Crawling out of my tent in the early Mongolian morning, I look across a vast steppe covered in a colorful carpet with intricate patterns. There are chives growing, as far as the eye can see and they’re all in flower. Literally millions of mauve and white heads bobbing gently in the morning breeze. A delicious, heady scent of herbs permeates the air as I move around our Land Rover, searching for my red tin mug.
We’re camped on the edge of an enormous open valley. It’s like a giant basin, rimmed with dark towering mountains…..sentinels in the early morning light.
Mongolia, the Land of the Great Blue Sky is indeed living up to her name on this crystal clear day.
“People pay squillions to wake up to a 360 degree view like this” I think, as I take in the beauty which lies before me and languish in my chair, sipping my steaming coffee. It’s an idyllic scene and as I absorb the smells, sights and sounds, I wonder how long it will be till the wind wakes from her nightly slumber and begins to roar.
I think back to two nights ago when we were camped in the Khongoryn Els Sand Dunes. Our nice little dome tent with the “cute little vents and lots of netting for great airflow”…just didn’t cut it! A wind from hell blew in during the night and hammered us for over six hours. I felt as though someone was standing over me with a giant pepper -shaker, spilling it over my face all night. I’m sure the wind speed was over sixty kilometres per hour because most of the time my tent was so bowed in that it was touching my face. I could hear the gusts coming through the dunes, like roaring waves or is it…a screaming banshee? I spent most of the night cowering into my sleeping bag to keep the sand from getting in my eyes, nose and ears.
In the morning I was literally laying in a sandpit. What a night! The sandman really did show up! And speaking of tents, if you’re coming to travel in Mongolia, forget about bringing a tall one. Once you step out of it, in one of those winds, say goodbye to it, as it tumbleweeds itself all the way to the Russian border.
Mongolia really is a magnificent country to travel through and driving overland at our own pace, in our Land Rover, is allowing me to truly immerse myself into some of the most spectacular landscapes I have ever set eyes upon. I love the great expanse of space and being able to interact with the local people in the towns, the markets and the herders, sharing a tiny part of their traditional nomadic lives.
Mongolia with all her beauty has indeed dazzled me but I am acutely aware of becoming complacent. She is a land of temperature extremes and can change dramatically within a few hours. I have heard reports of local folk who are aware of these extremes, having been caught out. Frozen dead bodies of unprepared herders have been found, out on the steppe in these circumstances. These extreme temperatures are far more prevalent in Spring and Autumn.
It’s not often that two days are alike and I’m learning to expect the unexpected. From sweltering in a pair of shorts one day, to twenty- four hours later when I’m pulling on all my winter woollies including my knitted beanie.
Traveling in Mongolia was an eye opener. A real shift from my western lifestyle. I only got a diminutive taste of what this country has to offer and I was here for eight weeks. But what I saw, smelled, heard and tasted tantalized all of my senses. Mongolia is indelibly imprinted in my mind.
Mongolia is not for the faint hearted and if you’re looking for a five star type, cushy, comfortable holiday, then forget it. Mongolia is probably not for you. It’s challenging, both emotionally and physically.
If you decide that you’d like to experience a Mongolian adventure, it is in your best interests and safety to be fully prepared. Take the time to plan your Mongolian holiday