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.
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.
4 Comments:
Scenery is amazing!
Nice pictures Brian. Hope you are having a great time.
Pramod
That is too cool that people take you in for the night. How was the language barrier?
Outside of Ulaan Bataar nobody speaks a word of english. We had a guide to translate, although he spoke only enough english to get by (barely).
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