After desert living the thought of a city with many food options, toilets and hot showers was enticing to all. We had planned to stay at a hostel near the Firbidden City and Tianamen Square tomreduce costs in transport. We took the subway across Beijing from the airport as it was cheap and efficient. Then it hit us – the massive crowds, the pushing and shoving, the heat and humidity, and the lack of language skills. Kaia is good at Mandarin but it was not enough. We found some nice folks along our way, trekking thru a very …
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Ulaan Baatar Tour – Last Day in Mongolia
Mongolia is a big vast country of only 3 million people, 1 million of which live in sprawling Ulaan Baatar and our last day was a city tour. UB is the coldest capital city in the world…care to guess who is number 2? Hint – I was born there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulaanbaatar UB is a weird mix of old and traditional ( the ger district which is quite poor) and new and up ‘n coming. The traffic can suck as some roads are big boulevards 4lanes wide and others are single track. One can see nuclear …
Camel Riding Part Deux
While with our camel herding South Gobi family we tried camel riding. After mounting up, the older two decided pretty quickly it was not for them so M.C, Willow and I went off for a few hours. That was plenty – I walked like John Wayne for a day and sitting on our plastic camp stools was less than excellent. After young Willow regaled her sisters about the joys of camel riding They were determined to give it a go. So a few days later, they joined our new U.K friends, Bryan and Emily for a tour to the dunes and …
Beijing – 17 years later
What a cultural shock! From temperature to the hoardes of people… Beijing is a dramatic change, dramatic, from Ulaan Bataar. People have been helpful. Curious about us having 3 girls. Keen to know where we are from. Surprised that our girls, in particular Kaia, can converse in Mandarin. I have been to Beijing many times before on business, this was my first time back as a tourist in 18 years. Last time here I was single and gatecrashed a trip a friend was taking with his wife (Paine/Norman). 1. Beijing is still congested. A sprawling cartésien city, large avenues, except …
My thoughts on Mongolia
Mongolia was not really what I expected. Let’s imagine you think of Africa {If you have been to Africa don’t read this part} When I went there, before I left I thought it would look like a huge desert with a couple of trees and some animals. I thought Mongolia would look like street stalls and a lot and a lot of people. But instead U.B was green and looked a bit like Hong Kong in a way. I know hard to believe right…well look at this.
Skye’s Mongolia
Our website is serving many purposes. One purpose is so the kids can look back in later years and see a chronicle of their grand adventure. Skye has her own camera ( thanx Uncle Jon), and has taken many pix.
Dunes, dunes, dunes
Personally I love dunes and deserts. This trip will hit some major deserts, the Atacama, the Namib and the Gobi. While in the Mongolian Gobi, the kids plus our guide Pujee and driver Unuruu, climbed the largest dunes…. Our super driver Unuruu
Mongolian skies are beyond belief
Those are gers in the sunset And more to come….
Naadaam in Zuunmod
For many years I have had Mongolia’s Naadaam festival on my bucket list. Now I can check it off. After the lovely days in the valley we got into some wet weather. And unfortunately we camped overnight and woke in a crazy rainstorm. Tents, sleeping bags, clothes, shoes and all were soaked through….but it was off to enjoy the festival. From Wikipedia – 2006 Naadam ceremony in Ulaanbaatar Naadam (Mongolian: Наадам, classical Mongolian: Naɣadum, [ˈnaːdəm], literally “games”) is a traditional festival in Mongolia. The festival is also locally termed “eriin gurvan naadam” (эрийн гурван наадам) “the three games of …
When in Mongolia….
Upon landing at Chenghis Khan airport, we were met by our driver Unro and our guide Puje. Ulaan Bataar was a parking lot and it took ages to get to the Dream Hotel. It was nice enough and the girls loved it. The next day we were off heading towards the old capital of the Khans called Karakorum. In its heyday it was one of the greatest cities of the Eastern world as the Khans ruled from the Pacific to Turkey and parts of Europe. Mongolia is famous for its eagle hunters and its wild horses and riders; an …