WOW. Two weeks without internet. Without being able to share and communicate with loved ones, without being able to choose what I would eat and when, without peeing and not worrying about getting it on my boots.

Two weeks of beautiful, beautiful nothing, with wild horses and camels everywhere, with new friends. I’ve eaten mutton (sheep and goat), camel, camel cheese curd, drank fermented horse mare milk (and declined eating horse innards). I have developed a stomach for vodka. I have been warmed by horse dung fires. I can tell the difference between a cow, a yak, and a yak hybrid. I have climbed to the top of a 300 meter high sand dune and listened to it sing.

I wasn’t sure what I expected here, so it’s hard for me to describe how it was. I arrived in Ulaanbaatar, had a couple snafus getting to my hostel, then headed back out to meet a group I had found online. The four people turned out to be two couples: Nat and Jed (Australian, also traveling around the world, left home three days after I did in March, been together for 6 years), and Mariana and Val (both just starting their big trips, Mariana is Brazilian-American from Florida, Val is from Israel, they met just a week before in Moscow getting on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Four days in a small compartment and the rest was history). I didn’t expect to be the odd one out and I wasn’t. Except on those cold nights when I was without a personal snuggle bug.

The group jived well. They had organized a two week tour for us starting the next morning, so we had lunch together, went to the State Department Store to provision ourselves with vodka, chocolate, toilet paper and baby wipes (did I mention we only showered twice in those two weeks??), and then parted.

The tour was great. It was also not quite as good as it could have been. We loaded into an awesome Russian Jeep/van, and most days drove for 4-6 hours off-road with Tseegee, our driver and Baaynaa, our guide. I don’t mind the transiting because I just oogle out the window and see more, but it started getting too cold to go exploring in the evenings, and sometimes the main attraction we were to see only took 30 minutes. Everything was beautiful but I would have preferred to see half as many things and hike around to really experience them. I’ll add recommendations at the end.

The other disappointment was the sleeping arrangements. Every night we stayed in gers, which I wanted and expected. But not once did we stay with a nomadic family in Their ger. Mostly the families had three or four, one which they slept in, one which they cooked in, and a couple for the tourists. So in some ways we got a Mongolian experience, but I wish I could have interacted with the families more. The women were sweet and the kids adorable.

So now the photos! I am not going to attempt to describe everything and I’m splitting the last two weeks into two posts: Central Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, which is in the south. Enjoy!

Our group left to right: Mariana, Jed, Val, Me, Nat

Our first night: Ögii Nuur Lake

Playing cards in the ger

A-typical big frontier town.

Making friends with a yak

Yes, this is a view through our windshield, crossing a bridge. I was concerned.

We spent two days at Terkhiin Tsaagan (Great White) Lake

“One Hundred People”

Our hiking destination: Khorgo Volcano

Hiking the lava field

A look back, including snow capped mountains.

I climbed alone down into the cone. A “Strong” place.

Hot springs!

View from inside our ger

One day horseride. My horse was good to ride except he kicked and bit every other horse! They are half wild!

I woke up from a nap to a lot of strange noises; the ger was surrounded!!

From Aysin in Istanbul to Mongolia; my good luck friend.

To be continued!!