TRAVEL DIARY: MONGOLIA

At the end of my secondary studies, my family and I went away for a very special destination: Mongolia. Some countries are way too underrated, and I believe Mongolia is one of them. From vast lakes to breathtaking fields, deserts, mountains, there is always something to look at. In this country where there are more animals than humans, no risk to be bothered by noisy tourists. I traveled with my father, my step mother Inès, and my two sisters Elisa and Charlotte for 19 days across the country. We now have common memories that we will always remember. Although there is little chance that you would decide to travel there as well, I wanted to share with you this unique experience, some pictures, and as much information as possible. I Wish you a good lecture!

When we live in a city like Brussels or Amsterdam, it is hard to realize how different some foreign civilizations can be. In Mongolia, the national airport is the size of a European school. There are two internationals flights a day, going only to Russia and China, so we flew from Brussels to Moscow, for around 4 hours. Then, we took a 6 hours flight to Ulaanbaatar, the capital city. For your information, the agency we travelled with for the entire trip is called Nomadic journey. We were completely satisfied with their services! https://www.nomadicjourneys.com/

DAY 1: ULAANBAATAR

The first day, we arrived very early in the morning and we were a bit jet-lagged, so we went to the hotel and rest for a moment. During the entire trip, we went back to Ulaanbaatar three times and stayed at the Shangri-La hotel for the all three times. Later, we were brought to the city center and we stayed there for the whole afternoon. Ulaanbaatar is a very strange city, clearly still marked by the communist period. There are lots of accommodations built the same way, of weird colors, and with big numbers on it. All types of architecture are mixed, for example on one side of the road there would be a huge modern building and on the other side a traditional temple and a field with yurts on it.

View from our hotel showing what Ulaabaatar looks like

Government palace on Sukhbaatar square

View from the hotel of the amusement park and the city buildings

Behind our hotel, there was even a strange abandoned amusement park. Everything looks like constructions are not finished and the air is not very agreeable to breath. We walked around the Sukhbaatar Square (middle picture) and went to the mall, a huge building where you can buy absolutely anything.

In the evening we went to a very nice restaurant called Veranda, then went back to the hotel quite early because the next day was going to be tough.

DAY 2: ARRIVING TO KHÖVSGÖL LAKE

At 4.30 am, we got picked up at the hotel and flew for half an hour to Möron, in the North. (First picture shows how small Möron airport is!). From there we drove 30 minutes, then took a boat on Khövsgöl Lake to arrive in a small camp where we would stay for two nights. The camp was led by a Mongolian family with a cute boy and there were only another group of people, apart from us. We spent the rest of the evening hiking and playing cards, before eating a traditional dinner, very special.

As you can see on the pictures, we were sleeping in yurts. Yurts are tents with two or three beds inside and an open fire in the middle to warm the room. Nights were usually very cold, but the people owning the place would re-turn on the fire very early in the morning so that we would wake up in a warm place.

DAY 3: HIKING AROUND KHÖVSGÖL LAKE

For our third day in Mongolia, we hiked around the different corners of this wildlife refuge and its dramatic coastline. We walked through the forest to Somoo Had, a rock peninsula heading out into the lake.

Back to the camp, the weather was not optimal so we stayed inside the principal yurt reading books, and playing board games just the five of us. It is a think that I particularly appreciated during this journey: because we didn't always have things to do, we would just spend quiet time outside, or playing together and I believe it strengthened the bonds in our family. Also, the calm there, like everywhere else in the Mongolian country side, was priceless.

DAY 4: FROM KHÖVSGÖL LAKE TO KHÖVSGÖL CANYON

After two nights in the Ardavhar Peninsula Ger camp on the Khövsgöl lake, we said goodbye to the Mongolian family (first picture) and crossed the lake to take the car again.

We drove across the Eg River Valley to Bayanzurkh village of Darhad Mongols (bottom left picture), where we met the team that was going to take care of use for the four next four days. We continued along the Beltes tributary to the Khövsgöl Canyons and Delegermörön River.

The next days were going to be particularly memorable. The plan was to raft on the river with three guides during the day while the Nomadic Journey Team was moving the camp itself to our next location. Yurts are quite easy to de-build and re-build, and everything would be ready at the end of our rafting day.

The first evening along the Delegermörön River was magical. We were offered and a dinner prepared by our team of locals with a view on the mountains (right picture).

DAY 5: KHÖVSGÖL CANYON FLOAT

On the fifth day, we were in paradise. The first picture shows our view when going out of the yurt which was quite an original way to wake up. After a good breakfast, we prepared our stuffs and left the camp, floating downstream to the next one. Rafting was really nice, however not as fast as expected since the river is very calm. We had two boats and a guide managing each. I remember very well the one managing the raft of my sisters and I, Soyol. He was 21, incredibly nice and we used to teach him French on the way. Our permanent guide, Man was on a Kayak following us.

We had lunch on the river and by the end of the afternoon, we arrived at the second camp. It was the most beautiful one. The last picture shows us running in the meadow at sunset, a moment I remember particularly! You might wonder how showers and toilets work there. The shower works through a system with a real shower head connected to a bucket filled with hot water, and the toilet is a hole in the ground with a simple seat over it. After dinner, we played cards with our guides then went to sleep.

DAY 6: KHÖVSGÖL CANYON FLOAT

Our last day on the river went really well. What I liked the most about rafting in Mongolia was the silence. When no one was talking, the only possible thing to hear was the water, and sometimes the birds singing. We had lunch on rocks while two locals fed their horses. My sisters tried to swim but the water was very cold and I did kayak with the oldest one, Elisa. Later, we arrived at the camp and shared our last meal with the team and played games all together.

DAY 7: BACK TO ULAANBAATAR

The second part of the journey was going to be in the South of the country, which meant we had to take a plane back to Ulaanbaatar first. I remember my family and I were sad when leaving the River Ger camp team and our two rafting guides. I really think they liked us as well, although they probably see lots of tourists.

It was very early and we drove for three hours back to Möron, then took a flight to the capital city.

Back at the Shangri-La hotel, we just rested, enjoyed the swimming pool, went shopping in the hotel mall and ate in a nice restaurant.

DAY 8: BAYANZAG & FLAMING CLIFFS

On the 8th day, started the second part of our tour: the Gobi Desert. We got transferred to the airport at 4.30 am and took a flight to Dalanzadgad, South Gobi. It is the least populated province in all Mongolia. From there, we drove 90 km west to Bayanzag and visited the fabulous Flaming Cliffs. I have never been to the US but I believe the Flaming Cliffs look a bit like the Grand Canyon. They are the ones where Roy Chapman Andrews expedition unearthed the first ever fossilized dinosaur eggs in the 1920s.

We hiked on and below the cliffs, observing the red soil. It was a bit dangerous so we could not walk everywhere. I remember that a Korean tourist fell from the top of a cliff and although he didn’t die, knowing that there was no hospital around and only 3 helicopters for the whole country, he probably isn’t in his best shape today.

In the evening we joined the Gobi Sun Ger camp, but our car got stuck in the mud so we had to walk the rest of the way (I can reassure you, the camp was not far away).

DAY 9: YOL VALLEY

The next day was a total change of atmosphere. Even though we were in the middle of the desert, we ended up among mountains and greenery. We did a full day excursion into the core of the Gurvansaïkhan Mountains and the Yol Valley, where rare birds could be seen. In general, the Gobi Desert is much more touristic than the North of Mongolia so there were more people in the Valley than on Khövsgöl Lake.

It is however, nothing compared to other countries.

DAY 10: TO HONGOR SANDS

After two nights in the Gobi Sun Ger camp, we drove 120km further west to the famous Hongor Sands, a giant sand dune stretching for 180km away in the desert. We spent the day on the road and arrived in a new camp called Gobi-Erdene Gers & Cabins.

DAY 11: HONGOR SANDS TO BAYANZAG

I think that day was my favorite one.

We first went to a Mongolian family living a kilometer from the dune, that owned camels and horses, and we spend a moment in their Yurt and tried Camel milk biscuits (I really don’t recommend you that). Afterwards every one of us had the chance to ride a camel to the dune, it was our first time on camels and a fantastic experience! When arriving at the bottom of the dune, we realized the way up was not going to be an easy one. I am everything but a sportive person and it took me a while to reach the top, but every effort was worth it a thousand time. A 180° stunning view on a sea of sand was offered to us. We stayed there and enjoyed for a moment, then went down running and laughing in the sand. This morning was unforgettable. We spent the afternoon in the car driving East to reach the camp for our ultimate night in the Gobi Desert.

DAY 12: FROM GOBI to NORTH-EAST

On the twelfth day was starting the last part of our journey. We got transferred to the airport in order to go back to Ulaanbaatar, but this time instead of spending a night there we directly left from the airport and drove North-East to start our Yak trek, in the Khan Khentii strictly protect area. The plan was to walk for three days with our guide, while a new team was preparing food, building our tents and moving everything during the day with the help of Yaks pulling the material on wooden carts. Yaks are some kind of big and hairy cows, totally inoffensive. When arriving at the first camp we went for a walk. In the evening we had dinner then went to sleep in a Tentipi, very different than our usual Yurts.

DAY 13: YAK TREK

The day after, we left in the morning and walked all day. We trekked toward the Khentii wilderness area and totally left any human habitation. There was a horse with us which Charlotte was riding most of the time. Walking kilometers in the mountains revealed itself to be hard and since it was not the beginning of the trip, we were already very tired. The place where our next camp was installed was incredibly pretty. On the second picture is our guide, Man. He was smart and resourceful. We had lots of nice conversations with him.

DAY 14: YAK TREK

On the next day, we did not walk that much because we were very tired. Our night had been cold and complicated because the Tentipi are not very well isolated compared to Yurts, I even got sick but Man gave me a weird tea, more efficient than any medicine I had ever taken. Though, he did say that thing could make me feel a bit high so I'm very curious of what it actually is... We had breakfast in the middle of nowhere with an unbelievable view. Later, we walked to the mountain but were tired so we decided to go back to the camp. My sisters, Inès, and I spent the afternoon building a dike on the river while my father was in the mountain with Man. It was a very nice afternoon, we then took a shower with the same system than in Khövsgöl and played games after dinner. For dinner, the cook had prepared a special desert with fruits and chocolate, which we found very cute although Mongolian people are not deserts specialists. Afterwards we went to bed but the Tentipi's were no longer a solution so the five of us slept in one Yurt that was meant for us to eat, and even if we were still cold, I do keep a very good memory of that moment.

DAY 15: TO JALMAN MEADOWS

Initially, we were supposed to spend one more day trekking and camping with yaks, but since we were all exhausted, we decided to change our plan and leave directly to the last stop of the trip. The team packed everything and we finished the road on the carts pulled by the Yaks. The pictures show us with our Yak Trek team and the way on the yaks. We really enjoyed it! We arrived in Jalman Meadows in the afternoon, it was a cute camp in the middle of the mountains. The Yurt we had there was the most beautiful we had ever seen and we were more than happy to enjoy a more comfortable place after the trek we just had.

DAY 16: JALMAN MEADOWS

Jalman Meadows was a very nice place. In the morning we all went horse riding and believe me, it was very funny to see my parents on horses. We rode wild through the hills for the whole morning, then took the road back to the camp. Almost arrived at the camp, Elisa and I saw yaks and rode after them, it was very funny to do and those beats are actually faster that they seem. Back at the camp, Inès and I got a massage, then we had our last dinner in the nature. Food in Mongolia is usually composed with meat. They serve a lot of soups, Russian salads and steamed ravioli's filled with meat. For breakfast they used to make us eggs, toasts, fruits, and sometimes delicious pancakes. After dinner we went to sleep for our last night in a Yurt.

DAY 17 & 18: TO ULAANBAATAR

After breakfast we took the car and drove three and a half hours to Ulaanbaatar. Since we were supposed to spend one more night in the Yak trek but left earlier, we stayed at the Shangri-La hotel two nights instead of one. For our last day we visited Man in the offices of Nomadic Journey to meet his daughter and offer a book that was meant for Soyol to learn French. We were very sad to say goodbye to Man because he was a truly a good person.

DAY 19: FROM ULAANBAATAR BACK TO EUROPE

The 19th day meant the end of our wonderful trip. We got picked up at 6 am and transferred to the airport to go back to Belgium via Moscow.

What I will remember from this incredible journey are the kindness of Mongolian people, the breathtaking landscapes we had in front of us at any time, and the valuable moment we shared together with my family. Can’t thank enough my parents for that.

Here is our itinerary and some extra pictures of our tour. I hope you enjoyed the lecture!

- xxx