It was me, three Swedes, a Korean guy, a translator, a driver, and a Russian van for the next 8 days. Our trip was to the Gobi desert, where driving over bumpy roads, seeing endless landscape, and staying in
gers (yurts) were part of our daily routines. I wouldn't say that Mongolia has a lot to offer, but it was interesting to see the lifestyle there.
Water was always a scarcity, and not just access to bottled water. I mean, water in general. Toilets, at their most developed, were rudimentary outhouses, although I much preferred just going in the bush (when there was a bush!). We showered every third day where public showers were available in the towns. Fruits and vegetables did not exist outside of Ulaan Bataar (the capital). Even in the "towns," the most "fresh" food you'd find were a few potatoes, onions, black carrots, and/or apples. We bought as much fresh food as we could before the trip, but it was a matter of rationing it (to last for the week) versus not letting it get spoiled or smashed in the van. We also bought things like pasta, canned tuna fish, and instant noodles... just as a change from eating mutton in restaurants and gers.
One of my favorite things during our drives was "stopping for lunch." We'd pull off to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, whip out our camping stove, and one of us would start making spaghetti and another would be making a tomato/cucumber salad. We'd eat, wash dishes, play a little Hacky Sack, take some pictures, and then hit the road again.
As for the accommodations, we stayed in gers, sometimes sleeping on beds, sometimes sleeping on the floor. The gers are a pretty cool invention. Mongolians are nomadic and can pack up or set up their gers in an hour. That includes the huge canvas covering, the wooden poles used to hold it up, and the sticks to create an umbrella/tent effect. Usually, families will also have some sort of herd, be it goats, sheep, horses, or even camels. And at times, people really go for privacy. There would be miles and miles of countryside and then you might see one lone ger in the midst of it all.
Over the course of the week, we went camel riding, climbed up sand dunes, walked around a glacier valley (but without the glacier), visited a monastery, and meandered around the Flaming Cliffs (where loads of dinosaur bones were found). Our group got along great, which made the trip all the better, and we even forgave the Russian van for the six flat tires we had!!
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