Mongolian Roadtrip – Get in the van!

Leaving Ulaanbaatar for the Steppe

Our excursion began at the perfect time, Jackie was just getting over the flu and we found another chap, Matt, who wanted to go in the same direction as us which saved us a little cash and gave us someone to socialize with on the long road days we were naively unaware of before setting out into the steppes.

We met our guide Omra, an English student who surprisingly didn’t speak much English and our driver who will only be known as the Wizard or Popeye and will forever be etched in my mind as the toughest and most quintessentially Mongolian man I have ever met. Let me explain further for your enjoyment…

The Wizard

The Wizard is easily one of the most skilled drivers in the region, his weapon of choice was a 1969 Russian Van that is as indestructible as a Russian T34 tank, I think it may be the “evolution” of such a machine. Wizard is fifty years old, has four kids, has seen an eagle attack and kill a wolf and lives in the far west region of Mongolia. He brought two pairs of pants which he wore at the same time and two shirts which he also wore for the entire time, fucking incredible. His personal possessions consisted of an old Russian rug that he wrapped his blankets in and two traditional Mongolian trench coats. When thirsty he would drink three to four cups of salty Mongolian milk tea or the sweet western taste of Pepsi cola. He had a steely look to his eyes and faded, self inflicted prison looking tattoos on his arms from his stint in the army as a youngster and he could easily kick your ass seven ways to Sunday. Popeye never spoke any English but could speak fluent Russian and understood hand motions and actions very well. Simply put the man was a champ and I can’t help but write about his insatiable charm, his wife never stood a chance.

Wizards Workhorse...the man himself will debut in episode 13

Amarbayasgalant Monastary

We headed out early in the morning with our sights set on Amarbayasgalant Monastery which is the architectural highlight of Mongolia. We cruised in the Russian Van for eight hours, five on the road and three on roads that the Wizard paved himself. After being thrown around the cabin of the van for three hours we finally arrived at our destination in time to watch the sunset and to wonder what we got ourselves into. We crashed in a ger for our first time and hit the hay early because we had a long day of driving ahead of us.

Morning came quick and Jackie and I got up early to climb to the stupa and take in the awesome views of the sun slowly rising over the Mongolian steppe. As the sun hit the meandering rivers we looked at each other knowing that we had signed up for what might be one of the most amazing thirteen days of our lives. The scene was perfect and looked like a scene out of a Hollywood blockbuster and we were seeing it with our own eyes.

Amarbayasgalant Monastary - Not a Single Nail was used in construction

We ripped from the stupa to the monastery which was built in the 13th century without the aid of a single nail and is still used for practicing buddhists and is home to a group of Mongolian Buddhist monks. The place is far from perfect which is a refreshing change from some of the fully restored temples we had seen over the last six months and it oozed with charm. The prayer wheels were oxidized and dented and set in crooked wooden frames, the peaks of the temple had cracked and faded paint details that were once perfect, the temple guardian statues stood on the backs of humans with such bravado that any evil energy attempting to break in would be scared shitless and the Buddhist students that wandered the grounds were serious and dedicated to the cause… when their master was not around. After stepping foot in the main hall we were treated to a beautiful Buddha surrounded by prayer flags, ceremonial drums, mortal offerings and monks chanting and praying in the early morning. Awesome, awesome, and awesome.

The Top of the Mountain...

Once temple time was over it was time to jet for the push to Khosvgol Nuur which was a mere five hundred kilometres away a simple daily feat in the western world but an entirely different story in the untamed hills of northern Mongolia.

See pictures from  the first leg of the road trip and more of the Monastary here