Images of Malaysia

   

Mongolia

I am doing the 3M this year; no it is not the 3M manufacturer of Post-it products that many of us are familiar with, they are the places that I visited during my Spring holiday - Malaysia, Mongolia and Macau. 

Let me begin with Mongolia. It is a 10-day tour from Ulaanbaatar to the South Gobi and back. Tan Be Be, an avid traveler and a friend made all the travel arrangements to the place nickname as the Country of Blue Sky. Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia is better known as UB by the locals has just over 1 million people but rush hour traffic is as bad as places like New York City. 

Sukhbaatar Square or Ginggis Square is the city’s main square surrounded by various government buildings including the State Opera House and the colonnade monument of various influential figures which include Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Not much activities going on here except it is a place for people watching  Sun sets after 9 PM in May, and weather can be unpredictable. The owner of the hostel asked,” You not cold? You in shorts.” Really, I just flew in from NYC, and I had endured cold weather back in the days when I studied in Chicago. I could not help noticing the number of Korean restaurants and mini markets appearing in the capital. It seems like Korean has a strong presence in the business community, after all Samsung is one of the main financiers backing the new airport coming up in UB by year end. 

The Gandantegchinlen Monastery , a Tibetan-style Buddhist monastery is another point of interests in UB. Buildings and temples  scattered the surrounding area where hundreds of monks lived. Its main temple houses the statue of Megjid-Janraiseg (87 feet high), which means “the Lord who watches in every direction”. The moment I took my camera out, I was asked to pay. At that moment, I came to realize why iPhone is such an ideal accessory to have in time like this.

We travelled with a driver and a guide. Two other people from Germany joined us as well. It was a small group, which was good as I didn’t think it would be comfortable on the van we were traveling. The Russian van as the local referred to is built to withstand the harsh Mongolian weather and the rugged terrain. Journey was tough as we bounced around most of the time. It helped to have a smaller frame like myself compared to the German travelers. I could tell that they were not comfortable as one has to turn around the face the front as his seat was facing backwards. The wind kept coming on strong day and night throughout the entire trip. At times during the night, it was so strong that it gave me the scary feeling our ger (camp made of wooden frame covered with wool felt) might be blown away.

Landscape is beautiful in Mongolia. The Orkhon Valley, is an extensive area of grassland on both banks of the Orkhon River and it includes Kharkhorum, an old capital of Chingis Khan’s Empire. The grassland is still grazed by Mongolian nomadic pastoralists. The fun part was when we had to take a quick bath at one of the streams. The river was partially frozen and water was very cold. It was like a one two three done shower.  We only had 2 proper shower during the entire 10 day trip, and believe me it was rather uncomfortable after 2 days.

The Flaming Cliffs is also known as Bayaanzag is a region of the Gobi Desert in the South Province of Mongolia. Large dinosaurs’ skeletons were found here, and the name was given by explorer Roy Chapman Andrews. The cliffs turned red especially sunset, hence the nickname by the famous explorer. A museum and tourist camp are currently being constructed to cater the increasing number of tourists coming here.

Khongor sand Dunes is known as the singing dunes. You can hear the movement of the fine sand when the wind blows across the desert claimed most articles I read online. Unfortunately, wind was so strong that I was trying to cover myself from the sand hitting my face that I could hear no music. As I climbed higher toward the top of the dunes, I found myself sinking deeper into the sand. A storm was coming, I felt tiny raindrops coming down. I hopped down as quickly as my legs could carry me.

Yol Valley is wide at the entrance, and gradually narrows into a remarkable gorge. As the guide walked us further in, weather got windier, colder and icier. It was amazing to see how thick the ice formation was at this time of the year. Beneath the ice, we came across a hole even a human being was able to pass through.

Tsagaan Suvarga or the white stupa is an impressive cliff shaped strangely by natural phenomenon. The colored layers indicated different times the cliff was shaped, and it is more impressive from afar looking like the ruins of an ancient city. 

These are just some of the highlights from this amazing Mongolian trip. However, the country is not for everyone to visit at least for now in my opinion. A proper toilet is almost non existence outside UB. Most of the toilets which locals referred to as ‘the drop’ is either zinc or plywood built. These toilets are built several feet away from the ger tent. Ground was dug deep with two plank of plywood for you to squat while doing your business. Be warned, not all of them have doors.

Food is not amazing in Mongolia. Affected by extreme weather condition, meat especially goat and dairy (coming from sheep) and animal fats are primarily used in Mongolia’s daily diet. Eggs, spices and vegetables are seldom used in their diet. If you are not a meat lover especially goat’s meat, it is best to take some seasoning and chilly sauce with you. Looking back it was fun and definitely an eye opener for travelers expecting the unexpected.