an eye, so be prepare when you travel to cold or high attitude (above 3000m high) area. A few months ago (Sept or Aug'2006) I watch news on TV reported that people took a train from Beijing to Tibet, there were nine of them die because of the high attitude lacking of oxygen. Here in Mongolia, if you do plan to go, please do bring enough warm clothes to keep yourself warm.

On 18 May'2005, our driver drove out to a place, which have volcano, but it was a dead volcano, we were trekking up to the volcano and it started to snow, both my friend and I were excited over the snow. The two guys went all the way down to the below of the volcano area, it was really dangerous to do that; it was a dip slop all the way down.

While we were waiting for the two guys to be back, another lady went with the driver drove to town to get some batteries for her camera. That lady, I don't know what's wrong with her mouth, every sentence of her conversation she must added the word “FUCK”, it really irritate my friend and me. When she was away for a few hours, both felt our ears were at peace, no more hearing those unpleasant words.

When the guys were back up, we trek down slowly, we explore walking back to the place we stay, when we approaching the lake, at a distance, we saw a lot of black stones near the lake side, we went over to take a look and we have some photos taken before we went back to our Ger. Those stones were the local making wishes, I guess.

As we had no shower room, we wanted to wash our hair, we try to get some water and use as little water as we can to get our hair wash and we had our “dry shower” at the same time, we did it in side the Ger while everyone were out. After did that we felt so refresh. We came outside and play with the little Mongolian girl; she can't speak English but we still trying to play with her.

On 19 May'2005, we carry on our journey to another location, on our way, we saw the Mongolian moving house, they pack everything, even their Ger was pack, their yak, horses, sheep's, etc. were on the move too. That day, the sky was really blue and clear, it was a good day to move house.

We arrived at our last stop in a small town; we stay there for three nights. We were given a choice to sleep in the Ger or inside a wooden house in one of the room. At first, we were check in to Ger but later when we were given a choice, we choose to sleep in the room, since we had the experience of sleeping in the Ger and we knew how it was like in the middle of the night freezing cold.

We had horse riding tour on next day (20 May'2005) and it was a lot of fun. Talking about the horse riding, wow…. it was my first time on the horse and I have no experience and know nothing about horse behavior. The tour guide who own the horse, thought us how to handle the horse, how to have the horse move and stop.

We start with the horse walking tour, somewhere along the way, one of the horse starts to run and the rest of the horses follow, it was my first time on the horse, never experience riding on a horse and it running, I've no idea how to handle it but I've to figure how to flow with the horse and control the horse.

While our horses started to run in speed, all of us were wearing our cap, as I was afraid my cap flow off, so I've turn my cap around to avoid my cap flow off. The rest of them wore their cap as normal way, suddenly when their cap start flow off, it gets right in front of my horse, my horse was shock and both his front legs were up straggling, I was trying to clam the horse down and continue running after the rest of the horse but it happen twice, when the second cap flow off and my horse gets the second times shock, the horse was really going crazy.

My horse was moving left and right to get me off the horse, I almost fell off from the horse, I was all the way down, at the side of the horse position with my right leg on top of the horse and my left leg still hang on to it at the side of the horse, both my hands were trying to get up to the horse while the horse was still straggling, I took some time strangling my way up to my horse, when I finally gets back to my position, I've control the horse back to normal.

When the guide saw what had happen, he was so worry for me, he saw how the cap flow off right in front my horse and how my horse reacted and yet he couldn't help me at all, he was on another horse, each one of us had our own horse and learn to control it. When he saw I'd mange to control the horse and didn't fell from the horse, he was glad that I was all right. It was because of their caps that I'd this experience, so I've advice everyone to wear their cap like mine to avoid any flow cap again.

Once my horse and I were all right, we move on walking slow, when we came to a flat area, one of the horse started to run, as usual, the rest of it follow, it was fun when the horse was running fast but it can be very dangerous when the horse stop suddenly, you could fall off from the horse easily.

When we were back to our hostel, we take turn to go shower, wow…. during the shower, I could see my skin was really red, it was the friction with the horse when riding on it, when water touch my skin, men……it really painful.

On the next day (21 May'2005), we had a free and easy day, due to it was a small town, there was nothing much we can do, so my V friend and I decided to go for horse riding again regards the pain we still had.

During our ten days tour, we had our dinner cook on our own, each one of us take turn to cook and help to wash dishes, accept there was a lazy lady who was with us do nothing throughout the whole trip, she even need people to help her to carry her bag, really can't stand her.

We had our lunch taken in the restaurant most of the time, as we were traveling from one location to another location with our four-wheel drive van.

Over all my trip to Mongolia was great, a wonderful experience I had, our last night of tour, the two guys were drunk and one of them was fell into the drain and his whole body was wet when he came back to our room, they both were acted silly, it was so funny on the last night to see the two men drunk and talking rubbish.

Along our way back to Ulaan Baatar town, we saw a group of camels in the field eating grass, no owner was there to take care of the camels, I felt like going near them but I didn't, after taking photo of it, I went back to the van and carry on our journey back to town.

Well, both my V friend and I, we end our trip taking our train returned to Beijing.

Tips:- Taking train to Mongolia and back to Beijing, it was a Mongolia train, all their staff were Mongolian, they don't speak English, so make sure you have some Mongolia currency ready for your hot drink when they come to served you, don't think it is a free drink come with the train ticket (that was what I thought), they came and collect money at the end of the journey before I alight the train, caught me by surprise.

To read further on my next town to Suzhou, click on next.