10,000+

My last post ended with the relieve of passing the Russian boarder without any hassle. Next one up; the Mongolian boarder. We received multiple forms to have stamped checked and examined, among them a declaration of health. I guess the pigs haven't been cured yet.
We had to tick boxes whether we had any symptoms;
Cold, yes: I swam in lake Baikal;
Running nose, yes: same cause;
38+ , probably: It was pretty hot in the train;
Rash, yes: Damn thistles
Vomiting, no;
Nausea, no;
Been around any pigs the past 2 weeks, no;
Countries visited in the past 2 weeks, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia.

Here I decided to be my own doctor; obvious symptoms: running nose.


The next morning 7.55 a.m. sharp I arrived in Ulaan-Bator, Mongolia. First things first grab a meal and find an internet cafe to look for a hostel. Meal could be found and paid for with USD. Internet cafes again not visibly available. This time I had a back-up option and checked my guidebook for Mongolia and after walking around for a bit I found a place recommended in my guidebook, turned out to be full, however they had a second building, so they drove me there and I finally found, at ease, a place to stay. Next priority shower for an hour and crash.

My second day in UB I spent walking around doing some sightseeing and I bought a bus ticket to Kharkorin (370km West). Other options where various tours, but what kind of traveler books tours, when you can create your own.. Later on I met a Swiss lady that warned me about the roads and I told her that I would remember her advise, but reckoned that it couldn't be worse than the roads I experienced in Cambodia.

The next morning I hopped on the bus for an expected 6 hour ride. Soon I found out that I had to go all the way to Mongolia to have my first delay. The bus left 30 minutes late and in the first street the driver crushed the right mirror driving the bus into a truck. After completely removing the mirror we left for Kharkorin. The traffic is a story on it’s own you have some flashy poles with red, orange and green colors trying to indicate something. In Mongolia it is recommended to cross the streets when the light is red, at least than you can be sure cars will drive on. When finally leaving the city I found out that the other two foreigners on the bus where Dutch (we are not to be avoided). These 2 girls where on their way with 2 Mongolians that would show them around in the area and they would be staying with their family. There turned out to be another foreigner on the bus a Mongolian guy that grew up near L.A., US, he was being accompanied by his Mongolian cousin that would show him around during his first visit to Mongolia. They happened to be staying in a ger whereof the owner happened to be sitting next to me. After finding out about this it didn’t take much longer until my accommodation had been sorted. With the magnificent scenery of the round shaped Mongolian mountains passing by I was invited to join the 2 Mongolians for a day of horseback riding the day after. This turned out to be a great way to discover the area and find out about some muscles that didn’t seem to have existed before. We ended the day with more ayrak (fermented milk), some beers and I presented one of the bottles of vodka I brought from Russia.

The day after they where planning to go back to UB, so I decided to move on to Tsetserleg another 130km West. I was told I could get on that day's bus when it would stop at the gas station at the entrance of the city. I found out it didn’t stop at the gas station and I wasn’t bold enough to jump on the road and try to pull it over. Plan B: I had read hitchhiking in Mongolia is no problem, while there are many Mongolians moving around in trucks. After failing to get a ride in the first few vehicles, I managed to clinch a seat in a truck that already seemed packed to the limit. Most of the stuff behind the front couch + my backpack and daypack was tied on the roof and this created a gap, where one of the 4 people already on the truck laid down. This left 3 seats on the front couch and the kid could sat down on the lap of the driver's wife. Ok, I shouldn’t dare to complain during this ride, and with a need for some support of the so called black doctor (Coke) I didn’t dare to offer to sit back there either. During this ride I started to recall the words of the Swiss lady I met before. I didn’t know that you could get seasick by car. The road (if any) had potholes, mud, pools, rocks and it was never leveled. After a few ger visits along the way we approached Tsetserleg to hear a sudden sizzling sound. A few km from our destination is a nice spot to have a flat tire, on the other hand I was feeling blessed this was the only serious problem we had along the road, I did not know a truck like that could endure that much. So after a 30 minute pit stop we got on our way again and I was dropped of in front of the local ‘hotel’. Checked in, got a meal, got lost, found my way again and passed out. The next day I rested (again), did some sightseeing, just like the day after and the third day around I decided to climb one of the mountains/hills/rocks. It was a rainy day and I was disappointed about the clouds in the country of the clear sky. When closing into the top of the mountain I sat down to enjoy the view. I looked right which looked beautiful, I looked left which looked more beautiful, I looked right again which looked even more beautiful, I looked straight ahead which looked magnificent. The clouds started to disperse, revealing the real beauty of Mongolia. A picture can not describe the view, let alone words. It is just a moment to enjoy and overlook the waves in the mountains. I remember the Inuit having dozens of names for snow, so do the Mongolians for grass.
After being fully relaxed I made it to the peak and climbed down at the other end. When nearing the city I was summoned by some locals to come over. So I sat down for a chat (English-Mongolian), I did not feel like bringing my dictionary out, so I could leave when I wanted to. Even though, we had a conversation. At some point one of the guys wanted to arm wrestle me. To bad, I lost that one, but I did manage to beat the other guy. Next, they wanted to show me the Mongolian wrestling, so I had a look and enjoyed. However, I was challenged again I could take on the guy I had beaten arm wrestling and I managed to beat him again. Of course, I had to wrestle the other guy as well.. When he tried to trap me I pulled back and somehow managed to throw him to the ground, ending in an unexpected victory. I don’t think he was very pleased with that, he was probably to far ahead on the vodka. After meeting some of their friends I found it time to head home.

The next morning at 6.40 am the driver of the minivan to UB knocked on my door. I had met him the day before when looking for a bus ticket. All what we had discussed was the price and he had told me the time, while I had informed him about which hotel I was staying. I guess that gave him enough information to find my room. To my surprise we drove away from the city with only 4 people including the driver, I had expected a jammed van. It was a good thing that I had put my mind to just enjoying the moment, because after a few stops at some hidden gers I ended up with 13 companions including 3 kids and on top of that a bunch of luggage, most stuffed into boxes depending by size on their availability. With a speeding driver it was another fun ride of about 500 km lasting for another 11 hours back to Ulaan-Bator.