Mendchilgee (greetings) from Mongolia!
Heartfelt thanks for joining in my travels over the past week!
My apologies for this delayed posting - our last two ger camps decided wifi access was unnecessary along with poor data access through the Mobicom network prevented its completion/publication. Doing catch up this week (week of July 12/26).
Welcome to Mongolia. Population of 3.6 million people with 50% of those citizens living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city. Ulaanbaatar lays claim to be the world's coldest capital city, something I can add to my growing list of one of a kind claims. Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world with about 6.6 people/square mile.
What was your previous week like? How did you challenge your comfort zone? What random act of kindness did you bless a stranger with? Remember the golden rule - the more good you put into the world, the more good you receive in return!
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| My Mongolian Tour Route |
Heads up on my Mongolian travel comments and insights. I reconfirmed, through my Mongolian experience, I have radically different travel expectations than many fellow travelers. I caution you to take what I share about my travels with a good deal of discretion as what you expect from travel, especially being on a tour, is likely much different than me. What gives others great comfort from traveling on a tour is equally unsettling for me. I like interacting with the locals, wandering about, being independent, being awed by natural beauty. I dislike visiting museums, monasteries and most man made creations. I'm left with a limited number of things to do if you remove the monasteries, museums and meaningless ascents on insignificant extinct volcanoes from my tour. I made an informed choice to join this tour knowing the challenges I was taking on. I now think the 'price' I paid for seeing Mongolia far outweighs the bragging rights for visiting the Gobi Desert and witnessing the expansive Ongi Steppes.
This has been a personally challenging week! I give myself failing grades at embracing my decision to join this extended Mongolian tour. Unfortunately, I'm battling with every shortcoming, knowing well in advance that being on a group tour was less than ideal given my needs and expectations. The tourist ger camps promise to be the bane of my existence on this trip. Our first camp had restricted hours for taking hot showers (6 - 10 pm), wifi only in the restaurant area, and the gift of sleeping on a single bed in a shared ger. I've learned our meals are likely to be predominantly western style food as the camps cater to their visitors' culinary desires. I'm such a poor follower. In the broader context, it's readily apparent our tour company has zero standards as to the tourist camps they book for this tour. Our second camp had wifi throughout the site, hot showers 24 hours/day and extraordinarily delicious food. The second camp established the fact that it's possible to have widely available wifi, round the clock hot showers, clean and modern facilities. If these amenities are missing, it's the owners who have made the choice to run a more basic facility.
My great blessing is traveling with a good group of people who tolerated my errant behavior. I also had the gift of an amazing roommate. Man, a 63 year old retired architect/seasoned traveler from Kuala Lumpur was a godsend. Kind, considerate and non-snorer made for a great trip in this regard.
May the universe bring endless blessings and moments of magic 🦄 to you and your loved ones in the week ahead. 🙏
Travel Administration
Great new discovery for doing laundry while traveling courtesy of Dan and Josh from my tour group. Both of them were using a wash bag to do their laundry. It's a simple as putting your dirty laundry in a waterproof bag along with water and laundry powder/sheets, agitate, rinse and wring dry. I'll be looking for a wash bag in Ulaanbaatar when I return on July 14th. Here's the link to more info courtesy of
Scrubba Wash Bag, a market leader for this product.
Travel Update
It's most likely I'll finish my Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan travel planning when I'm back in Ulaanbaatar on July 14. Our tour travel/activity schedule, combined with the variable wifi access, has limited my ability to work on my itinerary. Well, that's my excuse anyway! The resumption of US bombing of Iran is on my radar regarding my proposed travel to UAE and Qatar.
Travel Maps
My 4.5 hour flight from Narita, Japan arrived at Chenggis Khaan International Airport around 9 pm on Sunday, June 28, 2026. I was on the 9:40 pm painfully slow (50 km/hr) public airport bus to my hotel. The bus ride took about 90 minutes to travel 45 km in light traffic! My tour kicked off on Monday morning with a city tour, then we hit the road to visit
Tsagaan Suvarga (White Stupa), hike Eagle Valley in
Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park, climb
Khongor Sand Dunes, explore
Flaming Cliffs and enter the breathtaking Ongi Steppes.
Japan:
June 2 to June 28, 2026Intercountry Travel: Narita, Japan to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia - June 28
Mongolia: June 28 to July 18, 2026
Mongolia
Blessed to report that United Airlines got me safely (and smoothly) to Ulaanbaatar from Narita. UA was the only airline I found that flew directly from Narita with the added bonuses of a reasonable fare and an allowance for two pieces of luggage (23 kg/50 lb).
Mongolian Immigration was easy and smooth - no need for entry fees or completing a pre-arrival documentation (at least for Canadians). I was lucky enough to get local currency from an airport ATM (500 MNT fee/20 cents CAD) prior to catching the public airport bus (15,000 MNT/$6 CAD) to Sükhbaatar Square which meant I only had a 15 minute walk to my hotel. The universe was looking out for me as the bus I boarded happened to be running about five minutes late. The bus ride was painfully long (90 minutes) at 9:30 pm as the bus' maximum speed was 50 km. A small price to pay given the alternative of paying $30 USD for a faster ride.
Aerial View
The photos below are taken approaching Chinggis Khaan International Airport from the west.
Day 1 - Ulaanbaatar and Area
Our tour kicked off with a Ulaanbaatar (UB) city tour at 8:30 am on Monday, June 29. It was my first chance to meet the twelve people I was joining on this 15 day adventure. We boarded two comfortable Toyota Hiace vans that we would be traveling in for the duration of our travels.
Our first stop was the same place where the public bus dropped me off the previous evening.
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| Yellow Palace |
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Mongolian revolutionary hero
Damdin Sükhbaatar |
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50 year high school reunion
celebration |
Onto a monastery for our next visit. Great time to mention the traffic in UB is horrendous. The city, which has 1.8 million residents, was originally designed for 600,000 people. Imagine the traffic delays and jams!
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| Incense burner |
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| Temple and prayer wheels |
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| Stupa |
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| Gandan Monastery |
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Statue of Avalokiteśvara -
inside Gandan Monastery |
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| Statue of Avalokiteśvara |
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Striking resemblance to Ronald
McDonald from a distance |
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| Gandan Monastery in background |
This memorial honors allied Mongolian and Soviet soldiers killed in World War II. The elevation provides a vantage point to see the sprawling city of UB.
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| Stairs upwards to memorial |
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| Looking downward |
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| Memorial up close |
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| Memorial up close |
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| Lenin - a vanishing image |
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| UB at a distance |
After what seemed like a very long drive, we arrived at the Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue - the world's tallest equestrian statue.
'The Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue, part of the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, is a 40-metre (130 ft) tall, stainless steel statue of Genghis Khan on horseback and the world's tallest equestrian statue. It is located about a mile from the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog, 54 km (33.55 mi) east of the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar, where, according to legend, he found a golden whip.'
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| View from horse's head |
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| Golden Whip |
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| Fellow travellers |
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| Chinggis Khaan descendants |
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| Giant Traditional Boot |
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| ?? |
Day 2
Our tour's first leg involved driving 420 km (about 8 hours), with the last 30 km traveling across a barely distinguishable dirt road to reach our destination. This would be my first tourist ger camp experience. Hot showers were from 6 - 10 pm only, electricity was available just before dark and wifi was only available in the restaurant. There were shower and toilet blocks for the camp; welcome to the Mongolian tourist experience.
'The geologic formation is 400 meters wide and 60 meters tall. Iron and calcium deposits in the soil create these lovely colors that make the place so photogenic and beautiful.'
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Cliffs from the distance
memories of Drumheller, AB |
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| Stupa for photos |
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| VIew from cliff top |
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| Panorama from cliff top |
Tourist Ger Camp - An Introduction
This is a great place to introduce you to the tourist ger camp where we spent each night of our travels outside of Ulaanbaatar (total of 13 nights) and had our meals. The gers are modeled on what the nomadic people used as their homes in Mongolia.
If you like camping, inconsistent level of service and communal shower/toilet blocks, you are more likely to appreciate this tourist ger camp lifestyle than I did. Best advice - if you set your expectations as low as possible you'll be consistently delighted.
The gers, where you sleep, typically have single beds, a power outlet, a single light, a table and two stools and a small padlock to secure the ger. A single bath towel is provided, you may also get a face towel. The ger may have a wood stove or an electric heater - depending on where you are in the country. We did stay in a small A-frame for one night.
The toilet block has western style flush toilets with toilet paper, sinks and hand soap dispenser. Some camps have hot and cold water for the sinks. Please put the used toilet paper in the trash bin within the cubicle; the waste system is unable to handle the paper. This is true throughout Mongolia including the cities. Oh yeah, the block may be close or you may be walking a fair distance.
The shower block has shower stalls that may/may not have extra space for privacy when you are changing. Hot water availability for showers depends on the camp; ranging from 6 - 10 pm in the evening as a minimum to 24 hour hot water access. Bring your own toiletries as it is unpredictable if the camp will provide shampoo and body soap dispensers in the showers. Most camps provide footwear to use in the shower. Facilities and cleanliness varies by camp. Be prepared to walk a fair distance to reach the block.
All camps have a building to serve meals. The amount and quality of food varies by camp. The camps typically serve 'western' style meals to cater to their guests' preferences. You may get some Mongolian dishes included such as noodle soup for breakfast. Your meal may be from a buffet, set plate or sharing from a plate on the table intended for four people. Dessert may range from delicious pudding to a simple piece of wrapped chocolate (maybe nothing at all). Instant coffee is a given, tea bags are available and periodically you can get a good cup of coffee if you are willing to pay for it.
Wifi access ranges from full access throughout the camp to the complete absence of wifi. The camps which provide full wifi access are taking advantage of Starlink. My underlying assumption is wifi is readily available, irrespective of location, if the owner is willing to spend the money for the service.
The best phone/data network access for our group was provided by Unitel, especially in remote location. We were advised to use Mobicom which, unfortunately, provided dismal access as compared to Unitel. Just saying... (and I may have more to say in the following week 😉).
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| Gers |
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| Deluxe gers with ensuite bathrooms |
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| Toilet/Shower Block |
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| Restaurant |
Day 3
The next day we traveled to our next tourist ger camp, a welcome change from our first camp, for the night.
We hiked through a gorgeous valley that progressively narrowed. The narrow section, which is sheltered from the sun, is famous for having ice formations until the end of June. We missed out seeing the ice by about a week. The valley is known for the soaring eagles that catch the updraft over the valley.
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| Entering valley |
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| Looking right |
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| Rugged beauty |
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If you look ever so closely you'll see an Ibex in
the photo's lower middle section. |
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| Narrowing gorge |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
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| Eagles above |
Day 4
'The Khongoryn Els, which are located in the extreme south of the Gobi Desert, stretch about 180 km (~112 mi) with a width of about 6–12 kms (3.7–7.5 mi). These dunes are know as the "Singing Sands." A French team has explained this phenomenon as due to a thin surface coating of slate over the sand grains which causes the sand to make a resonant sound.'
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| Welcome to Sand Dune country |
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| Dunes in the distance |
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| Sand dunes |
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| Rising up to 300 m (980 ft) |
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| Our group ascending the 300 m sand dunes |
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| Camel riding experience to reach the dunes |
Day 5
We experienced a sandstorm after arriving at our tourist ger camp. It's breathtaking to watch the sandstorm forming in the distance and filling the horizon as it quickly approaches. Thank goodness we were safely in camp when the storm engulfed us around 4 pm.
Flaming Cliffs is where 'dinosaur eggs were first discovered — where Roy Chapman Andrews from the American Museum of Natural History, NYC, and his team in 1923 discovered a brand new Cretaceous world in Mongolia and changed paleontology forever. That story is extraordinary as the expedition was supported by camel caravan and the first ever motorized vehicles were used in the Central Asian plateau.'
Unfortunately, the location is devoid of any digging activity which diminishes the destination's appeal. The fact I've repeatedly visited the badlands around Drumheller, Alberta where my mom grew up also diminished this destination's appeal. I spent many summers exploring the
badlands around Drumheller, finding fossils and petrified wood, which we kept (in those days before restrictions about removing these artifacts were introduced!)
We did witness an amazing sunset (see below) thanks to our delayed visit due to the sandstorm.
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| Landscape view from ger camp |
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| Ankle bones game - congrats Murray for the win! |
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| Sandstorm gaining strength |
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| Sandstorm nearing |
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| Sandstorm - almost upon us. |
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| Tea Caravan camel statues at a distance |
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| Honoring tea caravans that traversed this area |
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| My camel ride |
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| Looking west over 'badlands' |
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| 'Badlands' |
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| Hoodoo |
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| Lots of sand in all directions! |
Day 6
'The saxaul tree is now among the rarest plants in Mongolia's desert and is protected at the national level. A single saxaul can take hundreds of years to reach full size, meaning each tree standing in the forest today has witnessed centuries of this landscape's history.'
Van Breakdowns
One of our vans broke down on two consecutive days early in our journey. The first issue was two broken leaf springs which the drivers were able to replace themselves using the spare set of leaf springs they carried for this type of emergency. On the following day, the same van experienced a shredded tire which was much easier to replace.
Now imagine these two accidents happening in the middle of nowhere with no/limited cell/data availability along with a total absence of any vehicular traffic on the dirt road. In the first breakdown, the universe blessed us with enough data to pick up a WhatsApp message from Shawn who was traveling in the trouble stricken van. We quickly retraced our tracks to assist in the van repairs. We had a similar situation for the tire repair.
Ongi Steppes
The Gobi Desert transitions into the Ongi Steppes. We crested a hill to welcome the dramatic landscape you witness in the photos below. We drove through these breathtakingly beautiful valleys on bumpy dirt roads for a few days!
Sunsets
What a blessing to experience dramatic sunsets in different areas of southern Mongolia.
June 28
Sunset prior to landing at Chenggis Khaan International Airport.
June 30 - Tsagaan Suvarga
July 1 - Gobi Gurban Saikhan Mountain National Park
July 3 - Flaming Cliffs
Friends
The past week of traveling, which involved moving to a new tourist ger camp daily, prevented making new friends with Mongolian citizens. I did have loads of time to focus on getting to know meeting my fellow tour travelers. I'm traveling with twelve other people; two UK nationals (Dan & Ellie), two Americans (Greg and Kari), family of three Australians (Murray, Maree and son Josh), an Austrian (Tobias), a Netherlands national (Kirmina), a Malay national (Mann), two Spaniards (Shawn & David) and our Mongolian tour guide (Dalai) plus two our Mongolian drivers (Tseegii & Damdinpurev).
Hopefully I'll have a chance to meet Mongolian locals in the upcoming week! 🤞
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My fellow travellers
at Eagle Valley |
Next Week
We continue traveling north with the following destinations and/or activities on our itinerary: Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan National Park, see deer stones, tour of different provincial center towns, Khuvsgul Lake (world's largest freshwater lake), attend local Naadam Festival in Khatgal, visit reindeer family and nomadic families.
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