Chinglish at its best. We spent a day/night in Beijing before leaving for UB. Unfortunately, we'd already eaten when we came across this restaurant; it looks like they offer some interesting fare! Also unfortunate - Beijing authorities are on a mission to eliminate atrocious, embarrassing (but funny, right?) signs like this before the '08 Olympics.
boarding the K23 in Beijing
The blankets were small - but other than that the train was quite comfortable.
First impressions of Mongolia. This is pretty much what we saw from the train for hours and hours, so imagine my surprise when we arrived in UB and Eva asked me if Mongolia reminded me of Vietnam. Um, no.
UB seen from the train
We saw the Trans-Siberian Express stopped at the station in UB. I hope to be on that train some day!
train dust: an all-natural styling product
We drove a LONG way to see this monastery - supposedly one of the most impressive in Mongolia.
team China at the monastery
One of the summer program teachers left this pointer for Eric to use in his Wuhan classrooms, and Pete decided that it might be useful on our trip as the "wand of blame." It helped us make light of any negative situations; after a lousy meal, for example, we could pull it out and say, "Who picked this restaurant?!" I don't remember what I was blaming Eric for at this point, but actually the wand probably should have been pointed at me for talking everyone into this monastery trip.
Eric does some outhouse reconnaissance.
You didn't have to get too close to find out how awful it was; honestly, I can only think of one grosser bathroom I've ever used. (In case anyone's curious: that was in China last summer. I'll spare the remaining details.)
I think Ulaan Baatar is one of the ugliest cities I've ever seen, though there were a few nice buildings like this one surrounding the main square.
parliament builing, also on the square
statue of (who else?) Ghengis Khan
We visited a good history museum in Ulaan Baatar, and also this mediocre - but entertaining - natural history museum.
See what I mean about being an ugly city?
sad fountain
sad park
Outside the cities, Mongolian scenery is more attractive.
Eric discovers Schoko Mac, a staple on our horse trek and in the Gobi. It's kind of like Nutella, but even better.
We were all looking forward to our first yurt visit, but then were a bit taken aback when we stepped inside and saw this brewing on the woodstove. I think the same thought was going through all of our heads: please don't let those sheep parts be our dinner!
Fortunately they didn't offer us any of that boiling brew - but they did give us our first taste of fermented mare's milk.
Looking for a more challenging game of frisbee? Try playing in a dung-covered field. The kids didn't seem to mind, sometimes even diving to make a catch - but trying to avoid the cowpies added a level of difficulty for the rest of us.
Mr. "Camping flies in the face of thousands of years of civilization" learns to set up a tent.
Mongolians loved the binoculars Glynnis brought. It looks like this grandma could have used a bit of help with them.
family fun
milking a mare
more yurts
See the horse on the ground? That's Pete's - taking yet another unauthorized break.
Here's a massive, unfinished statue of - can you guess? Yep, Ghengis Khan.
on the road again
After two COLD nights in tents, we were all glad the owner of this yurt agreed to let us sleep there. We paid for the lodging - about $3/person, I think.
Rule #1 in a yurt: don't walk between the two support poles, which symbolize the man and woman of the house.
butter and dried cheese curds
When our host put this robe and sash on, I assumed he was probably off to visit a neighbor or something. Nope - this is his cow-milking uniform!
Can I come in?
baby and dog - and cheese curds drying in the sun
The yurt wasn't too roomy, but it was warm! It was also full of dairy products; see that slab of butter under the bed? There was yoghurt in the pot by Glynnis's head, and there were chesse curds under one of the other beds.
Eric and Pete and I get our morning fix. Starbucks doesn't taste quite the same in a plastic mug, but it does the trick!
Apparently Mongolian kids get an early start to horseback riding.
We were amazed at how this little girl would hop on a horse - bareback - and just take off.
Off the horses for good.
Back where we started; while we were waiting for our ride from UB to pick us up, we took some photos here. This woman didn't want her picture taken until she'd put her hat on.
big sky in the Gobi
desert life
Rock climbing; we started down there where the jeep is.
Off-roading: it had recently rained, and our driver used Glynnis's binocs to map out a path where we wouldn't get stuck.
letting a bit of air out
painted cliffs
sunset in the Gobi
Dinosaur fossil! At least that's what they told us.
The lick test - according to our guide, I had my tongue on a real dinosaur fossil.
Here come our camels! Unfortunately, we remained tethered together for the whole ride.
Gobi shower (another cold one!)
The camels here give you a sense of how big these dunes are.
We were off to climb the dunes, and Jaghka was working - again - on the jeep.
Slipping sand makes climbing a challenge. . .
but the view at the top is worth it!
desert canyon
See the ibex? It was amazing how quick and adroit they were as they moved across these jagged rocks.
Their striped horns are impressive.
ibex head on some sort of altar
another beautiful campsite
and another drab Mongolian city
We stopped here for Jaghka to fix the jeep yet again.
camel huddle
last place we camped in the Gobi
Team Mongolia
Ruins of a monastery - Mongolia was a Soviet puppet state, and many monasteries were destroyed (and many monks purged) under Stalin.
Glynnis is one of my original travel buddies. It had been nearly seven years since our last journey together, and it was fun to take a trip with her again.
UB's biggest monastery
Monks wear Pumas???
