To the land of Chingis Khan

Trip Start Mar 18, 2003
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Trip End Apr 08, 2007


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Flag of Mongolia  ,
Thursday, August 4, 2005

Obon Vacation is here and once again Mayu and I are off on another trip. While it took a bit of convincing on Mayu's part, we decided that this summer we were going to try something different. Forget the standard beach holiday, the predictable jaunt to Southeast Asia, the routine visit home, or the damn-the-torpedoes determination to tour Europe in high season. This year we're roughing it in an adventure around the Asian country with the widest horizons: Mongolia.

Our flight itinerary out of Nagoya is through Korean Air, with a layover in Seoul before an evening arrival in Ulaanbaatar. While the tickets weren't exactly cheap, they're better than can be expected in the sky-is-the-limit high season period of Obon. Since we have our days off conveniently aligned to allow us an early departure, we've got a full fourteen days off this year, with twelve full ones available in Mongolia itself. While another week would be great and give us even more flexibility, that's sufficient time to get a good taster of life on the high steppe.

I shopped around various tour options before deciding on a private itinerary through the guesthouse we're staying at in Ulaanbaatar (Khongor). So this is the rough plan we have:

Day 1 - Baga Gazrin Chuluu
Day 2 - Bayanzag
Day 3 - Yolyn Am
Day 4 - Khongoryn Els
Day 5 - Ongiin Khiid
Day 6 - Kharkhorin
Day 7 & 8 - Terkhin Tsagaan Nuur
Day 9 - Return to Kharkhorin
Day 10 - Mongol Els and stay with nomadic family
Day 11 - Khustai Park & Ulaanbaatar

The first five days are all in the Gobi and the remaining ones across parts of central Mongolia. The remaining day will be spent in Ulaanbaatar proper, either at the beginning or end of the trip (not 100% sure yet) Our initial plan to hit Khövsgöl Nuur was a little too ambitious, so I guess we'll have to save that for another trip. Even still, I'm excited to get started. From tomorrow it begins.
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