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A.nna
anna // singaporean. my dream is to some day live in a countryside and have a lot of dogs. reach me on
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Monday, February 2, 2015
Solo Trip to Mongolia After a good 29 hours flight + transit, I finally reached Ulaanbaatar yesterday night. Technically it's in the evening, but the sky was dark, so night it is. When I arrived, my host picked me up at the airport. Fun fact: Mongolia Airport's facilities and surroundings are worst than our train station. It's super dodgy, and smallllll. The next day (which is today), I woke up at 7am *pat on my shoulder* and made myself a cup of my hazelnut latte while my host prepared breakfast for me. After breakfast, I got ready and headed off for my 1 to 1 tour. I paid USD120 for Sunpath Mongolia to bring me around. Because it was a 1 to 1 tour, I actually managed to customise my tour to where I'd like to visit and what I'd like to see. Unfortunately, I didn't get to dog sled because the snow and ice event ended yesterday :( Our first stop was Genghis Khan museum with artefacts from B.C 230 until the 13th century. I'm not a very artsy person, but I was trying to step out of my comfort zone and appreciate the weapons, utensils and clothing left behind after war. It's quite amazing to see each steel still standing strong. Especially the amours.
The only thought that came into my mind was Mongolia is the coldest capital in the world. Probably not from yesterday so how do soldiers protect themselves from the cold with firstly, a steel armour and secondly, a steel armour with HOLES. Nevertheless, it was a great historic lesson. Didn't know Genghis Khan ruled China, Mongolia and Middle East in the 12th century (if I never remember wrongly) but one thing I don't get is why was I asked to acknowledged he is the hero? I quote, they said, "Genghis Khan is not a terrorist, but a hero." Okay, I don't want to fight with you on a land that is ruled by people who respect this great hero. But why mention he's not a terrorist? That sentence is almost as though you're slapping your own face.
Next, we visited a Mongolian family. The sweet lady made me buuz (pronounced as boats). It's basically mutton stew wrapped into dumplings. And I must give credits to the chef, it's superb! I'm impressed they have 10 each, and they're impressed 3 filled me. After the meal, they were teaching me how to speak in Mongolian - hello, how are you, goodbye and thank you.
My guide then brought me to a few other places which I honestly cannot remember the names. Mongolian language is not easy, a lot of tongue twisting and saliva spitting going on.
I am not kidding when I say the eagle and vulture weigh 20 kilogram! It's damn heavy! Apparently they eat meat, but seriously I eat meat too. How can you possibly be almost half my weight!
My guide looks like he is in his 50s, he was jumping on rocks to rocks to get up while I was trying my best to grab every rock using my legs and hands until I slipped. Didn't hurt myself, but I hurt my camera and my new Timberland boots :( it's a cave experience.
And finally, my official pose for #AnnaTakesMongolia. A lot of people asked why I chose Mongolia, well here you go:
**Inner Mongolia falls under top 10 safest. Outer Mongolia (a.k.a Russia Mongolia) is close to Russia border and can be dangerous as you know we've watched Russians' movies, and every other thing about Russia - the weapons, the terrorists. While on the other hand, Inner Mongolia, around Ulaanbaatar is filled with 99% Mongolians. And Mongolians are known to be very nice and hospitable. You cannot say thank you twice, because it's their culture and beliefs to be kind. Oh, how I yearn for a world with that belief.
In summary, I did it! I can check solo-traveling off my bucket list and also cave climbing, holding the vulture, experiencing -30℃ so on and so forth. To be honest, I didn't quite enjoy the solo-traveling part. Probably just the traveling. First night here and I was crying to sleep for missing home so much. There is zero reliance, you've to be alert at all times and you fear getting robbed / kidnapped / raped. Maybe not so much for a guy, but for a 1.56m tall girl, it is an issue.
Still, minus the cold, I have nothing but great memories to bring back home. And Mongolia made it to my list of places I'll revisit. Bayartai, баяртай гэж Mongolia! :D
Labels: annatakesmongolia, blog, explore, globetrotter, mongolia, solo, solo traveling, travel, travel blog, travel tips, traveling, ulaanbaatar |
xx
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