Ulaan Bataar
Well, we made it across the Gobi. and are enjoying a rest day here in UB. Well, not a rest for Adrian as he has been working on the car all day. It's a good thing that he enjoys fettling. It was more than fettling really as there was a problem with the electrics and that, along with the routine items took him 10 hours. Still, other people were much worse off and have some very major difficulties. Some arrived here on lorries to try to gt fixed at a local garage. some people are already organising to have parts flown out t wait for our arrival in Almaty. I, on the other hand h,ave been cashmere shopping and had a massage. I do have some guilt about it. But would have contributed nothing to the car repairs. I am not allowed near a spanner.
The border crossing was tedious as you would expect. The contrast between orderly, clean China and Mongolia was immediate and very great. You would think that the main road between China and the Mongolian capital might have a road, think again. Immediately we lost the tarmac and the fun started. The Gobi is quite a challenge to but it mildly. It has been affected by the heavy rain of a few weeks ago that caused such havoc in Pakistan and. THe small amount of traffic that there is made deep ruts everywhere and these have been baked by the sun and made the going even more difficult than it normally is.We have dealt with soft sand, corrugations, massive holes, when you least expect them, some steep climbs, rocks, a little water and many other hazards. With 105 cars on the rally plus the organisational vehicles you might think that we would be in sight of each other all the time, we are not. It is astonishing how quickly you loose the other cars. OF course, we do pass each other sometimes but,, in the vast openness of the desert it can feel as if you are truly alone in this world. The vistas are so dramatic and magnificent it takes your breath away. It is constantly changing, the light, the colours, the scrub or lack of, everything changes continually. Towards Ulaan Baatar the desert gives way to Steppe, it is jaw droppingly gorgeous. Photographs do not do it justice; you need 360 degree vision to take it all in.
THe Gobi itself has very few inhabitants, just a few nomadic people living in Gers. We saw horses, camels, goats and sheep sometimes but mostly it is just us and nature. Once at the steppe habitation increases and the ger settlements increase. Our first night camping went well, we arrived in the dark, not ideal as it made the setting up of our tent more difficult. Nomad, our agents in Mongolia had done a magnificent job of arranging to feed us all with excellent food.
On our second day in the desert we had a puncture. no sooner had Adrian started to get the wheel off than a Mongolian man arrived from nowhere grabbed the tools, fixed it in about 6 minutes and then disappeared again; remarkable. We have heard many tales like this from other competitors.
UB is a scruffy place but there are some signs of change like a few cranes on the horizon. It is the coldest capital in the world and gets down to about -30C in winter. It is reasonably warm now but cools rapidly at night. We head off today ( it is5.30am) to the very remote western region where we camp for five days. The conditions are even worse apparently. We go up mountains and across rivers all, as before, without any roads. We have an enormous distance to cover and are in for some very long days. The weather is supposed to get much colder too. It is forecast to get down to -4 at night and we will get some snow on our our last two days here before we cross into southern Siberia. It is going to be very tough. Tonight, we are in a ger camp but for the rest of the time we use our own tents.
I have no idea when I will have internet access again. I want to thank George for helping me with my posts from China, it is good to be out of range of Chinese censorship.
Wish us luck for the next six days we are really, really going to need it.
The border crossing was tedious as you would expect. The contrast between orderly, clean China and Mongolia was immediate and very great. You would think that the main road between China and the Mongolian capital might have a road, think again. Immediately we lost the tarmac and the fun started. The Gobi is quite a challenge to but it mildly. It has been affected by the heavy rain of a few weeks ago that caused such havoc in Pakistan and. THe small amount of traffic that there is made deep ruts everywhere and these have been baked by the sun and made the going even more difficult than it normally is.We have dealt with soft sand, corrugations, massive holes, when you least expect them, some steep climbs, rocks, a little water and many other hazards. With 105 cars on the rally plus the organisational vehicles you might think that we would be in sight of each other all the time, we are not. It is astonishing how quickly you loose the other cars. OF course, we do pass each other sometimes but,, in the vast openness of the desert it can feel as if you are truly alone in this world. The vistas are so dramatic and magnificent it takes your breath away. It is constantly changing, the light, the colours, the scrub or lack of, everything changes continually. Towards Ulaan Baatar the desert gives way to Steppe, it is jaw droppingly gorgeous. Photographs do not do it justice; you need 360 degree vision to take it all in.
THe Gobi itself has very few inhabitants, just a few nomadic people living in Gers. We saw horses, camels, goats and sheep sometimes but mostly it is just us and nature. Once at the steppe habitation increases and the ger settlements increase. Our first night camping went well, we arrived in the dark, not ideal as it made the setting up of our tent more difficult. Nomad, our agents in Mongolia had done a magnificent job of arranging to feed us all with excellent food.
On our second day in the desert we had a puncture. no sooner had Adrian started to get the wheel off than a Mongolian man arrived from nowhere grabbed the tools, fixed it in about 6 minutes and then disappeared again; remarkable. We have heard many tales like this from other competitors.
UB is a scruffy place but there are some signs of change like a few cranes on the horizon. It is the coldest capital in the world and gets down to about -30C in winter. It is reasonably warm now but cools rapidly at night. We head off today ( it is5.30am) to the very remote western region where we camp for five days. The conditions are even worse apparently. We go up mountains and across rivers all, as before, without any roads. We have an enormous distance to cover and are in for some very long days. The weather is supposed to get much colder too. It is forecast to get down to -4 at night and we will get some snow on our our last two days here before we cross into southern Siberia. It is going to be very tough. Tonight, we are in a ger camp but for the rest of the time we use our own tents.
I have no idea when I will have internet access again. I want to thank George for helping me with my posts from China, it is good to be out of range of Chinese censorship.
Wish us luck for the next six days we are really, really going to need it.
Good luck Barbara to you and Adrian, from Mark & Sharon
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing the vastness and loneliness of Mongolia to life Barbara. Best wishes for the journey on to Siberia. Does the route coincide with that of the Trans Mongolian Railway - we have very fond memories of traversing the Gobi on it 22 years ago! - or have you managed to steer Adrian totally clear of any "iron roads"?! Martin and Marianne
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