White Lake back to Ulaan Baatar

This first batch of pictures are from the second and third day at White Lake. One day was spent relaxing around one of the more isolated sections of the lake and the next we took a half-day horseback ride up to the volcano.



After that it was back in the van to start back towards UB. The first day was covering ground we'd already seen back through Tsetserleg to the same hot springs we'd already visited.



From the hot springs we drove to see Erdene Zuu Khiid monastery at Kharkhorin.



The next day started out with a visit to the "Mongol Sand Dunes" (which were not very impressive after the Khongor dunes), followed by the Ovgon Khiid monastery complex.



Then it was back to Ulaan Baatar. Not much to see along the way - the scenery got less interesting the closer we got to the capitol.



That's it for the first trip. Tomorrow I leave on an even longer (3 week) trip out to see the west and north of the country. Internet access will be rare, however I expect to be online for a couple days once I reach Olgii in a week or so and will try to post from there.

Orkhon waterfall, Tsetserleg, and White Lake.

Following the night in the nomadic family's ger, we set off for another long day's drive to Orkhon waterfall. This was a very cold and windy day, and it even snowed for a while while we were going over the final pass into the Orkhon area.



The next morning I got up shortly after sunrise to walk around taking pictures of the beautiful area where the gers were located. After that we took a short hike over to see the waterfall.



After visiting the waterfall we drove to Tsenher hot springs. Interesting day - we tried to go over a mountain pass but the road was too muddy for our van so we had to backtrack and take the long way around. Unfortunately none of my pictures from that day are worth posting. The following day it was off to Terkhun Tsagaan Nuur (White Lake), passing through the district capital of Tsetserleg on the way.



We spent 4 nights at White Lake, which was a nice break from all the time spent in the van. These photos are all from the first 2 days.



I'll post pics from the rest of my time at White Lake and the trip back to UB in a day or two.

Off to the Gobi

I've just returned from my 15 day trip to the Gobi and central Mongolia. Had a great group to travel with and had a fantastic time. Since the trip was so long I'm going to break this up into several posts over the next couple days while I work on arranging my next trip.

The first day of my trip was a full days drive to Baga Gazriin Chuluu, an interesting group of rock formations and caves just inside the Gobi. By the time we got there it was getting late in the day so we only had a short time to explore. After that it was off to my first night in a Ger (Yurt) camp. Gers are the traditional dwelling used by nomadic Mongolians.



The next morning we were up early for another long day's drive to Bayanzag. This was the site of a number of dinosaur finds but we didn't get to see much in the way of dinosaur fossils other than in one small "museum". The scenery on the way was pretty though. That evening we had a real Mongolian barbecue at the Ger where we spent the night. Rather than the version we get in the west, this is big pieces of mutton and some vegetables thrown in a pot with broth and some hot rocks.



The third day of the trip was a drive to the Khongor sand dunes with a stop in Yolyn Am valley on the way.




We spent two nights at the Khongor dunes, with a camel ride during the day. That evening a few of us hiked up the dunes for sunset. Apparently I've been away from travelling for too long because I forgot to bring the critical ingredient for the usual sunset beer.




Day five was just a long day's drive. We didn't make it as far as expected because we got stuck in the small town where we stopped for lunch for over four hours. The official story was that there was a problem with the driver's papers but we're pretty sure he was off in a bar drinking vodka for a while. That night, instead of the usual tourist-oriented Ger camp we just pulled up to some nomad Gers in the middle of a big empty field and spent the night there. Mongolians are awfully hospitable and this sort of overnight stay in a family Ger happened several times during the trip.




That's probably enough for now. More tomorrow.