Winter is coming

Mongolian cities simply aren't nice. I have the feeling Mongolians never really understood how to build them. Tsetserleg, the only city I actually liked was only an exception confirming the general rule. Olgiy was no exception. Chaotic and full of dust the city doesn't really make the best impression. But it had a big market. And we had a clear plan.

I have to admit Mongolian wetter took us by surprise. Don't get me wrong, we were not naive enough to think we will have perfect summer heat the whole time. But honestly we were also not expecting minus temperatures in August. And the constant freezing wind only made things worse. That is why we decided we need specialized equipment: camel and yak wool! However it was surprisingly hard to find, though the land is full of those animals. Generally buying traditional Mongolian things turned out to be very tricky. Each city has a market, but they all seem to be full of cheap, low quality Chinese products. You may get Hello Kitty socks in all colours and sizes, but camel wool doesn't seem to be too popular. Nevertheless in Olgiy we managed to find a nicely supplied shop. And we left it with a whole bag of socks and two proper camel caps. We were ready for Mongolian wind again.

Though to be really honest I was a bit afraid. We took some warm clothes of course, but I was still not willing to freeze from now on till the end of our journey. I already imagined the temperatures going even lower in Kazakhstan and mountain regions of Kyrgyzstan. It made me shiver again! But I got some new hope! Sergiej, a Kazakh truck driver we met told me not to worry as I will certainly unpack my bikini again in his country. I hang on his words now, hoping to get some sun again soon.

We had one more task in Olgiy: visa applications, the biggest nightmare for most travelers, especially those in central Asia. This bureaucracy seems to have no end. And the rules keep changing from time to time to make things even more complicated. But then again those rules are useless anyway. The rule is that you don't need an official letter of invitation for some countries, but in practice it takes only one day to get a visa if you have one and up to 15 days in you don't, so the decision seems to be quite simple. And this time we decided to take no risks and order the letters. But the whole process is cruel anyway. We are doing what we can to make our trip as flexible as possible. We don't make too many plans and we are always ready to change the ones we had. And suddenly all those people want us to know on which day exactly do we want to enter a country we plan to visit in 2 or 3 months and what our route will be like. And how should we know that? That is why filling out all those online applications took us a while. Especially that internet connections in Olgiy was only working few times a day, for limited period of time. But it was still better than hot water, which was not working at all. But we finally made it! And we'll see if we did a good job in Almaty, the city where we want to pick up our final visas. So keep your fingers crossed!

 

The road less traveled

“If you think you have seen a sky full of stars you should go to Mongolia”

I read this line somewhere before our dream actually became a solid plan and that was the first moment I thought Mongolia would be a country worth considering. I have to admit I didn't really knew anything about this country back then. I knew quite well where it was tough! Back in primary school I once scored the worst note in geography for not being able to show where Gobi desert was and I kept that region in mind ever since. But apart from that I had no idea what Mongolia was all about.

But I have to say the line with the stars proved to be very true! Mongolian sky is simply amazing. Since there are normally no lights around you can see the stars quite well and there seem to be much more of them than I have ever seen anywhere else. And the milky way looks awesome too. And if that wasn't enough you don't have to wait too long to see a falling star neither, so if you have a few wishes to make, you know where to come.

Shortly after Tsetserleg and the beautiful White Lake we had to make up our minds and choose our route. There are a few possibilities, each having it's pros and cons, each having different views to offer. The route in the south of the country seems to be the most popular one, especially now, when most participants of the Mongolian Rally (charity event, where people drive old cars from Europe to Mongolia and then leave them there to be auctioned to rise money for children projects) take that path. Maybe it was because of my bad memories with Gobi or maybe because choosing between stone desert and crystal clear lakes we automatically go for water, anyway we decided to take the northern path. And we never regretted this decision.

The northern part of the country is simply splendid! The views (all amazing) keep changing like in a kaleidoscope and the lakes are even clearer and more beautiful than we could ever imagine. It was only a pity that the weather didn't really allow us to take a nice long swim, but we could at least have a few short baths and a few lovely sunsets in the evening.

We left the city of Tosontsengel (very funny one, with about 150m of tarmac street right through the center) and headed to Naranbulag and from there we wanted to go to small and then to the big Olgiy (quite a few cities in Mongolia have the same name, just to make navigating a bit easier...). And every day our camping sites were getting even better and the views were even more breathtaking. The local people were amazing too. I don't believe they see too many tourists, even in the high season, so they were always showing much interest in us. But always in a nice, friendly way. They were all very open, especially the children, who had no problems telling us all kinds of stories using hands, legs, paintings and all the other things they could think of. And it worked! At the big lake of Hyargas Nuur we had quite a long conversation with a little girl and her grandmother, who came by to see who's camping on their grounds. They both wanted to see the cars and found it very funny that we actually sleep inside. And at the lake near small Olgiy we met another nice family. They came on their horses just to say hi. We never failed to offer the locals at least some tea with cookies, which always made them even more open and friendly. Those ones offered us some horse riding in return. I was quite skeptic about it, since horses are not really my favourite animals, but they gave me a calm, nearly sleepy one and promised not to let the line out of their hands so I gave it a try. Now I can say I did some horse riding in Mongolia, but I guess I'm still not a huge fan of it. David was doing surprisingly well riding on his own considering the fact that the horse was much smaller then he was and if he just spread his legs he would be standing on the ground again. Gerrit got another chance to ride too and he made quite a few circles and was actually doing so well, that the Mongolians offered him another horse, more wild and without a saddle. He was doing good this time too, until the horse decided he doesn't want to be a tourist attraction and shook Gerrit of his back. Fortunately Gerrit was trained enough to land on his feet without hurting himself. The local family took a second to see if he's OK and when they saw him running after the horse they burst out with laughter. It took them a moment before they could control themselves again and then they sent the youngest one to collect both, the horse and Gerrit still running after it.

   

I have to say we only had the best experiences with Mongolian people. Their friendliness and hospitality exceeded our expectations. We tried to thank them in the same way, but somehow we always ended up getting more than we could give back. We still have about 2kg of different dry horse milk cookies with us, but we heard they are good for ages so we plan on bringing a few back home.

Anyway, our northern route was doing very well and we were hoping to reach the big Olgiy the next day. It is the last big city before the border (everything above 25.000 people is considered "big" in Mongolia). We were already planning where we're going to sleep and which restaurant we want to try when we get there. We should have known it would have been too easy... Around 100 km before the city a river crossed our path. Of course, there was no bridge to be seen, so we parked the car, got our shoes off and decided to test the ground as we always did. It didn't look too bad at the beginning, even though the river was quite strong and fast, that is why we didn't really understood why the locals told us to turn around and forget it. They were showing us the alternative routes on the map telling us we shouldn't even bother trying here, pointing ahead and saying something about a second river. We got what they meant when we made a small walk. The river was divided in 2 main streams, the first one we checked being the smaller, shallower and calmer one. I could hardly cross the second one, as it was way to strong and was trying to pull me with it the whole time. At this point we knew, we're not trying to cross this one. There was a big chance Karossi could make it, but too much was at stake. If the river would turn out to be too much for our car, we would kill the engine which would probably mean the end of our journey. We had to go back. It wasn't an easy decision to make since it was quite a huge detour and we could not be sure how the roads will look like in the other part of the country. In Mongolia, especially after heavy rains you may never know if all roads are still in usable conditions or (as in our case) if all rivers will be easy to cross. But we had to give it a try.

Since it was already afternoon we decided to take go back to small Olgiy we left that morning and spend one more night at the camping spot we liked so much, but taking a slightly different track this time, just to see something new. One more evening on the beach, with camels walking around sounded like a nice comfort, but we were still not in the best moods. Until we drove for a few miles. The road wasn't really good, but the views were perfect. Mountains, wild animals and the most beautiful lake we saw so far made us forget about the river and the detour. I started to think that it was simply meant to be, a small detour just to discover a few other marvelous locations Mongolia had to offer. And after we drove all the way south to Khovd and then all the way back north to Olgiy I still believe it was!

Photo update

Mongolia 15 August

Mongolia 23 August

Down in a hole

Driving in Mongolia is an unique experience. I would love to explain it to you, but I am afraid it's pointless. You simply can not imagine it unless you try it yourself. I know cause I remember Roxi and Grisza telling me about their trip through this country and I though I knew perfectly well what they meant. Now I know I had absolutely no idea! And I believe it was better that way, cause otherwise I would have to reconsider the trip ;)

Let's start with a fact, that there are hardly any asphalt streets here. You have some around the main border and the capital, but that would be about it. The rest, even the main roads are unpaved earth roads. I know earth road does not sound that bad, but try to imagine an earth road acting as a highway, with lots of cars, trucks, bikes, cows and yaks crossing it every day, leaving bigger or smaller holes and traces all over the place. And imagine that after a heavy rain there is a river coming down that road, doing it's part of the job too. And then try to imagine what is left of such road after a couple of years... Well I can tell you it doesn't look good. And it makes you and the car shake in all possible directions allowing the maximal speed of around 30 km/h. And it's not a straight drive, but more of a slalom between holes requiring driver's full attention.

If that's all not enough of an adventure for you add the river crossing, as bridges are also not too popular around here. So every time you see a river on a map you start wondering... Will the river really be there (it's not always the case), if yes, will there be a bridge to take us to the other side (that's not always the case neither), if no, will the river be shallow enough for our cars to cross it (fortunately this was always the case so far, since Karossi turned up to be quite a good swimmer and we really hope it will stay this way).

And if you are unlucky you may cross yet another obstacle on your way, the swamps. As I said it's raining a lot recently, so it's quite easy to get stuck suddenly, even with a 4 wheel drive. And that is exactly what happened to Gerrit's car. The place that looked like a perfectly normal grass field turned up to be a trap, which sucked all his 4 wheels before we could notice what's happening. The car was stuck for good. Karossi did his best, but his engine power was just not enough to get Gerrit out of trouble. The line we were using broke in 2 pieces, but Gerrit's car was still in the same place. We tried digging, pushing and all the other tricks we could think of, but it was just no good. With every trick we tried our public was growing bigger, since the locals found us an interesting attraction. Then we saw one family driving by in a car that looked strong enough to help us. They came down to us without hesitating (though they already knew the region was a swamp) and offered their help, but unfortunately they were not able to get Gerrit out of the hole neither. Even worse, their car eventually got stuck too. Fortunately Karossi was there and this time he managed to save the day. The family promised to go and get some help. So we had nothing to do but to set the camp where we were, as it was getting darker and we were not really sure if we'll be able to leave this place before the night comes. We were just praying it would not rain. And it didn't!

We were preparing a dinner when a guy on a horse came to us. He obviously found our situation pretty amusing too, so he was hanging around admiring the car from every angle. He was trying to start a conversation, but since he could only speak Mongolian it wasn't really taking us far. But he managed to make Gerrit's day a bit better by offering him his horse to ride, which was what Gerrit wanted to do since he entered the country. Then he started the conversation again using a few English words he remembered, a lot of body language and some paintings. From what we understood we would have to wait till 9 the next day and then someone would come and get us out. We were ready to sleep anyway, so we decided it's a good option. Otherwise we would go to the main street which was fortunately not too far from us and try to stop a car that looked strong enough to get us out. The food was ready and our guest looked as if he wasn't willing to miss such a chance, so we offered him some food without much thinking. Well we could have thought a bit, since the sauce we were having that day was an extra spicy one and most Mongolians are not even used to using salt and pepper. His eyes went red after the first spoon and he asked for water immediately. We gave him some and told him he doesn't have to eat it and we'd give him some other food, but I guess he took it as a challenge. And he did eat it all, so I don't even want to know how he felt like.

We woke up next morning and made some nice breakfast as we knew we will need some strength again. We also knew Mongolian 9 o'clock can mean anything between 9 and 12, so guys decided to get to the main road and look for alternative help just in case. They didn't get far before they met the family that tried to help us a day before. They got a longer, stronger line and a new plan. Some more digging was done and we joined all free cars together. Karrossi was pulling the Landcruiser, which was then pulling Gerrit's car. The longer line allowed us some nice distance, so that the pulling cars were able to stay on a flat ground and have enough place to maneuver. This time it worked perfectly and a moment later Gerrit was standing on a flat ground too. We were saved and very grateful. The family went into a lot of trouble to help us, so we asked them how much we owed them, as we really wanted to pay them for their efforts, but they only looked at us as we were from some strange planet and declined all our offers. Moreover they gave us a bottle of the best Mongolian vodka. And after we were done with packing and decided to leave the place for good they were waiting along the way with some horse milk for us to try. And we got some horse milk cookies too. We have no idea how we managed to earn such hospitality, but those were definitely the nicest people we met so far.

That is why we did not hesitate as we saw a stuck truck a day after. We stopped to help, as we knew what it feels like to be in such situation. The truck was big and fully loaded, so it was not an easy thing. And their line was breaking all the time. But we got another one and tried the trick with 2 pulling cars one after another again and we managed to get them out too. And we got a huge glass of blueberries for our efforts :) I hope from now on we will always be on the helping side, as helping feels much better then getting stuck.