There are no roads in Mongolia… But whoever said that did not see the wide, open blue skies, running horses, long haired sheep, sturdy cows, stocky women, aaruul, salty milk tea, men on horses, deserts, sands, grasslands, beautiful sunrises, gorgeous sunsets, starry nights…
Who cares about the roads really?
My trip to Mongolia and its vast Gobi Desert was nothing short of a dream. I fell in love with every inch of the country, its people, its sands and mountains…even its rather limited cuisine.
How often do you get to see something as beautiful as this? Not very. Craggy rocks that hide life beneath, perennial blue skies, rolling grasslands, running horses…Mongolia surprises you in many ways.
The beginning of the trip – in that sturdy old van
Quite a bit of Tugriks for a mere US100
Pretty buildings under a pretty blue sky
The fun begins when the black-topped roads end
The drive on these roads can be equally bumpy, dangerous and fun – but you must trust your driver. They are used to driving on these roads – and if you looked out across the grasslands and saw roads criss-crossing all over the place and wonder where the hell are you going, leave it to the driver. He knows.
Today, you see a lot of motorbikes even in the remote villages, as against horses not not very long ago.
Mongolia defied my imagination
A river flows through… We camped by the River Ongi, a place so surreal that it was hard to define it. I mean, one doesn’t come to the Gobi Desert hoping to find a river flowing through, right? Right. But there it was, snaking through the barren landscape, providing life giving sustenance to the livestock and horses.
Once upon a time, one of the largest monasteries in Mongolia, Ongi monastery was founded in 1660 and is in close proximity. We did visit, however, I got sidetracked by the antique shop nearby. The monastery was destroyed by the communists in the 1930 but after 1990 when Mongolia turned democratic, monks have started to return to Ongi and have started rebuilding it.
This cute fella wandered into our camp unasked. At first thought he was dangerous, but this Mongolian guard dog (banhar) which closely resembles the Tibetan mastiff was the sweetest. He even loved watermelon and bread which we were more than happy to share. Me, on the other hand, had a long walk with him. The river unfortunately had turned muddy, thanks to the rain upstream – I suspect we had chased those clouds on our way – so any notion of a a Mongolian river bath was shot down. Plus, it was cold.
have been meaning to visit Mongolia, the land of Ghenghis Khan. great read, I think I might get my bags ready to go. As I am visitng Hongkong later this month, I suppose I could do this as an extension? Is a week enough
LOVED the scenery of Mongolia – it makes it a destination we really want to return to. The photos from our Gobi tour in particular were some of the best we’ve every taken.
Great write up Anjy – some lovely memories 🙂
Anjaly, I can feel the warmth of the Mongolian sun on my skin while i read your descriptive write-up… May just pack my bag+husband+son and go off on a long vacation to Mongolia soon!