Seoul Searchin'...: Mongolia: Where Eastern Europe and Asia meet...

I apologize (again!) for my poor ability to keep track of time. I've been meaning to post this blog for ages, but time (once again) seems to have escaped me now that I don't get home before 7pm on any given day of the week.

Before heading to Mongolia, I didn't do a lot of research. The trip was largely planned out as I was going with a large group of friends; it was probably one of the most hassle free trips of my lifetime in fact. I don't know what I was expecting when I actually got to Mongolia, but somehow what I was seeing with my own eyes, did not conform to any preformed notions idling around somewhere in the back of my head.

Day1: Beijing airport pretty much summed up all my dislikes about China in a few hours!! When we arrived it was so hazy you couldn't see two feet in front of you. The air was so stifling hot, it felt like you were in a very stinky sauna sitting next to someone with bad B.O. We got ripped off exchanging our currency (typical) and ended up having to get off the airplane not at a gate but on the tarmac, at one of the largest airports in the world, where we were then shuttled to the terminal, no explanation given (typical!). Departing Beijing the antics continued. We waited for another 3 hours in the plane ready to go, with mysterious 'delays' they worked very hard to keep disclosed from us - which at the time was very worrisome! Thanks China.

Beijing - blech. You can barely see the plane taxing the runway in the background.

Finally, we arrived in Ulaan Bataar. Flying in, it was literally like the city was plopped down in between the mountains in the area. The airport looked like it was simply placed by a hand into the middle of a farmer's field. It was all very surreal. We didn't do a lot our first night, grabbed some beer and some Thai and rested up for the long trip ahead.

On our way into UB

I could seriously write a novel about my week, our play it out day by day, but it would be entirely too long and too boring to read. So I will try to sum it all up now in as few paragraphs as possible.

If I had to describe Mongolia in one word, it would be breathtaking. At every possible second I felt like my eyes were unable to keep up with everything they were trying to observe. The skies were beautiful - between blue with white clouds, to rolling thunder all around us throughout the night and the stars - It's one memory I will never forget. The stars were incredible. Being in the middle of nowhere allowed us an environment with no light pollution. We could literally see the milky way (galaxy) streaking through the sky - it left me in awe and still does to think about it. I saw some of the craziest, longest, brightest, reddest meteors I have and most likely will EVER see in my entire life. You could look up at the sky and see at least 10 meteors in 2 minutes at any given time - on a regular ol' night. I can only imagine the light show they receive when there is an actual meteor shower in their atmosphere.

These blue skies made me quite homesick for Canada. The air temperature was also about the same as what Nova Scotia normally is at this time of year.

Thunder storm skies. Equally as beautiful.

We spent the entire week living in Gers with nomadic families. The hospitality was great and it really helped to enhance the rugged beauty of this country. The food was phenomenal - lots of stick to your ribs hearty meals - pasta, potatoes with meat and veggies, dumplings... ah, I'm making myself hungry just thinking about it.

Gers or 'Yurts'. We stayed in them for the entire trip. Aside from a few which contained spiders, they were pretty cozy. Some of them even had electricity (solar powered of course!)

Mongolian dumpling soup on the first day. It was only a small taste of the food to come.

We had a rainbow one evening across the field - can this place possibly be any more spectacular?

The Gobi:

The Gobi desert was never really on my 100% 'to do list' radar. Would I recommend it? Absolutely - 100x over, I think it is a place everyone should get to experience in their lifetime. The landscape is incredible and ever changing. The dunes make you feel insignificant and make you realize the true nature of beauty in unexpected places. There was always mountains to any side of us. The desert is a place full of life and a place equally full of death. Drive two minutes and you can pretty much see a full skeleton of a camel or horse beside the dirt path they use as a road.

These camels were just hanging out in the middle of the road.

Rainstorm over the dunes. Proof it rains in the desert!

Touches of a Soviet Era:

This aspect of Mongolia seriously caught me off guard. Again, when I used to think Mongolia, I would always think 'Inner Mongolia' or 'Manchuria' words that for me had strong Chinese connotations. I was surprised driving around Ulaan Bataar our first day. The buildings are very old an many falling apart - peeling paint and plaster. They have a very 'soviet' feel about them and look much like photos I have seen coming from Russia and Ukraine during that era. I was surprised that while there, I felt much more like I should have been in Europe, rather than Asia. We toured a few temple / monastery ruins as well. The temples were ordered destroyed in the 1930's by Stalin himself in an attempt to unite the nation through communism and wipe out traditional Buddhist beliefs of the time. The ruins lay exactly as they were left during that time.It left me with a very eerie feeling, but I think it's important to remember the past rather than to restore it and ruin the ideals that sit behind what was originally in it's place.

The van the other half of our party had to ride in all week.

Tile remnants lay strewn about at monastery ruins.

monastery ruins - probably where an altar once stood.

The People:

I went into Mongolia feeling like they look a lot like Northern Aboriginal Canadians - specifically the Inuit. I left Mongolia feeling like that was the case even more so. I often felt (in rural areas) like I could have been in Northern Canada a lot on this trip. The facial features are nearly identical and culturally, there are many commonalities between them both (including throat singing!). They are probably some of the friendliest, kindest, warmest people I have ever met while traveling and getting to live life alongside them for a week is an experience I will cherish forever.