Lunacy

For some odd reason it's called Turtle Rock

Giant Absurd Statue Day!

We went to the giant statue of Chinggis Khaan on his horse yesterday. It was totally outlandish. Giant stainless steel sculpture mounted on a rotunda with a restaurant inside. A narrow stairway wound its way up the horse's back and exited out the great Khaan's crotch to the observation deck on the horse's head. It was not worth the 10,000T ($7 American) entry fee. However, the exterior was gleaming in the perfect sun. Check the pix y'all.

Later we ventured into Terelj once more for a brief visit to Turtle Rock and shish kebabs thereafter. A mother dog with swollen teats approached us, no more then a pup herself. We fed her our scraps which she devoured with the quickness. Poor thing.

Sight For Sore Eyes

Mongolia The Beautiful

These Guys Rule!

Steppe Ridas!

Once again, at the eleventh hour last weekend I was invited to join a group of westerners sojourning to the outskirts of UB for some fresh air and excitement. This time it was through a group called Steppe Riders. It was such a nice deal. Check this out: for 40 Tuugruugk (about $28 American) we got a ride to and from the location by microbus, we got to stay the night in a geir, we got fed, and we got to ride horses for hours over the wide open steppe. Not a bad deal.

It was nice to get away and meet some other foreigners in the process. I was invited by a Scotsman who had been working for a tour company until recently. There was a Texan working for a Chinese newspaper, a contingent of Aussie lasses engaged in various activities and a Canuck doing god knows what amongst others. I feel very fortunate that the foreigner community is so open here but with all the discrimination we experience on a daily basis it sort of makes sense.

This time around we were working with a company that had our interests in mind. Meaning they took the time to adjust the stirrups for us and whatnot. This certainly saved my knee some trouble. On the first afternoon I was given an eager steed who kept pace with the leaders of our group for which I was thankful. However, on the second day my luck ran out. I was given an old mount who certainly tried but his gallop was totally weak. I spent the whole ride just trying to catch up. Actually my horse spent most of the time with his nose up other horses asses. All that space and he insisted on close contact. It makes no sense.

Nice people, nice fire that lasted the night, a rather nice weekend. Afterwards back to broke ass UB only this time with a sore bum and groin and every other muscle used for sitting. Such is life.

Eagle Rock!

Most "blinks" in photography are unfortunate. I think this one had the opposite effect. Nice work Tom.

Odt, Lookin' Like A Rock Star!

Sights in Terelj

Hotel Terelj

TereljMaa

Kickin'It Geir Style

Mongol Horde Cometh!

Weekend In Terelj

Once again I took off last weekend for a trip to the country. This time it was with my homies from Sexy Jazz Lounge, a little pub my friend Sarge opened not far from my apartment. His waiter Odt's family maintain a geir camp at a well known national park called Terelj, so our lodging was completely covered. It was very relaxing, on the first day we didn't do much. We sort of strolled about the general area where we were staying. There's a five star hotel there that we took a brief tour of. It was probably the nicest building I've seen in Mongolia.

That night we all gathered by the river while Tom played songs on his guitar. Sing along hippie classics such as Hotel California, American Pie, and Uncle John's Band. It was a little cold for it but felt nice. Later we played drinking games in our geir until we passed out.

The next day as we all lazed about nursing hangovers a man rolled up on his motorcycle with an eagle hanging on the backside. I wish I could've gotten a decent image so you'd know what I meant. Instead you'll have to settle for my shoddy camera work. We each paid 1,000 Tugrugs (about 70 cents American) for an opportunity to photograph ourselves with the powerful raptor. Very exotic experience. There was no way I was going to pass that up.

Afterwards we mounted horses (or ponies perhaps, they're so little!) and rode about the grounds. The stirrups are so high up on those beasts, my knee began screaming at me again. It was very much like riding long distance on my bike with my seat post set too low. Ah well. Fun enough. This child acting as our guide kept whipping my steed into action. The trotting horse's back nailed my inner thighs repeatedly, leaving me sore. Damn I need some conditioning, I'm getting soft in my old age!

Bus ride home was two hours of overcrowded mayhem. My back got wrenched out of alignment, which turned Monday into hurtin' day. Worth it nonetheless.

Dark Day

All the storm clouds are heading toward my destination.

Ideal Camping Ground

So Blue

I like the patterns on this one.

Up On Bogd Mountain

Directly south of UB lies a set of mountains, called Bogd. Its totally in walking distance so I've been meaning to hike it, I don't know why I didn't until yesterday (8/09) but it was sweet all the same. The plan was set in advance so I ignored the inclement weather and set out. Two friends bailed on me siting the possibility of stormy weather, but I was hearing none of it. Good thing Jason agreed to join me, it would've been a lonely hike without him.

The hike to the ridge was brutal! I keep forgetting how steep the mountains are around here, but once we got to the top things got real nice. UB actually looked tolerable for once. If you pull back a bit you don't notice the derelict structures all around, it starts to look like a proper city.

The weather turned out to be perfect for hiking; cool, moist air kept us from over heating. I love summer heat, but sometimes it just feels nice to layer up and get out in the woods, you know? We found some sweet rock formations up on the ridge and more then a few patches of ground with high conifer canopies yielding sparse undergrowth. Perfect camping grounds, I shall have to return for a weekends excursion. The woods opened to allow for spacious meadows and not a few fly wild flowers. I love how an overcast day can make the colors just pop in contrast. Eagles soared below us, surveying the valley for prey, while a fox bounded his way down the slope. We found some more "indian" strawberries and a whole lot of fungus. I wish we could have stayed longer.

Back at the outskirts of town we found a store that sold tallboys of IBC root beer. My first of this beloved beverage since leaving home sweet home. Nice work team.

HikePix

Orange solid line: My trip up/ Green dotted line: My trip down

After climbing the rocks, the view to camp below

From up there