08 July 2009

Mongolia - our impressions

Here we are at the end of our stay in Mongolia.

Despite the roughness of the country, its level of comfort rather basic and the warning people had given us we have spent a great moment and we keep great memories. The people have been very nice and welcoming, even in the street where they wanted to chat and practice their English!

First of all the warm welcome we received from Begs family – experts in couchsurfing and who did everything to help us discover the Mongolian culture.

After that, psychological experience with our 20h bus journey (x 2) in an overcrowded Russian van to eventually arrive in Moron, get some fresh air in the nature where we have ridden horses and camped on the side of the Khosgol Lake.

After a 12h break in Ulaanbaatar (where we packed up with croissant and pains au chocolat at the French bakery) here we go on a 7 day tour in the Gobi desert with 3 English guys and an Indian American Welsh man! There we experienced the traditional nomadic culture (take care of the livestock 24/7 and milk all animals like goats, camels or even yaks even during sand storms, salted milk tea rituals and dried goat curd when arriving in a new ger, play with the kids, Mongolian wrestling, goat meat noodles, etc.)

Now here we are, 4 weeks after we started, gone so quickly. We are sad to leave Mongolia but also happy and looking forward to the next step of our trip!

Please see below for more details about Khovgol lake and Gobi desert

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