Steppin’ Through the Steppes: a Mongolia Travelogue
Day 4: Bag Gazariin Chuluu to Yolyn Am
I woke up early to a beautiful sunrise on the Gobi.
We might be in the middle of nowhere with no internet and no phones, but we woke up to caviar for breakfast! Fahhhn-cy.
Today was a loooong road trip day, leaving the middle Gobi and heading south to Yolyn Am in the Southern Gobi province. It also felt very hot although the temperature only reached 78°F (26°C). I don’t know what it is about Mongolia, but the heat feels hotter and the cold feels, well, colder!
After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and headed off on our all-day road trip. The distances in Mongolia are huge, and travel time is compounded by the fact that people travel off road.
After about an hour of driving, we stopped in a rocky area with two hills on either side for a “nature’s toilet” stop. In Mongolia when people stop to use the “natural facilities,” men go on one side of a vehicle, and women on the other. Ganaa directed the women to a rock-and-ditch-covered area to the left of the van, which provided a few spots to squat down out of sight.
While I was walking to find a toilet stop, I was distracted by all the beautifully colored rocks and crystals that littered the ground. The best ones were the color of lavender, and I wondered if they were actually amethysts. (Pretty sure they weren’t …) This would likely be the most gem-studded “toilet” I’ll ever use, even though it wasn’t an actual toilet. I always thought nature put on a better show than reality, anyway.
Heading back to the van, I noticed Ian, a retired elementary school teacher, standing on top of quite a steep hill to the right of where the vans were parked, arms outstretched and his jacket flapping in the wind. It couldn’t have been more than 5 minutes since we stopped, and he had already made it to the top in that short time. He was really enjoying himself, and Ganaa had to call out loudly to call him back to the vans. Go Ian!
On the way to lunch, I saw one of the funniest displays of animal behavior ever: a sheep casually lying in the middle of the highway.
We traveled another few hours, reaching a dusty desert town for lunch. I ate … yeah … mutton. I went into a little store next door to the restaurant, hoping to find a cold coffee. I reached inside the … what I thought was a cooler … and grabbed a can - then almost dropped it. It was HOT! Turned out the “cooler” was actually a heater, and all the coffee inside was hot. Surprise!
Continuing our journey, we stopped periodically to see the landscape and the animals roaming freely over the steppes. As I was wondering to myself how nomads kept up with their herds, we ended up stopping to talk with a herder. He wanted to know if we had seen a few of his camels, which had become separated from the rest of the herd.
During this part of the trip, the landscape suddenly changed from green hills and rocks to sandy ground and a hazy, cloudy sky. The air became drier, and the heat was more palpable. We were definitely getting into to the real desert.
Ganaa recommended stopping by a grocery store to grab water and snacks before heading to the ger camp. We stopped at what I’d describe as a “Mongolian Costco.” Glenny Boy and I wanted to get another small bottle of vodka, but …
There are no alcohol sales in the Southern Gobi on Wednesdays. We never did find out why. Why Wednesday?? To give people a mid-week break before they head to stores for a weekend re-up? Yet another mystery.
I got a big container of orange juice as a consolation prize, with the intent of making screwdrivers for the group after dinner.
We drove another 45 minutes before arriving at Khanbogd ger camp. This camp is located in a small valley in the Altai mountain range, with hills surrounding the camp on four sides. At the top of each hill was a statue of an animal of local significance: a Gobi bear, an ibex, a sheep, and a gazelle. We climbed up one of the hills and took some pictures of the valley:
With the little bit of free time we had after our short hike, Glenny Boy and I took up artist-in-residence positions on the covered porch next to the dining area. Glenn is a watercolorist, and I was attempting to catch up on the previous day’s journal entry and sketches. We didn’t get that far before dinner was served. I won’t even bother to tell you what it was, because I’m sure you already know (🐑).
Most of the group stayed together after dinner, chatting and enjoying each other’s company. I did end up opening the bottle of Chinggis Gold vodka I bought before we left UB, and Joel pulled the OJ out of the fridge (unfortunately, it hadn’t been in there long enough for it to cool down). Laziz’s vodka recommendation was spot on! Everyone enjoyed some quite tasty screwdrivers, despite the OJ being more or less room temperature and ice was nowhere to be found. I’m not even crazy about vodka and I had to admit, Chinggis Gold makes a nice cocktail. Well played, Great Khan!
Tired from the long drive and the heat, we all retired to our gers following our nightcaps. I managed to avoid hitting my head on the doorway of the ger this time. Big win.
Tomorrow we rise, and adventure all over again.