We’re in the Gobi Desert, 500,000 square miles of semi-arid plateau with extremes of weather, from -40 degree winters to near 100 in the summer. But for us, while a little warm, the weather was quite nice. The flight from Ulaanbaatar south to our destination was two hours long. There was another hour of driving to get to our lodging.
We’re driving to our camp. Our group comprised seven couples. Each couple was assigned a vehicle and a driver for the four days in the desert. There were no real roads, only well-worn vehicle routes and occasionally cross-country paths to our destinations.
This was our yurt, or ger, in Mongolian. Other than a leaky pipe which caused us to use the hand-held vs the shower head, it’s a hotel room-like accommodation. Then again, there were the bugs. Our first night we had an inundation of bugs, one of which bit me in the middle of the night. Our bug-body count reached three dozen. The suite must have been fumigated at our insistence as the next several nights our trophy count dropped to under a dozen.
Our location was well south of Ulaanbaatar, about 200 miles from the China border. Right: An evening shot from our ger.
There were four hours of tortuous driving the first full day. We’re about a hour from each of our morning and afternoon destinations, all over little more than trails. Actually, they were trails, yet the drivers were moving as fast as 60 kph over the dirt traces, and occasionally across untraveled open areas. There were only two passengers per vehicle, so seven vehicles in all. All were Lexus-make Land Rover-style vehicles. I was glad I wore my back brace.
In some areas there were up to eight or nine tracks to follow; in others, a single rutted route. Our driver made many quick decisions as to which trace would be the smoothest. He also maneuvered to stay out of the dust clouds of the vehicles in front. Often there was more than a quarter mile between cars. The seven vehicles kept in a strict order. We were number 4.
Our first destination of the day was to visit the Gurvan National Park, in the eastern end of the Altai Mountains.
At the entrance to Yol Valley’s Gobi Gurvan Saikan National Park is a museum containing scores of desert animals and birds, preserved in the 1970’s. Outside the museum are specimens of petrified wood.
Hiking up Yol Valley. We crossed a small creek at least a dozen times. We hoped, each time, that our old legs would make the small jump without incident.
Twice we passed bridges to nowhere. The creek has meandered elsewhere.
Left: These piles were once clan boundaries, then shrines. Now one cannot add or take from the piles. Right: The Gobi Desert waterfall, 😊, Mongolia’s answer to Iguazu, Victoria, and Niagara Falls.
Left: Many Mongolians still use gers in the countryside, often with two or three in a home complex. This ger is owned by a nomadic herding family. Right: We all drank fermented camel milk. It’s an acquired taste, as is the camel’s milk vodka we all were expected to try.
Left: The roof of the ger. Right: The ger owner’s son. The complex had three gers, a “living room”, a kitchen, and a bedroom.
Left: These were our mounts. Right: Yes, we had to wear helmets. The width of the camels stretched our legs, but they were otherwise easy to ride.
The Gobi Desert is a major desert, but sand dunes are not common in all areas. This area is called the Moltsog Els. Still, what camel ride is complete without climbing a dune.
My kids (several who are quite talented at archery) would have been proud of my archery attempts. I did hit the target several times and impressed our guide (who I don’t think was an expert himself). I admit I did better using the western method of holding the arrow rather than the Mongolian method. Then again, I wasn’t riding a horse and shooting at the same time. Right: Frances and me in uniform.
More of our group in costume.
We were given a talk by a Mongolian paleontologist. Dinosaur fossils are found throughout the country. At least 92 different species within Mongolia have been identified. The right picture was taken of original film we saw which featured early 1920’s expeditions to fossil sites, led by the United States. Only a fraction of the original footage was salvaged and restored, but what we viewed was fascinating.
In route to a fossil excavation site, the Flaming Cliffs. It was here that the American team from the American Museum of Natural History discovered the first nest of dinosaur eggs. Exploration at this site continues.
Frances and me with the Flaming Cliffs behind us. Right: The fossil I am brushing was discovered just the day before by the paleontologist who gave our lecture. This find will now have to be registered and further excavation approved before he can continue. He covered the find with dirt, exposing it just for us. He’ll keep it covered until he gets the necessary clearance to proceed. The skull, all that is exposed so far, looks impressive to me, but the professor said that the protoceratop, which it apparently is, has been “well studied”.
Frances found a descendant of the dinosaur, at least an inch long. While she didn’t find a fossil, she did discover a heart.
We listened to a fantastic concert which featured Mongolia “throat singing”. With throat singing, two pitches are sung at once, low (sometimes a very low base) and a high tone. Often the two pitches are non-synchronous. The woman singer had a similar two-pitch technique. The instruments used were traditional. All in all, a marvelous event.
Left: Yes, the young performer hit the target, a bullseye. Right: The full, remarkable group.
One event we skipped was a hike to view the Havsgait Petroglyphs. We were advised the hike was rugged. Only half our group braved the trip.
We were entertained by a Mongolian artist, who produced works we could keep. He is also a performance artist. In the righthand picture, he is dynamically painting the screens from the back side. It was fascinating to watch as he produced the drawings.
The flight back to Ulaanbaatar was pleasant and uneventful. We flew in a slightly larger Cessna model this time, with roomier seats.
A view from our room back in the Shangri-La. Right: Our final dinner. The entire group agreed that the Mongolian food we were served that night was outstanding. I had to revised my opinion of Mongolian cuisine, at least the high end offerings. The courses were all served in a giant lazy Susan.
I thought the fourteen of us on the Mongolian excursion bonded well. We’ll look forward to seeing each other on occasion when we get to our cruise ship in Hong Kong.
Our time in Mongolia is over. Despite the confused start, the journey ultimately was quite a grand experience. Our flight out the next morning, scheduled for 6:20 a.m. required us to rise at 2:00 a.m. 2:00 a.m.? Didn’t i once complain that we were forced to take two flights, via Seoul, to Hong Kong that would not get us to our ship until well after midnight? Well, don’t ever deny that nagging and complaining can’t pay off. Led by our hecktering, we were all rebooked on the morning’s flight direct from Ulaanbaatar to Hong Kong, the one we wanted to take in the first place. It was worth the early rise and economy seats. The person in front of me on that flight never moved her seat, for which my knees were thankful.
Next: Hong Kong, sort’a.
