Day One: Ulaan Bataar to Kharakorum (365km- 8 hours)
We are thrilled to discover that our vehicle for the next 11 days is a seriously cool Soviet era former army vehicle. The six of us pile in, stash our vodka bottles and settle back for the long drive to Kharakorum, once the capital of the Mongol empire. We stop at our first ovoo after lunch, a kind of shamanistic cairn where travelers add rocks, ribbons and small offerings and circle three times for a safe journey. Judging by the overwhelming number of empty vodka bottles that litter the side of the road, anything which may contribute to the safety of your journey seems like a good idea. We circle.
We arrive at our first ger camp just before sunset. Our driver, Shichiree, is from Kharakorum and invites us to his family ger for a delicious dinner of dumplings, mutton and airag (fermented mare's milk that isn't as disgusting as it sounds but is by no means something I want to try again).
Day Two: Kharakorum to Orkhorn Valley National Park (170km- 5 hours)
In the morning we visit the oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, Erdene Zuu Khiid, which was mostly destroyed by the Communist forces in 1939 as part of a nation-wide purge. It is beyond cold and we feel sorry for the mini-monks with their shorn heads and inadequate-looking robes.
We leave the paved road and bounce like mad over pot holes that could swallow a smaller car. Our van (who I have named Ivan) is already making some rather alarming gear box noises. We arrive to our next ger camp late afternoon- a beautiful spot nestled in a valley beside a freezing cold river partially iced over.
Day Three: Orkhorn Valley National Park
Our horses are saddled for us and we set off for the Orkhorn Waterfall. Baina, our guide, assures us that Mongolian horses are 'so gentle, so calm'. My horse turns out to be feisty, has a crazed look in his eye and likes to snap at other horses. It's a beautiful, sunny, wind-free day. The waterfall is only partially frozen and stunning. We climb down into the ravine and explore, and then return to our horses who are noticeably happier when we head for home.
Everyone else values hygiene and bathes in the river. I decide to ride out the filth and stay warm. I will come to regret this decision in a few days.
Day Four: Orkhorn Valley to.....random nomad family (about 130km, 10 hours)
We're supposed to be driving to Ongiin Khiid ruins but it soon becomes apparent that Ivan's problems are multiplying. Our pace slows to a crawl, punctuated with frequent stops where Shichiree gets out his tools and fiddles around with the engine. It takes hours to get up a gently sloping hill.
We finally make it to the tiny town of Khujirit, stock up on vodka, and continue on, no one very optimistic about making it to the ruins. Finally at 5:30pm we spot a family ger and ask if we can stay with them for the night. Amazingly the family agrees to let 8 strangers eat and sleep with them in their tiny four person ger. We crack open a bottle of vodka to thank them. They are happy.
Day Five: Random nomad family to Ongiin Khiid (about 150km- 10 hours)
We get up very early to make up the time we lost but Ivan is not having any of it and after four hours we've only traveled about 30km. We limp into Shant at 2pm, buy beer and watch as the town's male population speculates about what could be wrong with Ivan (everything).
Two hours later, we're still there. Baina tells us there is good news and bad news. We have to ditch Ivan and Shichiree and change to a rather more disappointing and uncomfortable van....Shichiree looks sad and we feel bad for him. But Shant is a shithole and we are happy to leave. We finally arrive at Ongiin Khiid late in the evening, drink vodka and pass out.
Day Six: Ongiin Khiid to Khongur Dune Camp (330km- 8 hours)
After visiting the Ongiin Khiid monastery ruins we drive four hours to the Flaming Cliffs. The landscape turns slowly from the familiar flat expanse of steppe to sandier, drier desert. The Flaming Cliffs are red-tinted pinnacles carved out by wind erosion and they are a welcome change from hours of unbroken desert landscape.
After lunch, we jolt along for another five hours to the Singing Sand Dunes in the northern Gobi Desert. Arriving in the dark, we can't see past the end of our ger but are assured the dunes are spectacular.
Day Seven: Khongoryn Els Sand Dunes
We wake up. The dunes are indeed spectacular. Today we are going to ride camels. They look angry and we feel trepidation. Our guide chats into his mobile phone as we set out across the desert. Mongolia's mobile network is proving rather impressive.
Our camels have pretty faces and are docile and smelly (though no worse than we are at this stage). We plod back to camp for lunch and then hike up the 300m sand dunes to hear them sing. The views are insanely expansive and beautiful. An evening sundowner with our German ger neighbours turns into a bottle and a half of vodka.
Day Eight: Khongoryn Els to Yolyn Am (190km- 7 hours)
Today's drive takes us through the Gurvan Saikhan Mountains to reach the Yolyn Am gorge. Our driver looks like he is starting to regret taking on the job as he squeezes his van through the narrow gorge. We hike through the Valley of Vultures to see the year round ice field. It is brutally, painfully cold but beautiful. We drive to our ger camp to find that a bus load of Mongolians has invaded our ger and are drinking vodka and singing national songs. We fear another night on the floor but they eventually run out of vodka and leave.
Day Nine: Yolyn Am to Baga Ghazryn Chuluu (? 300-400km and 10 long, long hours)
We depart early for a long mornings drive to white and red tinted cliffs where we stop briefly to scoff fried dumplings. Everyone is sick of the car. In the afternoon we hit the first strip of paved road since the first day and it feels like heaven on our jarred spinal cords. We breeze along at a staggering 60km an hour. At Mandalgov we leave the highway and bounce another 60km to our camp, located at the base of the Baga Ghazryn rocky mountains. We all stink and are fantasizing about showers. Baby wipes are a poor substitute for water and soap.
Day Ten: Baga Ghazryn Chuluu to Terelj National Park (350km- 8 hours)
We hike around the rocky crops in the morning. It reminds me of Australia (only much, much colder and with better mobile phone coverage).
Another long, long drive though mostly along paved roads. We arrive at Terelj National Park in the evening, within spitting distance of Ulaan Bataar and a shower. Everyone is happy. We have Mongolian bbq for dinner which involves a few token vegetables and vast quantities of mutton. Baby wipes don't really cut the mustard against mutton grease.
Day Eleven: Terelj N.P to Ulaan Bataar (50km- 2 hours)
Morning hike around the area. Much daydreaming about a hot shower and a cold beer. After lunch we drive to the Chinggis Khan statue. It looks kind of out of place but the many Mongolian tourists are clearly proud. We drink a vodka in Chinggis' honour and talk about showers. Late in the afternoon we arrive back into Ulaan Bataar, possibly the world's ugliest capital city. Cold beer is procured, showers are had. We eat Korean food and marvel at the absence of mutton.
