UlaanBataar Mongolia and the Gobi Desert Part 1

It has been about two weeks since we have returned from our trip to Mongolia, and I would still move there in one second.  It's true that Ulaanbaatar may be the coldest capital in the world, and there are three coal burning power plants within the city limits to generate enough heat to keep everyone warm, but MAN... that place is just amazing.   In this picture we are beginning our journey to Mongolia and the Gobi Desert.  The flight time from Seoul to Ulaanbataar is about 3 1/2 hours.  If you notice this plane was straight out of  the 70's with the fabric seating, ashtrays and no video features.  Here we go! 

The views were amazing as we crossed over China into Mongolia.  It drastically changed from city buildings to barren lands with no trees or signs of life.  But who really needs any of that?  Not me!  

This is the airport in Ulaanbaatar, the Chenggis Khaan.  It was named for Chenggis Khaan, the ruler of Mongolia in the 1200s.  He spread the mongol empire from Europe, through modern day China, and all the way to the east of Korea.  

Our hotel was also named after him. 

This is our itinerary.  If  you notice, many of the days start with Drive To...   well, you will enjoy what is in store for us!  Also, the itinerary fails to mention that sometimes there are four or five hour changes in flight times.. so, we were ready for our 5:00 pick up, only to have the hotel front desk lady find out from her cousins best friends boyfriend that our flight had been delayed by 5 hours.  Back to bed.  

So this may not look so weird, R-Man is eating ice cream... but the weird thing is that this is how it is sold.  No wrapper save for that flimsy circle at the top, laying desperate in a cooler, for 40 cents.  How could we say no... the kid had been up since 5AM.

OK, finally on our first leg, on Hunnu (pronounced Who Knew??) air.  Five hour delay, but we are off to the Gobi.  

We have landed.  We aren't entirely sure where... but we MADE it!Hunnu?!?

This is the airport.  It is really cute, and has a bathroom!

We get in the car with our guide and driver, and start on the road to Sayarizag, also known as the Flaming Cliffs.  We go for about 4 minutes on this road, and I think Gary is about to kill me.  It is dirt, full of potholes, and you can't see more than 20 feet ahead through the grass.  Luckily, we come upon a highway, and it is smooth, and fresh, and easy to ride on... for 2 miles.  

Then we jump off and get back to business.  We have now been on the road for over 45 minutes it is amazing how there is nothing around.  You will see cattle, goats or horses and not see any other humans anywhere.  We keep driving and it doesn't seem that we are getting close to anything because their isn't anything in front of us, except a patch of animals from time to time.   

Until...  WOW!  What can you even say about this but amazing!  The flaming cliffs in the Gobi were where famous fossils and dinosaur eggs were found.  So for our first night we will stay in a ger, a traditional Mongolian nomadic dwelling made out of a pen... see pictures of me at 2 years old.. and some sheep felt covering.  

Here is Pooks inside the pen.... ger... on her bed, with a bean filled pillow, and the sky open above her. 

Yes, so this can stay open when the weather is warmer, and is closed when the weather is cooler.   Unfortunately for us, if you live in Mongolia, you have a skewed perspective of "colder".  My "colder" is like 74 degrees F,   while for a Mongolian, "colder" is 31  degrees.  

Here are Gary and Pooks, for perspective.  When you go in and out of the ger, you get what we called "ger back"  and it takes lots of stretching to stand up straight.  These dwellings were definitely designed for short people.  

This is the roof of the dining ger. 

Can you see this scorpion like bug?  There are about 2 billion in the Gobi, and they all look like they want to kill you.  I guess they won't, but we aren't taking any chances.  

So after lunch and our "rest", the guide lady asks if we want to go on a walk to see a garden.  "Sure," we reply, "Where is it?"  oh... just about 5 minutes.  Hmm, that is funny, because we have been driving for HOURS and not seen any gardens... or anything... but, sure.  We think we see it... 

So we set off for a 5 minute walk in the Gobi desert, with no water or hats... with a lady who really is a complete stranger and we walk. 

and walk. 

and find bones of stuff.  And see millions of those scorpion bugs that want to kill us but don't. 

and really we walk for about 2 hours.

Until finally we get to stop at a garden.  And we get tomatoes.  

An interesting thing about this farm is that it is sponsored by a partnership with South Korea.  Each year, South Korea gets horrible air quality because of yellow dust.  There are yellow dust calculators available in all the SK newspapers http://m.blog.naver.com/hoigeong/220696824696.  Want to guess where the yellow dust originates?  Yup, the Gobi desert.  So, Korea and these guys in Mongolia decided to try to stop the desertification of this area by planting trees and reintroducing some wildlife.  

This is the plot of land. 

and this is what it looks like.  One hundred thousand seedlings that will be transplanted into the Gobi desert.
It was a most amazing thing to see.  One of many.  

The kids, with our guide on the left, and Johnny Appleseed on the right.  This guy has a vision.  Which he offered to take us to see.  Well, who could say no, right? Not this girl.  So we went.  

And all of this was part of his vision.  But then it was time to get back to our tour of the flaming cliffs. 

It is kind of funny and strange, but this much space does something to a person.  I am not sure what, or how, but we were all changed a little bit by the huge space around us. 

or it could have been the beer.  But really, all kidding aside, it is truly amazing to be able to see a full 360 degrees to the horizon without another person, car, building, telephone pole, or anything else blocking your view.  

The path to our ger. This is the end of the first day, and needless to say we FROZE during the first night... remember that thing about "colder"???? Well, it was about 29 that night, and all the heat was going right out the roof, BUT, the sky, and the sunset, and the stars, and Scorpio, ALL of it was AMAZING.  And so despite the thing about "colder", I would go back there in one second.  Luckily, there is more to come tomorrow!