Read about Ron & Viv's journey so far - Western Mongolia to Ulaanbaatar.
Ron had to repair the radiator on the Patrol (it had developed a leak – from the repairs last year in Kenya)
The wide green floodplain of the Bohmoron Gol River.
We headed east and ended up visiting a few smaller villages along the way.
As we headed east we were in grassy country with mountains all round. It was delightful country to drive through.
A small herd of Mongolian Horses graze happily in a green valley – there are millions of horses!!
The large expanse of the Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur (The Great White Lake) – freshwater and very popular with tourists heading out from Ulaanbataar.
We made it to the town of Tsetserleg and found the Fairfield Bakery & Guesthouse which we read about – had an early lunch their – great little place.
The other main sight in town was the Erdene Zuu Khiid Monastery which was started in 1586.
We made it through the manic traffic along the main road through the city centre, Peace Avenue, past the impressive Parliament House building before finally reaching our guesthouse.
9th August to 23rd August 2008
MONGOLIA
Western Mongolia – To Ulaanbaatar
Getting thru the Mogolian side of the border was pleasant enough – the customs people even say ‘thank you' when you hand them a passport or whatever – a bit of difference to the Russian side! Still everyone from the lowest to the highest official wanted you to change money – so we did!
Still there was an ugly side to our entry – while Viv, Ron and Gay were waiting for the others to get through we were plagued by a couple of kids – when we finally drove away they threw rocks at us! Got to say though that is much more the exception than the rule.
Neil and Helen had picked up a hitchhiker – ‘Bilk', we think - at the border who wanted a lift to his parent's ger, ‘just down the road' . It was probably a bit of a con but we ended up having ‘tea' with the grandmother and his mum in their ger. All this while being regaled with how hard young Bilk was working and trying to get a uni degree and how he had some helpful western friends who helped him with a few dollars – ‘but only given from the heart!'
It was a good line and we had heard similar before in Africa but the experience was pretty good. Granny was a congenial host and while the tea was traditional – slightly salty and with yaks milk – it was pretty good. Even Helen drank a cup – and she doesn't normally drink tea or coffee at all. The small dried rolls or biscuits were bland and dry; the dried salty cheese that comes in cubes of about 25mm (1”) were horrible and are definately an acquired taste (Ron's ended up in his shirt pocket); the ‘crunchy nut' cheese pieces weren't much better and were real teeth crackers, while the oily yak butter was untouched by all of us. As we left we slipped young Bilk a few US dollars, Russian roubles or togrogs (the Mongolian currency) – from the heart - and he was happy enough.
We spent the next two nights camped on the edge of a dry creek bed (GPS 49°30'27”N 89°37'19”E) just out of Tsagaannuur. We repaired the radiator on the Patrol (it had developed a leak – from the repairs last year in Kenya) and tried to fix the viscous coupling on the fan so it would drive harder. That worked for a short time but we needed more drastic action a little further down the track.
The village of Tsagaannuur (GPS 49°30'35”N 89°48'00”E) is a pretty large village but most of it is south of the track east – the road south heading that way as you enter the western outskirts of the town. As we headed thru' the eastern edge of the town all the buildings were in near complete ruins. We wondered what they were used for – it was a scene were saw repeated in many towns and villages along the way over the next few weeks and is a hangover from Communist days. As we passed the lake, Dund Nuur just east of the outskirts, we followed up the river valley where there were quite a few herders and their gers dotting the valley.
The thick red road that is marked on the map as a highway is nothing more than a track through the hills but this is what Mongolia is all about the maps are horribly inaccurate – you navigate with the help of locals, a GPS and the map to show locals the place you want to go – luckily our map had the names in Mongolian and English.
We got to the village of Nogoonnuur (GPS 49°36'56”N 90°13'34”E) and it was nearly completely deserted. There were just one family there and a few workers – by all accounts the residents take the livestock and head up into the hills on the 20th April to get away from the mossies - they don't come back until about the 25th August. The wide green floodplain of the Bohmoron Gol River flows right past this village on its way to the lake of Achit Nuur. We spent a bit of time driving around the deserted town and then had morning brew. While I went for a recce to find a route north, Rod and Kate went back to talk to the guys we had spoken to earlier. We ended up with a guide – Kalimat - and he led us out of the town following the telegraph line across the river (GPS 49°37'05”N 90°14'58”E). He was a nice bloke who came from Olgiy and he was a mechanical engineer with a group of blokes who were working in the village fixing all the equipment while the people were away.
The track crosses the swampy flood plains and even this late in the summer we ploughed through long sections of half metre deep water. In early summer this river is impassable. Got to the other side of the floodplain at a final creek crossing (GPS 49°39'34”N 90°16'29”E), where we filled up our water tanks with good water and had lunch.
About 1km later we passed thru the small village of Bohmoron (GPS 49°39'49”N 90°17'20”E) and then wound amongst the rocky hills to come out onto a gibber plain where we stopped at a Buddhist Shrine (GPS 49°40'56”N 90°17'20”E), the main track heading east.
We crested the range at about 2550m and there were good views to the north and to the lake where we wanted to camp. As we descended we met up with two Mongul Rally vehicles (5 blokes) who were crawling along – they were down to their last spare. We plugged one of the tyres – it had 4 separate punctures – later they came to our camp and we got two of their spares back into shape for the long haul ahead. We hope we don't see them again – only because it would mean they have had trouble – they were due in UB (Ulaan Bataar) on Saturday at the latest! They left us with some very hot beer and headed off into the fading light.
Our LakeView Camp (GPS 50°02'49”N 91°05'46”E) was close to the ‘main road junction' (as shown on the map) and set back about 1km from the SW shore of the lake, Uureg Nuur , the lake's shore was dotted with ger camps and near covered with herds of animals. The wind picked up and changed direction and with it came the smell of smoke – it was around for the next day or so and may have been coming from a forest fire to the north – I couldn't imagine the grasslands burning with this much smoke - the grass is too short!
Next morning we almost immediately began a climb through a long pass to a high flat plain and once we were on the rolling plains we came across a big mob of people and animals all on the move. It was fantastic as they were carrying all their gers and other equipment on camels. There were kids and girls pushing sheep and goats, blokes on horses, granny in her traditional attire riding a horse, a couple on foot who were leading a large group of heavily laden camels; we stopped to photograph them. They were pretty friendly, wanted vodka, took a few smokes we offered but not the woolen caps! As we came down the valley there was thousands of stock – hundreds of horses, 50-100 cows or yaks or crosses; a few dozen camels, dozens of dogs, and the rest, sheep and goats.
The views thru here were fantastic with white gers dotted here and there down the valleys clothed in short green grass. And each time we crossed a high ridge there was a small Buddhist shrine of stones and blue cloth. As we dropped down to the plains below we came across another nomad family on the move – the kids on horses driving the cattle, sheep and goats while an old lady was driving a small group of camels loaded down with their house and all their equipment. A young baby was in a special baby saddle in front of her – talk about ride before they can walk !
About 35km out of Ulaangom we got to a road junction and hit the bitumen (GPS 50°08'55”N 91°38'54”E). Drove into Ulaangom (GPS 49°58'40”N 92°04'10”E) and parked near a supermarket where a young Kiwi girl – Dannielle Murdoch - came up; she was traveling the world on her own on a Honda motorbike. Then a British couple in a Fiat ‘Transit type' van pulled up – they were very experienced travelers though and had been here the previous year. We found an auto-teller at a bank, visited a few ‘supermarkets' to get a limited amount of supplies, got fuel, took a pic of the central square and the statue of the local hero and then tried to find our way out of town.
East to the Ider Gol River
From here we headed south east, the maze of dirt roads and tracks a little confusing but we did come across a roadsign where they were building a new section of road. Got to a causeway that had been washed away and had to head up the valley to an old bridge which we crossed before swinging almost directly east passing to the south of the vast lake of Uvs Nuur . This lake is the largest by surface area in Mongolia, is 5-7 timers saltier than the sea and no fish live there. The region is also the coldest (apart from the mountain peaks) in the country with a minimum recorded of -57°C, while in summer the mercury climbs to over 50°C! The area is a good bird watching region and because of all this, it is one of 10 places on earth that has been selected for the monitoring of climate change. Still it is not a great place to visit – the mossies eat you alive!!!!
Our Flat Plain Camp (GPS 49°50'44”N 93°02'16”E) was south-east of the lake but we could see its marshy edge off to our north. To our south were the highish peaks and crests of the bare Han Hohiyn Mountains. It was windy again – the bloody wind is a bloody pain!
Next day was a day of getting ‘navigationally embarrassed'! We headed east and by following the major track got to the mountains and headed up thu' a pass near some gers and ended up in the hills surrounding the village of Malchin (GPS 49°43'41”N 93°16'06”E) – we really didn't need to be there. It was a small tidy town without any bitumen roads although it had a bank, a government building or two (the nation's flags were flying), a weather station, two places for fuel (one of which had fuel) and a line of small shops (like Brighton bathing boxes). The town also had mobile phone access – Telstra please take note! We checked out a couple of shops looking for bread but no luck, but got directions from a bank employee that we needed to head east to get to our destination! Meanwhile R&K and N&H, who were on the outskirts of town, were waiting for us and when we got there an oldish bloke on a Russian built motorbike with sidecar came rolling up and with some sign language, a bit of broken Russian and English he directed us to head back down the pass and ‘go straight ahead' .
After passing through a few ger camps with their livestock we came to a crossroads and a major dry creek crossing and turned south-east and then after a few km got to the village of Hyargas (GPS 49°40'13”N 93°46'36”E). Again we didn't really need to be there but we wandered into this small dusty place (dust can't be helped out here!) that again was very clean with no rubbish around at all. R&K spoke to a person who told us to ‘follow the powerlines' . We did as it struck directly towards our destination for the day.
In the north you could see the great barrier of the Boorog Deliyn Els – a sand sea of partially grassed dunes that stretch east for over 100km from the eastern shore of the lake of Uvs Nuur. The grassy steppes we were driving across were slowly being hemmed in by the mountains to the south and by the dunes to the north.
As we entered the town of Baruunturuun (GPS 49°39'23”N 94°24'21”E) and crossed the well flowing stream that passes the town we stopped and collected water, washed our hair and had a wash as well. It was most enjoyable! This is a large town but you could see a number of ruined buildings and old factories scattered around it, but the place seems to be thriving in this new modern world of free enterprise. Got led out of town and put on the right track by a local family – navigation, Mongolian style - at its best!
The country became much better grassed as we headed east and it was positively lush after much of the overgrazed areas we had been through previously. At a track junction we veered south and less than a km later set up our Grassy Gully Camp (GPS 49°41'59”N 94°50'31”E) on a flat bordering a small dry creek.
Next day we were once again passing across well grassed steppe and you could see where large areas had been cut for hay and we came across a group of workers cutting hay and raking it up using a small Chinese made tractor and a hand-activated rake.
As we headed east the dunes of the sand sea got ever closer while the mountains to our south pushed north so we were in a funnel of grassy country with mountains all round. It was delightful country to drive through and we stopped for morning tea on a high mound of a hill to soak up the view – the dunes, now dotted with pine trees - coming to an end a short distance to the east.
The town of Tes , (GPS 49°39'22”N 95°47'40”E) is delightfully situated close to a distinctive mountain peak and beside the Tesiyn Gol River where it swings north and heads into Russia, the border not far away to the north. As we were photographing some gers along the river near the mountain we noticed a Cruiser ute with a camper on the back coming towards us. They were a French couple – Marc & Vince and we yarned to them for ages and gave them a lot of info on GPS points. They were heading to India and had wanted to come thru' China to Mongolia and then south but China suddenly closed its borders to Independent travellers as the Olympic Games were approaching. That would be right!
In Tes we wandered the main streets of this large town and found a few shops where we could buy a few essentials. Once again the place was very tidy. One thing you need to be careful with in Mongolia is the names of towns. It is a common thing for a number of places to be called the same - and there are three towns called ‘Tes' within a couple of hundred km of one another in this northern-western region - and there's probably more.
We pushed on east following the old telegraph line again and passed through some delightful rocky hilly country just south of the Tesiyn Gol River valley which we could see most of the time to our north. We got to Bayantes (GPS 49°41'54”N 96°21'50”E) located just south of the river and on the outskirts of this small village we stopped at what looked like the health centre and asked a local the way to Tseterleg.
We followed the wide valley south, old telegraph poles keeping us company again. The small village of Asgat (GPS 49°24'50”N 96°37'05”E) we bypassed on the outskirts – it has a fuel outlet and a crumbled down factory of sorts – as all the villages seem to do.
Our Oygon Lake Camp (GPS 49°12'50”N 96°38'46”E) was situated on the northern end of the lake, which is salty, where there were a few herds grazing some distance away on the hillsides but with few people around and no ger camps. It is about 5000' above sea level. We set up camp 50 metres from the water's edge and then a few of us headed along the lake to get a calf that seemed stuck, out off the water. It was near blind and Viv and Gay perservered with it until a local herder came along – they didn't care so with that Viv and Gay came back to camp.
The route south heads down the valley and then turns almost back on itself around a mountain to get to the village of Nomrog (GPS 48°52'14”N 96°57'11”E). We wandered around the quite large village – you really think you are in an old wild west town in these places - and picked up a few supplies.
As we headed east we met up with a German bloke and a Swiss girl on pushbikes heading the other way and we stopped for a bit of a yarn. Along this track we also passed a couple of small ‘Mongolia motels' along this busy route – these consisted of a few log huts (your motel unit) around a main café or eating house, with a ger or two thrown in as probably the living quarters for the people that ran it.
The lake of Telmen Nuur (SE side near motel - GPS 48°°48'53”N 97°31'02”E) is quite large and the track skirts along the northern side of it offering good views and plenty of places to camp . By all accounts the lake is fresh … or near so. We were just heading up the hill from the lake when we came across a rolled over trailer and a recovery in action. The truck was heavily loaded with skins or wool, as were all three trailers he was towing – the rear one had rolled and with the help of another passing truck they were rolling it back onto its wheels.
We got to the large town of Tosontsengel (GPS 48°45'36”N 98°15'40”E) in the pretty valley of the Ider Gol River with hills and mountains all round, parts of which were densely covered in fir trees. We fuelled up as we came in – little did we know that there were at least 5 fuel outlets working in this major transport hub of West-central Mongolia.
Bought some bread after we checked out about 6 shops, got some beer, fruit (apples), a leg of lamb (we think-probably goat!) and then after a few efforts at finding water we got directed to where the whole village draws its water (9am to 7pm) behind a major government building. We all filled up with cold clear water – cost 1000T or about A$1. Fuel though is about $1.85 to $2 a litre.
We left town and followed the Ider Gol River east for about 40km – the valley dotted with the white felt gers of the nomads and the shorn green grass blanketed in places with livestock – mainly goats and sheep but occasionally horses, cows and yaks. Large patches of forest clothed many of the hills and peaks but there were also the ugly scars of over grazing and soil erosion closer to the valley floor. We finally chose a place that didn't look to crowded and found our way down to the river on a perfect camp spot, flat and grassy, a few trees and pines to give us shelter, a wide flowing river just metres away, and dead wood to feed a bit of a fire. Our River Camp (GPS 48°43'16”N 98°37'02”E) was an absolute beauty!
It was so good we spent three nights here, the weather perfect for one day and a bit changeable the next, but what the hell – it was paradise! We did some work – the girls washed clothes and bedding while the boys worked on their trucks – the Patrol's radiator fan being made into a solid drive!
Along the Ider Gol
Our drive east along the Ider Gol river was most enjoyable it being the prettiest valley we had been in so far – in fact it was probably the prettiest valley we traveled through in Mongolia. We passed the township of Il-Uur (GPS 48°42'48”N 98°47'59”E), with its line of stores and cafes set back off the main road. The village is set in the valley of the Ider Gol River with mountains close behind and the river flowing across its southern side. The white flashes of gers – like big white mushrooms – dot the low hillsides and grassy valleys around the town; this is a popular grazing area.
At Ider Junction (as we called it) (GPS 48°38'19”N 99°01'03”E) the main road we have been following since Tosontsengal swung sharply south – we initially thought we'd follow the road on the map east as far as the village of Jargalant, but it was only a minor road following the valley further east.
The gathering of old wooden huts and gers that make up the hamlet of Tsetsuuh is notable as it is so poor looking and that it should be where the main road comes in but there's no sign of that coming in from the west as shown on the map – we have been on the main road!
The long climb to the crest of the range made the Patrol struggle. The country we had been passing through was … or had been … well wooded but a lot of logging had gone on and in one large area of forest it looked like it had been burnt. Still it was nice country to drive through and the river we were following tumbled and gurgled over rocks on its way to its confluence with the Ider Gol.
As we dropped down the other side of the ridge the country was drier, but still pleasant with gers dotted here and there across the countryside. We came to the small village of Tsahir (GPS 48°06'19”N 99°08'38”E) – which really has a ‘Wild West' flavour with a wide dusty street, horses hitched to poles and rails and caped cowboys walking the street.
The Great White Lake and on to Tsetserleg
Got to the western end of the Great White Lake or, Terhiyn Tsargaan Nuur, and found our way down to the shore for lunch. This is one of the great tourist destinations of Mongolia. Its northern bank was crowded by mountains while rolling plains stretched a short distance away from the south bank to hills and mountains. There wasn't a tree to be seen though and while it was pretty enough it didn't hold a patch on our camp for the past few nights. As we headed east lava flows and a river flowing beside it came out of the lake while the mountains around were once volcanoes, while the eastern flank of the lake a number of ger tourist camps could be seen.
Came to an impressive gorge on the Chuluutin Gol River and nearby a large Buddhist shrine and prayer offering draped over a big fir tree. WE found out next day the mountain behind the tree and on whose flanks we set up camp was considered sacred to Buddhist. Our Holy Mountain camp (GPS 48°07'53”N 100°15'56”E) was up the hill about 400 metres from the shrine and in a large cleared area where pines were dotted elsewhere – we were camped at 6500 feet so we were expecting it to be cold – it was! The mountain climbed steeply behind us and while it wasn't an actually level campsite it had great views.
The town … city really with nearly 20,000 people …. of Tsetserleg (GPS 47°28'33”N 101°27'16”E) has its suburbs of family homes separated from the main business/government part of the town – like most places we have seen but as you come down the mountain into town you get a good view of the place and its layout. Up the hill a once deserted but prominent and important Buddhist monastery has been refurbished, although I'm not sure if any monks were in attendance.
Found our way quickly to the Fairfield Bakery and guesthouse (GPS 47°28'05”N 101°27'31”E) where we enjoyed lunch although the British owners who set the place up in 1995 were nowhere to be seen. We shopped, tried a bank and auto teller, checked out the local small market and got some fuel before pushing on.
Genghis Khaan's Ancient Capital
That evening we camped just out of the modern town of Harhorin (GPS 47°11'44”N 102°49'12”E) where we tried to find an auto teller – ‘there's none in town' a English speaking girl told us. By all accounts this place with its large flour factory was built during the Soviet era and there is certainly nothing exceptional about it.
Our Orhon River Camp (GPS 47°11'48”N 102°47'13”E) about 2km from town was across the river from a ger tourist camp. There were a few other traveller's camps dotted along the river but we had crossed the stream to get away from them and the occasionally scattering of rubbish.
Above the town and river on a prominent hill is the monument to Chinggis (or Genghis) Khaan Monument, (GPS 47°10'52”N 102°48'05”E). The large circular monument depicts the spread of the Mongol Empire from about 200BC to 1500AD on three large mosaic panels, while a Buddhist shrine stands in the very centre of the walled circle.
We then drove back past the town to the walled enclosure of the Erdene Zuu Monastery (GPS 47°11'58”N 102°50'32”E). Started in 1586 by Abtai Khaan at its peak the grounds had between 65 and 100 temples and housed over 1500 monks. In the 1930's the Stalinist purges destroyed most of the temples, while the monks were either killed or sent to Siberia, but a few of the temples survived by being made into warehouses and the like. Today they are back with a few monks in residence, prayers being said every day and a bit of renovation work being carried out - when money allows. It remains the most important Buddhist temple site in Mongolia.
We spent over an hour wandering the grounds and watching a prayer ceremony in one of the temples – couldn't take any pics though, although Rod got one before we were told differently! Of course there are a few souvineer shops (both inside and outside the walls) and the girls made hay while the sun shone! There were a few tourists around – the most we had seen in Mongolia, that's for sure.
Around the wall from the main entrance to the temples, on the north-west side, is one of the remaining Turtle Rocks which marked the outer boundary of the ancient city of Karakoum . In 1220 Chinggis Khaan moved his capital to this place and his son, made it a major city. Kublai Khaan though 40 years later moved the capital of the Mongul Empire to what is now Beijing. Destroyed by Manchurin soldiers in the 1380's what remained of the city was used to build the great monastery of Erdene Zuu. Today there are two archaeological digs going on here and below ground level they are finding quite a few remains of this once great capital.
East to UlaanBaatar
We headed off, first south towards Hujirt where the main road leads. At a junction about 15km from town (GPS 47°07'43”N 102°57'28”E) we turned north-east and then reached the Arvayheer road at a major junction (GPS 47°18'21”N 103°38'18”E) with its line of small wooden stalls and shops selling food and offering accommodation. It was bitumen for much of the day – not great bitumen but still pretty good with few potholes. At the village of Lun (GPS 47°52'01”N 106°14'59”E) we crossed the wide stream bed of the Tarnayn Gol . Our luck ran out and the road turned to crap with tracks spread over a wide expanse of valley. There were vehicles going everywhere and we struck west and ended up a short time later at the village of Bayanhangay where on the outskirts we turned south and picked up a bitumen road that took us south to another village which the main road passed thru. The road was woeful in the town and we picked a side track again and headed on for a few km before picking a camp south of all the tracks and roads that are the ‘highway' in a bit of a low valley up the side of the hill. Our View Camp (GPS 47°54'14”N 106°38'46”E) had a terrific view to the north – but no too much protection from the bloody wind.
Next morning it was all fog and mist as we got up, packed and then headed east. Arrived on the outskirts of UlaanBaatar which sprawls down the valley of the Dund Gol River, which lies on the southern boundary of the city. Also to the south are the Bogdkhan Mountains which makes a great backdrop to the city and is a ‘Strictly Protected Area' or national park. However, the city is not a particularly pretty place with lots of small rough industries on the western side of town, ram shackle buildings behind half fallen down fences, squatter camps and the like. The air pollution is pretty bad, the traffic near manic (not as bad as some African cities though) but for a city of less than 1 million people they do a good job of congestion and manic!
Nearly half the country's population live here and it is attracting about 30-40,000 people a year from the countryside. Crime by all accounts is growing while for tourists pick pockets are a real problem. We met up with a German lady who was staying where we were and she had a pretty horrific experience – she had been dragged out of the car she was waiting in (near a market that is notorious for problems) and while she was fighting one guy another grabbed her handbag and made off with all her paperwork, money and passport.
We headed east along Peace Avenue – the main east-west drag which runs for near on 20km – and as we got closer to the centre of the city it became a little more urbanized with shops and some nicer houses with a few trees. Then in the heart of the city was the Sukhbaatar Square (GPS 47°55'00”N 106°55'00”E) with the quite impressive Parliament House buildings while a little further along was a statue of Lenin. I wonder how many statues there are of this guy thru Russia and the ex-Soviet states?
The Oasis Guesthouse (ph: +976 1146 3693; web: www.intergram-oasis.com) is located at the eastern end of town, just off Narny (Sun) Gudamj Road (GPS 47°54'41”N 106°58'52”E) and behind a fuel servo and a group of shops which included a supermarket or two and a very good internet café, all of which proved to be very handy. However it is not the most salubrious part of town with a lot of light industry going on behind wooden fences. Don't be put off though, the guesthouse is quite good with rooms and gers as a range of clean and comfortable accommodation, friendly staff and a small café which has good meals although a limited menu. The owners – Renee' and Sybillie Poeschko - are Austrian/German, I think, and are friendly and informative. There is secure parking with a locked gate and a watchhouse and watch keeper as well.
Later we headed off to find ARB Mongolia (GPS 47°55'18”N 106°55'16”E) which is part of MT ABTO 4x4 (ph: +976 322882 or +976 9191 8798) located in a back alley, even though it is located not far from the parliament house. ARB doesn't look much from the outside but the workshop is fairly large and very well equipped, while the shop has a good range of equipment. Nobody spoke English but the women rang the boss/sales manager - Buren (ph: +976 9811 6116) who could. A couple of days later, we had the front springs on the Patrol changed as I had broken one a couple of days earlier.
The Nissan headquarters is very modern and well equipped and located just east of the Peace Bridge over the Narny (Sun) Gudamj Road, the other main east-west road through UB and about 1km south of Peace Avenue. Next day we spent the day there and chased the overheating problem – ended up changing the radiator – the bloody one we had repaired in Kenya had corroded it seems and blocked up to the stage where it allowed some water flow but not enough when it was under heavy load to keep the engine cool. We'll see – we hope that is the end of the cooling problem!
With our problems seemingly fixed we were ready to head south to the Gobi Desert!
Return to main Trip diary page
Link to Picture Gallery Page for Western Mongolia.
Our visit to ‘Bilk's' family ger was quite interesting and they were very hospitable.
A small group of cow/yaks (hainags – a cross between a cow and a yak).
We came across a big mob of people and animals all on the move after passing through a long pass to a high flat plain. It was fantastic as they were carrying all their gers and other equipment on camels.
Driving through a well grassed steppe we came across a group of workers cutting hay and raking it up using a small Chinese made tractor and a hand-activated rake.
In Tes we wandered the main streets of this large town and found a few shops where we could buy a few essentials.
From the large town of Tosontsengel in the pretty valley of the Ider Gol River we found our River Camp which was an absolute beauty, the best of the trip so far!
The impressive gorge on the Chuluutin Gol River.
There was a mini-bus full of people at the shrine and a young family – Viv gave them one of Viv's Mum's lovely hand knitted baby jumpers.
The monument to GH up on top of the hill just outside of town was quite impressive, showing the empire he had during his time.
Outside the monastery walls there are two ‘turtle rocks' – four of which once marked the boundaries of ancient Karakorum acting as protectors of the city.
indeed an oasis amongst the chaos that is the city.
Ron found the ARB store and the broken spring was replaced.
