Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia. Its area is roughly equivalent with the historical territory of Outer Mongolia, and that term is sometimes used to refer to the current state. It is sandwiched between China to the south and Russia to the north. Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, although only 37 kilometres (23 mi) separates them.At 1,564,116 square kilometres (603,909 sq mi), Mongolia is the 18th-largest and the most sparsely populated sovereign state in the world, with a population of around 3 million people. It is also the world’s second-largest landlocked country.

The country contains  little arable land, as much of its area is covered by grassy steppe, with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 45% of the country’s population.

Approximately 30% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic; horse culture is still integral. (Source Wiki)

Leaving Russia

For once I am the first up, keen to get to the border, I have been looking forward to Mongolia so so much, for many years and I cant quite believe that the day has finally come….…as we head south we ride through beautiful rolling valleys, the road now is very quite, to the extent that we check our maps, no the route is looking good, we continue south.

10Km before the border there is a Russian army checkpoint, they check your documents and if there are any issues you are turned back at this point, the guys are polite and professional and we are soon on our way.

We arrive at noon, much later than planned, no excuses but we probably had a few too many stops for coffee in the end…

The border process is long but there is a definite process, which involves clearing Russian customs first, and then at the same location entering Mongolian administration and presenting the various documents for entry into Mongolia.

Your medical kit is checked for any banned drugs, a customs officer looks at my grubby first aid bag, before I have gone through a few items he raises his hand, almost in pity, “please put away”

A final stamp of papers and the Russian process is complete…..……100m on and you enter  Mongolian customs administration, there are no English instructions but somehow it works, either the official or someone waiting helps you.

We keep moving from station to station, collecting red stamps on our little slips of paper…..

….it turns out the Mongolian Visa issued in South Korea is void, before we panic no drama, they issue new ones, lucky we had a couple of spare passport pictures with us!

We have been sent pictures from fellow travellers of what documents to expect and we are one short. I go back inside, the customs Guy waves me away, “not important” he says…I check with Hannes and he phones around, two other travellers have this document and were told it was “very important”

I go back to the same custom guy and insist, I think he is losing the will to live, he throws his arms in the air and gets a piece of scrap paper and prints the form on the reverse, “send your friend in as well” he says before I get the chance.

And thats about it folks, we pay some kind of entry tax, get some cheap bike insurance, a bit of local currency from one of the guys walking around with wads of cash in their hands, the whole process took about 4 hours, it does not seem that long though as you are constantly on the move.

The Road to Ulaabaatar

We are determined to get to the Mongolian Capital Ulaanbaatar that night, this turns out to be a big ask as the roads are terrible in the dark, the driving crazy, you have to keep an eye out for large potholes, when you hit one you just pray the tyre is not punctured, our ultra bright Cyclops headlights also seem to be upsetting the locals, they flash me aggressively but I am prepared, I flick to full beam  “have some of that my son”  I say inside my helmet!

We finally make it to Ulaanbaatar around midnight, the Oasis hostel is locked but luckily Hannes hears our engines and comes down to let us in. I am so glad to see him, and all have a well earned beer together before we go to sleep.

Hostel life is cool

Its a bit of a slow start today, understandably as we had such a long day yesterday……..we are staying at the Oasis Hostel on the east side of UlaanBaatar….its full of likeminded people, mostly Europeans with a few Americans into the mix, an even split between motorcycles…….and some serious off road vehicles…….you can order food all day long, a bell “dings” as it appears at the hatch, there is a fridge full of beer, and its all done on a honesty system, you just fill out a card with what you have and pay when you leave….…..there is even a covered area to work on your bikes…..seriously relaxing, it is indeed an Oasis in this crazy city, I love this place already… 

Husqvarna UlaanBaatar

There is a new Husqvarna dealer in town, we head across the city, first impressions are good, the showroom is branded in Husqvarna colours and there is a good selection of new bikes and clothing in the showroom.…unfortunately there are little spares to speak of, we buy everything they have, one chain set and brake pads are fitted…..….we buy oil filters and thats about it, it is becoming clear in Asia there is little substance beyond the shiny exterior.

Gobi Desert

Rested, we are off to the Gobi for a week, we decide to take the southern loop, we ride south for two days until the end of the paved road at Dalanzadgad, the next day we are off into the desert, now one thing you quickly learn about Mongolia it that the maps are notional directions of intent, if the road is not paved then there will be many parallel routes, with the same start and end point but in between anything goes…..…..the plains are the most part flat, green scrub land with sand underneath, very few stones or rocks, if one path is blocked, flooded or washed out you just make a new one, all land is owned by the state and outside of townships there are no fences or partitioning of land, vast number of livestock roam freely…..….totally unique.

Amazingly all these dirt routes are in Maps.Me, ok sometimes you are a 1 km to the left, 100m to the right but it kind of works…..deciding to take a short cut the bikes get stuck in the sand/mud, progress is painfully slow, after an hour we have hardly moved, we head back to the mapped route, its heading in the wrong direction and guess what, it skirts around the quicksand and we are where we wanted to be over an hour ago…..

There is a Yurt in the distance and the plan is to ask permission to camp near the family, we arrive, there is some confusion, eventually the mother seems to intervene and they point to an area we can pitch our tents….…..the location is beautiful, how amazing must it be to wake up here every day…….the children bring animals for us to see…….most of the family sleep outside under heavy rugs so they are very interested in our tents….……the three smallest children run into mine and un-prompted they run out again holding their noses….my boots maybe…the cheek of it!!!!

In the night the father has a right old rant, completely loses it, at one point I think he is heading our way, screaming at something or someone, then you can hear him using his whip, this goes on for like 30 minutes then it goes quite, I listen for a while, then fall back to sleep, an hour later something else wakes me again….Parp…purp…barp parp, what the heck…..I peak out, there must be 300 goats surrounding our tents randomly farting….can this night get any weirder……….thankfully not.

Next morning all family members seem accounted for and alive, so we head off with a clear concience, looking across the vast plain, which way, err its kind of that way….…we are heading for the the sand dunes today, probably like most people I did not expect the desert to be quite so green….…most of it is like this, there is some sand desert in the Gobi and that is where we are heading…..
…..we head to a tourist camp and hire a Yurt, how cool is this…..…..the inside of the larger ones are very luxurious, ours is more humble but still cool…..…..once the bikes are unpacked we are in search of the dunes, they are not difficult to find, you can see them, but how do you get to them, there is a long route but we try for the more direct approach….……ah thats why you can’t go straight across, there is a river, and whats that I see “guys is that a horse over there” the horse can only just keep its head out of the water, Hannes walks towards it, he sinks almost to his knees in the quicksand, we go for help, there are some guys working on a car a kilometre away, we explain the situation and show them the bookmarked location, they say they will take care of it…..to us they don’t seem interested at all!

We head off for the dunes and take some pictures…..

….and then head back to see the situation with the horse, the guys fixing the car have disappeared, so all we can do is alert our tourist camp, but before we raise the alarm lets just check….…..to our surprise they have done something, a guy is there with his young daughter clearing the sand, we take it in turns helping him dig the deep into the mud…..….so that ropes can be put around the exhausted horses legs, the Nomad shows us the horse is heavily pregnant, then the guys wife arrives, she is straight into the mud, no messing around, working with him, they dig for 30 minutes flat out…….by now the horse is getting really distressed,  the woman starts shouting and slapping its backside, after a lot of thrashing around it breaks free…..…i think this horse means a lot to this family, maybe their most valuable possession, the man waves and says “thank you” in English tapping his heart with his fist……how lucky was it that we went the wrong way…..

Technical trails

We head off from our yurt experiance, heading north east, the ride is stunning with more technical trails and great views over the mountains, at one point we are at 1900m above sea level and travelling across a river bed where once there was a road, long since washed away…..…..it absolutely stunning, with very few people around. We arrive at the canyon…..…..bikes are not allowed but this does not clearly apply to locals………on the way down from the canyon the trails are really good fun in the dry, mayhem after a slight downpour of rain….….with zero grip the bikes just slide down the hill.

Flaming Cliffs

Today we were heading for the the Flaming Cliffs, we arrive late afternoon just as the rain comes down hard, we abandon the visit and return the following morning after a blustery night in the tents……..even in these weather conditions the colours are striking….

…no safety net here chaps, you can ride right up to the edge, after checking your brakes of course…… Looking good Irene!

Creme Brulee

We head off to the next town, taking the direct route, we are told of a muddy swamp like section that should be avoided, good advice especially after the heavy rain….but that is an extra 25Km……how bad can it be eh?……Umm well quite bad actually, its like riding on a massive Creme Brulee, you can ride across, but as soon as the “skin” is broken down you sink, thick orange mud everywhere…….Hannes finds a small island to rest……..in places all of the bikes get stuck, but its good fun and its worth it for the amazing scenery….….the route we have taken seems not to be used, others taking the sensible advice perhaps, as we dont see anyone coming in either direction…..apart from these camels we are totally on our own all day….….the last 20 miles are tough, the mountains behind us now and the scenery is a broad plain with what look like rosemary shrubs as far as the eye can see, the road corrugation is driving me nuts, I just can’t seem to find a speed that works with them, the whole bike feels like it will vibrate into a thousand pieces, not to mention my teeth.….we finally get to the town and refuel, thats 80Km in 5 hours, it was tough at times but so worth it for some most rewarding riding across  magnificent landscapes….

Funny how things work out

At around 6pm when we stop and look for a place to camp, its warm and dry, we leave the track at 90 degrees, and keep heading into the desert until there are no more parallel tracks, this is important as in Mongolia everywhere is a road, everywhere is a farm….…we find a good spot and start putting up our tents,  I say “nice one guys, no crazy goat herders, hopefully we will be left alone this evening”…..…..with almost comedy timing we see a lone motorcycle travelling in the opposite direction and then when parallel with us they take a right turn and head straight for us…Noooooooo, for god sake why cant we be left alone….

…two people jump off and what a suprise, its a Spanish girl (Enid) and her tour guide (Baggy) its great to speak English, they tell us they were attracted by our modern tents!

It turns out they are a group of 11 and have a Suzuki with a flat tyre, they have gone ahead to try and get some help, Baggy asks us if we have equipment to repair the puncture and Gary says “yes, bring the bike to us and we will try to fix it”…….the group turn up 20 minutes later flagged down by Enid, they are a mix of French, Americans, Spanish….they unload the bike and make camp, while we look to fix the tyre they cook dinner for us all, proper fresh food from scratch.

Tyre fixed we have an unexpected evening together, good company, food and a few cheeky beers, funny how things work out eh?I wake to talking all around me, all of the lovely folks that are with Baggy sat outside their tents talking, apparently Gary tells me I was snoring loudly which was politely ignored, no excuse I know but to be honest I did not sleep that well, my tooth is killing me, maybe even worse than childbirth?

We have a leisurely breakfast with our new friends, say our goodbyes and head out across the plain……..the riding and scenery is excellent, as always you cannot be complacent for a moment though or you will be off, be it rutted mud….…..or the soft sand.

Diversion Ahead

Missing our planned route to a town we track back so I can have a drink and more pain killers…….as is normal in Mongolia you set a compass bearing and your off in the general direction…..……only this time a small mountain looms ahead, the route through the ridges is spectacular, we climb and climb, all trails have disappeared now and I am half expecting an impossible cliff top!

We get to the top, there is a way through, we start to descend then there is a tiny trail ahead, maybe we have established a new until now unknown and unnamed route in Mongolia, “The Rice Pass” has a nice ring about it, dont you think?

Anyway joking aside the route is quite beautiful and a great experiance, the landscape probably unchanged in a thousand years….….we edge down the other side and suddenly the town comes into view……….its a welcome if chaotic site, the town a carbon copy of the many other towns I have seen, packs of town dogs chase us barking like crazy, town waste burning in the streets but nearly always excellent 4G Internet!

We make it back to the  paved roads and quickly arrive at our Hostel….….my tooth is really playing up now, I have a room to myself so I can get some sleep straight away and snore to my hearts content….., my mouth is throbbing and I get a message from home about pushing toothpaste into the tooth, nothing to lose I have a go….after an hour it seems to start working, I do this several times throughout the night and the swelling starts to go down, in the end I get some sleep, thanks Bala top tip!

Back to UlaanBaatar

Next day we head north to Ulaabaatar, we make the City limits in good time, the sun is shinning and as we come over the brow of the hill the city is an impressive site, the roads near the Airport are unusually quite, however soon you are back in the chaotic traffic and heavy pollution and the moment is lost…

We travel back to the Oasis, its great to be back here, I can see why people stay for weeks in these Hostels full of fellow travellers, very relaxing and feels like home…

I take some more pain killers, pack my tooth with more toothpaste and I am off for an early night, I have some vivid dreams and wake hot and sweaty, it feels like the fever is coming out of me! Pain seems to be on the retreat now!

End of season sale

Today is bike maintenance day, we start working on the bikes, Gary trying to figure out what is wrong with his cold starting, me sorting out a few cosmetic issues that are long overdue.

One of the Guys from the Netherlands Menno is having a clear out of stuff before he heads for home, I end up buying an Enduristan tank bag, I have wanted one like Hannes for ages (Tankbag Envy) so if I can make this one work there is hardly any need for a rucksack, plus it will look so cool!

Hannes is also about to leave and has also offered to take some of our high value items home to Germany, again this will save space and of course weight.

There are quite a few people finishing their trips and we end up having a great evening in the city with fellow travellers and probably one too many beers!

Kind of feels like the end of term, everyone heading back to Europe, and we have such a long way to go…..

Genghis up close and personal

The next afternoon we head off to the 40m high statue of Genghis Khan and after 60Km through heavy traffic we arrive, I have been so looking forward to visiting this….…..its ok, although considering it was only build in 2008 it has not been looked after very well, and this is one of the top tourist attractions, really…its already looking tired and un-cared for, shame…….….we don’t stay long….

Preparing to leave the Oasis

We spend a few hours packing, the new tank bag is working well, and I chuck out some of the clutter I have collected on my travels….…next day we are up early, packed and have breakfast, I am so very pleased with my new luggage set up, my bike with new tank bag looks the Dogs Bollocks (link) although it still feels top heavy, time to run down the fuel in the reserve tanks I think……..a final farewell with Hannes and we head out of UlaanBaatar,  the traffic is a bad as ever, traffic police frantically blowing their whistles and waving their battens, I think they are probably highly skilled and keep this chaotic city moving, we did hear of one traffic cop who was trying to manage a busy junction, drivers ignored his instructions and all came forward, there was complete gridlock, the story goes, exasperated, he calmly put his batten down, walked away and left the drivers to it….priceless.

luckily for us that does not happen today, we battle on, and after an hour we are out of the city, it cold and wet but there are clearer skys ahead…….then out comes the sun and we are treated to a really great afternoons riding in the Mongolian counryside, the road is great, very little traffic and Irene is performing wonderfully, I love the roll on roll off power of this bike, I set up myself for a corner, power out with a bit of counter steering going on,big grin on my face, very nice…..…the scenery is amazing, there really is a lot to love in this country, why, a tiny population, very little traffic, wildlife (especially large birds of prey), stunning plains backed by craggy mountains and blue skys………the further west we go the better the Mongolian experience gets,  

Lake Khovsgol

We push on for the junction and then the last 100Km to Lake Khovsgol, as we climb up into the highlands the heavens open, outside my Klim gear there its torrential rain, inside I am a little cold but dry….I ride along like being in some sort of computer game, detached from the environment by this superb gear.

We burst out the other side of the storm and arrive at Lake Khovsgol, Its still raining so we shelter in a cafe, Gary had a good recommendation for a site called Natures Door, however  a phone call reveals that the site closed at the end of August darn it, its clear the season is nearly over, the town has a tumbleweed feel about it and there is hardly anyone around.

There is a sign for a guest house and we check to see if they are open, they are, Ok its not quite the shore front location we were looking for but our host speaks English and is very friendly.

We are shown to our Yurt (GER) and its ok if a little cold. As we are unpacking the storm catches up with us, its a mighty big one now, about 200 meters away lighting hits the power lines, there is a flash…and the power is off, Noooo

We finish unpacking by torchlight, discovering later the whole town is down, and judging by the sparks coming from the power lines its going to be off for some time.

We are told someone will be along to light a fire and if we want dinner to be at the dinning area for 8pm. 

A very short older man comes in and lights a fire in our stove, the burning wood smells georgous, and we are soon warm……..after lots of camping there is something quite smug about being in one these structures, warm and dry, a fire roaring, a limitless supply of logs and just a few centimetres away is a raging storm.

The evening meal is ready, we load up our Yurt fire and head off for a mighty fine Spaghetti by open fire and candlelight…..perfect, warm, dry and well fed…..…..at daybreak its really cold there is a frost covering the bikes…………and snow on the mountains………..our fire lighter man gently comes in, he must be 70 plus years old and sings quite beautifully as he goes about his work. I really like this guy, he has one or two teeth but his smile is wonderful….….breakfast is served in the main house by an open fire again…..…..after breakfast the sun comes out, we plan to walk into town for a few supplies and maybe a boat trip….….walking  the length of the town, trying to warm up, boy is it a ghost town…..…..the season certainly feels over, cafes quite literally boarded up for the winter….…..we find the boat owners, well they seek us out, come running towards us when they see our european appearance.

We are offered an hours ride in a speed boat, for at first 100,000t then 80,000t. We say let us think about it, whilst we are looking at the boats a really neat speed boat shows up, we get talking to the boat captain and he speaks some English. We want this guy and his boat but the other first guy feels we are his cutomers… awkward or what. We say to the new captain, how much for you and your boat, he says “my boat has big engine you should go with these guys”, by this time their price has tumbled to 40,000t. We take look at their little boat at the end of a half sunken jetty and say “no we want you and your boat, how much?”

Its clear they think we are still trying to force the price down, he says “but their boat is half price I am 80,000t”, we say yes but we want you as you speak English. Clearly this is not a usual situation for these guys so they give up and let us have our man, we see them exchange some money to keep the peace.
Now before you get too excited were are not being flash here , the first guy smelt of Vodka at 9am, and 80,000 is 25GBP for both of us for an hour on and expensive speedboat with a Yamaha Engine!!The speedboat is super fast, we aquaplane across the lake, hitting the waves hard, it is said that this lake has some of the most pure fresh water in the world and I do not doubt this as the water is crystal clear, clearer even than Lake Baikal I would say…….this lake is over 100Km long, we stop at a remote cliff and take pictures…..…..its a stunning backdrop of pine forests, snow covered mountains and aqua blue water. this country is so beautiful and so unspoilt.Our young skipper notices a cigarette butt on the ground at our mooring and picks it up, I watch him out of the corner of my eye, wondering will he just throw them in the water…I have seen little regard for the environment in this country….….no he puts it carefully into his boat before we all get onboard, perhaps there is hope for this country!

Heading for the Altai Region

We return to our lovely Yurt, light a fire after another cracking evening meal, its like a sauna inside but I am not complaining as the temperature drops outside…next morning our little man comes in at around at 7am to relight the fire, steam coming off the wet chimney as it heats. Have you guessed it, I really like this Yurt life, actually want one, clearly we are getting to the end of the season now but we are warm and dry, we have power and Internet access, and that wood burner is so tactile as it crackles and pops, the smell georgous….Gary puts his kettle on the top of the burner and within 10 minutes we  have hot coffee….this is the life!

We fill the bikes with fuel, then its time to give Irene some TLC….I have a perfect afternoon of bike maintenance in the sun whilst Gary goes for a walk on the Lake…I get some more oil in my forks, there is a reassuring hiss of escaping air when I remove the bleed screw, I lube my chain and repack my spare inner tubes, check the tyre pressures, everything is ready for out departure….…the only thing missing is a Bristol Rovers victory but as days go its right up there, my almost perfect Saturday.……its funny how quickly somewhere become home and after these few short days is quite a wrench to leave this place, but leave we must, winter is chasing us west!

The first 100km is a nice alpine paved road, we get some pictures at the 100/50 longitude latitude line….….high up on the hill this structure marks the exact spot……..once we start heading west we are again on gravel roads and I am treated to some of the most beautiful scenery of the whole trip (so far) I am looking around all the time, trying to take it all in, trying to burn the images into my head, the pictures just dont to it justice, many parallel tracks heading in the same general direction, sometimes you look across and see a 4×4 travelling in parallel with you over a kilometres away…crazy…

….Irene must be liking it too, she is certainly taking all this in her stride, the day has everything, two mountain passes, river crossings, vast valleys and hardly a sole around, its like we have the whole vast area to ourselves, well almost…… we see this one family all day….…complete with grandparents and livestock in the back of their truck…

We head to the next town, we are just 2km from it and still no sign,  this is not good as we are very low on fuel… 
We come over the brow of the hill and there it is, I am more than pleased and it does look cool against the landscape….….we get fuel at a dirt fuel station and struggle to find food in town, well any healthy food that is, we end up with some apples and dried fruit, not much, but better than the usual snickers bar!…eating lunch with the map out trying to figure out the easiest route west, the petrol attendant comes across but he cant help, then some young guys show up, they try to help then one of them makes a call and after a while hands the phone to me, “hello” this person says in perfect english “these are my soliders” “please follow them and they will help you” I say ok and the voice says “please follow my Sergeant the camp it is only 1Km away” I say “will you be there?” no I am in UlaanBaatar he laughs.
We follow these guys, they have a uniform on of sorts but just a regular 4 x 4 nothing to tell you its an army vehicle and they are so ferkin young.

Off we go and we are soon at their base, turns out these are border soldiers, we are approached by a  new guy, he says “can I see your passport please” not quite what we were expecting but we oblige and with the formalities out of the way they work out the best route west for us…. ….we have some pictures taken with them and local children and we are off, with 200Km to the next towm, its clear we are not going to make it on these sandy trails and with 137Km to go we call it a day and wild camp at the top of a 70m hill, just up from the top of the tree line, no chance of a car coming through here…It is so quiet here, almost un-naturally so, the valley floor must be 30Km wide, there is nothing but silence and the odd sound of distant livestock, large birds of pray fly overhead and you can actually hear their wings beating against the air.

Next morning we set a target of just 200Km, things are getting tight with our Russian Visa  but we also dont want to rush through this spectacular landscape, some of the trails are quite technical and its hard to believe that this is a road for trucks and cars, we we did not see any cars but trucks yes, how they get down some of these deep rutted roads is beyond me.We make it to Songdal and have a really decent meal with none of the recent (30 second warnings) side effects and then start to head south west.

A new road is being prepared, our route is at first on deep sand and its almost impossible to see due to the dust, we dive off to the normal sand trail and after a while Gary suggests we give the prepared highway a go, its fine graded gravel and every 100m there is a dirt barrier, this is to stop vehicles from using the road until its ready….…..however we are way behind and the bikes make easy work of these almost meter high piles of soil, in actual fact its become fun, a challenge, over the soil, 1st gear, 2nd gear 3rd, slow into 1st and over the mud barrier, and go again, and again,  we come across some road crews who wave at us and smile, another crew with a manager who is not so impresssed suggests the road is closed and we should leave, hu hummm all very confusing did he say leave, not sure, we press on, the sequence of fine gravel road, soil barrier, fine gravel road carries on for 30km, its increadible, then in the distance what is that, blacktop, still with the soil barriers we head towards it, and its the undersurface of the final road, its a Sunday and we decide to press on, there is no way we will get away with this on a Monday morning….We ride and ride and ride, either over or around the barriers….maybe for another 100km, today we covered 160Km in 8 hours on the sand and 134km in 90 minutes on the new road, even with the dirt barriers.

Sleeping with truckers

This is where our day gets wierd, suddenly the barriers are gone, there are road signs and even distances to the next city, we must be legal now. no need to rush then.

We stop at this kind of half built service station and ask if there is anywhere to sleep, the lady invites us in and it seem we will sleep with her and her husband in their yurt, its warm, there is one bed along the whole of one side of the Yurt, its probably designed for Mongolian people but we are slighty taller, so to avoid our legs dangling we will sleep the other way, this yurt is quite nice at first appearance, there is a central fire come cooker, a TV and a sofa, it appears we will all are sleeping together!! Its 5000t about 1.50 GBP.
People come and go, its like a service station in your front room. We sit and wait to see what develops, the sofa converts into a bed so thankfully it looks like  we are not sleeping with our hosts..

We settle down, sleeping bags out and try to get some sleep, it seems my suspicions about this being a service station were sort of spot on, a ruddy 24hr service station where people burst through the door at any moment, the light goes on, our host clambers out of bed in his under pants (on inside out, I recall, the label showing)
A young lad has missed his bus and so has to wait til next day for his connection, he wants to sleep so we are shuffled up to make space for him…fair enough.

People turn up for cigarettes, beer, soft drinks, or just sit there drinking Mongolian tea looking at us like we are aliens as we come around from our sleep (and I suppose in some ways we are) this goes on until 2am…

The last straw for me is when at 5am, two truck drivers turn up, walk in like they own the place and switch the light on, from what I can gather, they ask for breakfast and want to sleep while its made, they indicate we should shove up and will sleep with us, so five of us now on this shelf come bed, its all getting a bit conjested, then someone lets off an almighty fart THAT IS IT…..”thats is it” I say loudly  “thats as much culture as I can ruddy take, I am out of here”

I get up and start packing my sleeping bag, as does Gary, the truck drivers are unconcerned, take up the extra space and are asleep in seconds.

As I am packing stuff into my luggage the heavens open and the rain comes down monsoon style, the irony is not lost on me, I have lost my precious sleeping position and we cant leave at first light as its chucking it down. it is funny now but at the time it was not I can assure you…

Our lady host is now preparing some traditional and repulsive looking liquid into a steel bowl over the fire, we look at each other, not sure if she is going to do her laundry or food, there are bubbles,  I am convinced its laundry when some goats milk, chunks of meat and a token carrot get chucked in , once cooked she heaps it into a bowl and offers me some, the truckers tuck in, for me it tastes and smells as bad as it looks…

The Mongolian Altai

We travel west towards Olgii over the next few days, we are nearing the mountain region and the gravel roads are spectacular…some of the tracks seems to be a near vertical from a distance as the cut through the mountains………we are completely on our own as we move across the mountain range….…..the peak is 2500 meters…..……time after time I stop to take in another stunning view, pictures just dont capture the vast scale of this beautiful county, at one point there is a lake below us to the right and heavily snow covered mountains to our left, the conditions are perfect and the sky is blue, this is why you come adventure riding guys, it makes up for all the challenges you encounter along the way.

I am so glad we followed local advice, a great few days riding. 
We arrive in Olgii just before sunset, arriving at a guest house and hire a 8 meter Yurt (Ger) its traditional and a great place to stop. The family have hand crafted items for sale inside the yurt and I take a liking to a traditional hunters fox skin hat….…it even matches my beard!!!!! but they dont want to sell it to me though, with the Eagle Festival  is only 3 days away and they can easily sell it there for 50% more..ah well, thats that then.

We get talking with our host about the Glacier, we are lucky as other guests also want to go there as well, we were thinking of riding ourselves but this is a good arrangement as he speaks English, we are joined by Martine and Victor.

Our host Daurean will take care of everything, the permits, the driver, food, Yurts and a 4×4. Nice for a few days we can completely relax, no route, no deadline and a English speaking guide…perfect. we will need to camp at the glacier, thats at 3500 meters so a real test of our equipment….its going to be cold, thank goodness we bought such good equipment

I walk outside and I am so happy to discover its a UAZ, these incredible vehicles have been passing us on the gravel roads for thousands of kilometres since Siberian  Russia….….if you are old enough they look a bit like an old  commer van, but there the similarity ends, the way they handle the rought terrain is amazing, full 4 wheel drive with levers for ultra low ratios, these vans have been in production since 1961, they look super cool and are very capable, and I guess thats why the design has remained largly unchanged, there is room for six of us, all our camping equipment and food supplies, OK they do get a bit hot inside and there is a constant background smell of petrol and oil but still what an experiance.….and we are finally off, the drive to the ranger station takes a full six hours and we dont get there until 22:00. for the last two hours our driver has been following the trails by his 1960s style standard headlamps….…when we finally arrive its clear that due to changing weather conditions we will not be able to camp at the 3500 meter base camp, its just too extreme, we manage to stay with a local Nomad and all squeeze into his small 5 metre Yurt, we are fed and lay out our sleeping bags, not quite what was planned but it works out well in the end.We are all up early, seven of us in this small Yurt but it was actually OK, we pack all our gear away and the horses are outside, Martine decides not to go so its just the three lads, our host and the Nomad guide….….I have 7,  yes 7 layers on today, we head off, me on the smallest horse, 20 minutes in and its ruddy cold, we are going to be in the saddle for 8 hours and if its this cold as we climb higher I am going to quite literally freeze.

Now I thought I had some horse skills, obviously I kept quite about them when asked as it was a long time ago, but this horse is not responding, I am almost going around in circles, the horse must be speaking a different language, our horseman gives me up for a hopeless case and I am led by a rope for a while.

Now to me 16Km is not far, say around 10 miles and these horses are walking, I cant believe this is quicker, why are we not walking I think to myself, at least we would be warm!We cross rivers and climb and climb, goats and sheep run away in all directions………thankfully the sun starts to work its magic and the whole experience changes, my core temperature rises and a smile even appears on my face…Its a clear blue sky, the mountain tops are covered in snow and its yet another beautiful day in Mongolia.The sun is getting stronger now and its warm on our backs, sometimes you are concentrating on the terrain and where the horse is going, almost forget where you are for a moment, and when you look up…..oh my god that is beautiful.Now for some reason my horse has been set up for a jockey, my legs are tucked up high, its OK at first but after just a few kilometres it feels cramped, Victor says “I am not a professional but your legs might be more comfortable straighter” I mention this to Daurean and he says we will adjust at the Ranger station.
We get some adjustments made and its better, however a few kilometres later its painful again.We go higher and the ground formation changes, now there are large bolders, bog land and river crossings, these little horses are incredible, the are so tough, they tackle everything, they slip and recover and you just kind of float across the terrain, now I know why we are on horses!Victor asks, does my horse have a name, Daurean direct as ever says “we dont name anything we eat” aww no, our poor horses, bringing income into the Nomad family for years then eaten when of no more use! I avoid asking if the two dogs with us have a name!As we near the summit and the Glacier comes into view, smaller than I expected but the 360 degree view that fills your eyes is awsome.……we all rest for a while at the top…..…..the horses stand silently……….our Nomad chills….I ask Daurean if we can adjust my stirrups some more and in the end we swap horses, nice gesture on his part and boy this horse is so much better, bigger,  more room and I discover I can steer, I can go left and right, faster and even manage to stop, it takes all day but I am getting the hang of this, just like our time in Mongolia the day ends on a high!We go back to our now home an hour before sunset, our driver has already prepared the vegetables and soon we are all eating a very nice meal together…..The meal ends and the floor space is transformed, rugs are placed out and sleeping bags prepared, I nip out for a pee and the night sky is amazing, if only I had a camera capable of capturing the image, as your eyes adjust in the perfect darkness you can see occasional orbiting satellites and a billion stars, from horizon to horizon, awsome.

The temperature drops quicklly, our Nomad closes the top cover on the Yurt, he uses dried dung from the animals on the stove as it burns slowly through the night, a small space for seven of us but its home for tonight and its warm!

Lights go out at 22:00, we have all been out in the fresh air for 10hrs so its no surprise we all sleep well….We wake to the sound of the fire being lit at 8am, yes 10hrs sleep, clearly we needed the rest.I pack my things away and then its morning pee time, I get some nice shots down by the river……we eat a hot breakfast in the sunshine, all of us that is apart from Victor, Martine told Victor about the Lake near our Yurt and he was off to get some “pics” Daurean comes out of the Yurt looking at his watch and says “Where’s Victor” this has become a theme of this little trip as Victor constantly disappears, 30 minutes later there he is, Victor is running down the slope, Gary points at his watch “he’s not happy” he says!! Victor eats his breakfast alone on the naughty boy stool!!We all agree to tip the Nomad, hes a nice young lad, always smiling, sometimes looking intently at us, we cant communicate but clearly he is intrigued by us, our ways, our clothing perhaps in the case of Gary and me our age!!

Anyway we all put in 10,000t and I ask Daurean to translate as I do a little speech, he seems pleased and we have our picture taken before we head back down the valley for our 200Km 6 hour return trip….We have a few comfort breaks usually where there is something interesting to take pictures of, the sky is blue and its almost difficult to take a bad picture.Daurean explains to us about the burial traditions of the people of this region, how prominent or people regarded as heros are respected at these burial sites, it turns out that as Daurean puts it there are areas that are so remote that births and death are never recorded, we ask about documentation and we are told “its not really necessary, they just must be cremated within two days” We enter town and back to our lovely Yurt, I have been thinking about my fox skin hat all the way back, I hope it is not sold, I am a little irritated that it has been marked up by 50% because of the Eagle Festival but I get they need to make money, I would just rather have not know about the original price!! But that is what she wants, its hand made and even matches my beard. Darn it I just have to buy it, just hope the price has not gone up any further!

Result, its still there on the wall of the Yurt unsold and now its mine, just have to figure out a way to get it home on the bike now.

Goodbye Mongolia

We miss the Eagle Festival by one day, we cant push our luck any further can we? we decide not, our Russian Visa is running out soon and we have to get moving west again, we are just over 100Km from the Russian border,  70Km of superb paved roads and the last 30Km a graded gravel road.

We get to the border and start the now familiar process, I reflect on this unique, beautiful country, what an experience its been….missing you already Mongolia!