By the way, Where the F is Mongolia?

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  Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Friday, November 3, 2006

So after over two straight days of train/bus traveling here I am in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. My German friend and I were super excited to finally make it here after a long train journey and a lot of anticipation and waiting. Me and Anne's first few weeks together have not been the "honeymoon" that I was first expecting? But anyway it has been nice having her around even though the language barrier is tough and she does not understand most things that I say. This really is not that big of a deal to me because I do not feel that many people in this world truly understand me anyway? I am sitting here in amazement of how far my life has spun from anything that remotely resembles "reality." It is absurd to even think that I planed and dedicated 2 months of my life and traveled completely across a continent (picking up someone else along the way) to a country I knew nothing about other then I once saw a South Park episode about "Mongolian Rebels" that I thought was funny. And now here I am knee deep in Mongolian winter. And then to think I just decided to take it a step further and make a 3 week trip into Russia (Siberia) in the middle of winter. If nothing else Mongolia is a nice change of pace for me after spending a month on the "Animal Farm" or what some might refer to as China. China did not exactly win my heart over. It still has a chance since I will be back in January for another few weeks enroute to Tibet.

Mongolia is a strange land amigos! I do not know where to begin? The people in the city are an interesting mix between Russian and Chinese, but the Nomads who inhibit the country side and sometimes roam around the city are much stranger looking. The best way to describe them would be to think of what you would expect an "Eskimo" to like and you have a Mongolian Nomad! The people here look more Chinese then Russian, but the life here is more Russian then Chinese? Maneuvering around Ulaanbaatar has been much easier for me then anywhere in China because in Mongolia they use the Cyrillic alphabet (Russian) which is a hell of a lot easier to try and figure out then Mandarin alphabet (Chinese.)

Looks like I am making my way to Russia in a few weeks! I sent my visa to the Russian embassy yesterday so it's almost official. Mother Russia needs to get ready because the "Johnny Nomad Experiment" is coming to town! The crazy thing is that Russia was never on ANY of my planed itineraries, but like the rest of my travels I just take it as it comes. I know many of my globe trotting friends find it hard to understand the concept of just changing all your plans and deciding to go to Russia on the spur of the moment, but that is just how the "travel life" goes. Actually little thought or planning has gone into any of this "azz backward life" I live(hints the fact that I am in the middle of a Mongolian winter!) I actually got the idea and made the decision to make the trip to Russia (from not even considering it before hand) over a 10 minute conversation with a guy in the hostel over a warm and buttery piece of toast. The next thing I knew I was walking to the Russian embassy with my passport in hand and $140 in pocket(the cost of the Russian visa.) As of now I am planning on spending about 2-3 weeks in Russia traveling the second half of the Trans Siberian railway. My Russian train journey will take me to a small Russian port town called Vladivostok which is just North of North Korea. From there I hope to catch a ride on a cargo ship heading in the direction of Japan (about 2 days.)But for now Anne and I are heading out for a 9 day trip into the Gobi desert with some friends to live with the Nomads for a bit! I figured I should unite with my distant Nomad cousins for a bit while I am in town. The forecast over the next few days predicts snow. It snows in the desert here! What is that about? But seriously can someone tell me where the hell is Mongolia?



Random Mongolian Facts:
*Mongolia is the country with the world's lowest population density per square mile.
Persons per sq mile = 3.9 (Total population 2.6 million)
*Livestock out number humans 12 to 1.
*Mongolia is the largest landlocked country in the world.
*In Mongolia gerbils are wild animals
*In Mongolia they drive on the same side of the rode as America but for some reason stearing wheels seem to be on both sides of the car (some cars have the wheel on the left side, others on the right?)
Persons per Motor Vehicle in Mongolia = 42


"If you try the best you can, the best you can is good enough."
~Radio head (Optimistic)


All for now............ from the land of drinkers, jokers, and soul searchers? ~Johnny Nomad

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