We were warned it would be a “long day” as we expect to travel some 290km (180 miles), mostly “off-road” as we head further south toward the Gobi desert area. Normally in the USA we would say that 180 miles would take about 3 hours. However, when you are on dirt roads most of the way we were told it would take about 6 hours to cover the same distance.
Another bright and sunny morning in Mongolia.
Our large en-suite shower.
Breakfast eggs.
A real road….but not for long.
One of the few crops we saw while in Mongolia. Their seasons are too short to grow much.
Good example of road structure in this area. When a road gets too rugged they simply create another nearby.
Our first “wet” crossing. Little did we know what was to come!
As part of an “unplanned” adventure Maggie May was hoping to find a nomadic friend (a widow) of hers who lived “somewhere” in the area. As we drove she told us how one year she tried to find her friend after receiving general guidelines of where her ger was located -to no avail. She is hoping we have better luck now. And about one hour after leaving the main paved road we did, indeed, come upon two gers located in the middle of a beautiful grassy plain with her herds of sheep and goats feeding nearby. As is the Mongolian tradition we were warmly welcomed into her home and entertained lavishly for the next 1.5 hours with food and stories about nomadic life, their food and customs. It was quite a visit and a real highlight to our Mongolian adventure.
One of the few cattle herds we saw.
Finding the family we were looking for!
Modern solar power in use.
Where the family ger and herds are located. That is a small creek nearby. Note the lush grass for the animals.
A small herd of yak came sauntering by.
The decorative slats forming the roof of the ger.
Traditional offering of various types of dried cheeses. All were quite tart.
Trying yak butter.
Freshly made yogurt. Delicious but quite tart.
An impromptu party
The kitchen area in the second ger.
Her kitchen sink.
That is a washing machine!
Their version of a fried bread- delicious!
Making milk vodka. Yes they even make vodka from milk!
It’s a miracle! Vodka from yak (?) milk.
Trying the finished product. It tastes like any other vodka.
The owner showing us how she cuts the aged cheese with thread.
It is tradition to sing a song while drinking. Luckily only the drivers entertained us with their local songs.
Unfortunately about 45 minutes after leaving her home we stopped for lunch as it was the only available stop in the area. It was unfortunate because the stop was at a Mongolian BBQ and we were not that hungry after the food we consumed earlier. Somehow we managed to still eat more before moving on-you never know when we might get stranded and miss a meal!
Another chance to pick out your favorite cashmere.
I thought this was a restroom stop. It turned out to be a BBQ restaurant in the middle of nowhere.
The owner/chef.
The lunch buffet – several quite tasty salads.
Delicious cabbage soup-as good as my grandma used to make! Most meals included soup as a starter.
Plate of various barbecued meats.
The rest of the afternoon was spent traveling on the dirt roads, often as fast as 40mph, as the dirt roads were surprisingly smooth with out much “wash boarding” or potholes. Once the roads become hard to drive on the driver simply moves over and creates a new road. Normally one would say this is bad for the environment, but this region is so vast that it hardly makes a dent in the local terrain. The other amazing thing is there are absolutely no road signs to guide you. It is simply the knowledge of the drivers that gets us to where we want to go.
The lush grasslands are history.
A rest stop.
We were making a rest stop. So where does one go to the bathroom? The men had it easy. The ladies decided that using an umbrella as a temporary shelter would work!
A good sized bug showed up. No one ventured to pick it up.
A snack (from Vietnam) that Scott discovered.
After a long day “on the road” we arrive at our ger camp for the night around 4 PM where we got to relax before dinner and a fairly early bedtime. It had started to rain lightly about the time we arrived and continued late into the night.
Where we currently are in Mongolia.
Arriving at our ger camp for the night-“Secret of Ongi”.
Our ger with an extra bed.
The main dining hall, restrooms and showers.
There were quite a few costumes on display in the main building.
Limited times to shower.
Price list for alcohol. Surprised at the wide variety offered.
Maggie teaching us some games placed with (real) sheep knuckle bones. A popular sport in Mongolia.
A common way to tie down items on a ger.
Most gers had an opening in the ceiling that can be opened for air circulation.
Another good sampling of salads for dinner. The main course was again chicken and beef.
Our French colleague sharing her vodka with Scott.
After dinner there was a “style” show, showing us what fashionable Mongolians would have worn.
Tomorrow we will visit the nearby Ongi Monastery. We were supposed to visit it today but our detour to visit the nomadic family threw us off schedule. No problem; we are on vacation!
July 13, 2024: Kharkorum, the Ancient Capital of Mongolia
Our main destination today is to visit the ancient capital of Mongolia, Kharkorum, but we stopped along the way to see another smaller Buddhist temple and see our first sand dunes in Mongolia, the Elsen Tasarkha dunes.
Camp workers taking our luggage to our vehicles in the morning.
We went by clusters of these shops which turned out to be local restaurants for travelers.
Some local landscape in the area.
Some caution was necessary as animal herds feel they have the right of way.
Stopping at a small Buddhist temple in the area.
A prayer wheel and one of the few trees in the area.
Inside the small temple.
Artwork in the temple.
Some of us walked up to another temple located on the side of this hill.
Worshipers would add rocks to these piles as they walked up to the upper temple.
Looking down at the abandoned Buddhist temple in the valley below.
Inside the upper temple.
Views of the peaceful valley where these temples are located.
The ruins of the original Buddhist temple.
Another small temple on the temple grounds.
Our first view of some sand dunes, Elsen Tasarkha. This series of dunes are 80 km long.
Of course Scott had to climb the nearest dune!
A funny episode of Maggie trying to capture our lady professors as they leap into the air.
In 1220 Genghis Khan established his headquarters at Kharkorum when he invaded China. In 1235 his son, Ögedei, built a wall around the city and used it as the capital of Mongolia. In the 1585 the Buddhist monastery of Erdene Zuu was created there when Tibetan Buddhism was named as the official religion of Mongolia. It is thought to be the oldest monastery in Mongolia. In 1939 the communists destroyed most of the Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia and killed over 10,000 monks. Part of this monastery was not destroyed. In 1990 it became a functioning monastery once again. Today, only some ruins of the original city of Kharakorum remain but the monastery temple complex still exists. We toured both the temple complex and the nearby modern museum of Kharakorum, dedicated to the story of Kharakorum and Genghis Khan. Again photography was not allowed inside the museum unless you paid an exorbitant fee which no one did. It would be cheaper to buy a souvenir book; unfortunately none were in English so you will have to rely on the internet to learn more about the history of the city and area surrounding it.
More encounters with roaming animal herds.
The walls, with its white stupas, surrounding the Erdene Zuu monastery complex, built on the site of the ancient city of Kharakorum.
The temple complex contains quite a few smaller temples.
Inside the Erdene Zuu monastery complex.
This is the Lavrin temple, built in 1784.
Small shrine in the temple courtyard.
The stone objects are remains of the original city that existed here.
The golden stupa that dates back to 1799.
One of the larger temples in the complex.
View from outside the temple, looking in at the Buddha statue there.
We happened upon this family and Maggie offered to take their family photo. What elaborate outfits!
Obviously he was not too enthusiastic about all the picture taking going on.
The new Kharkhorum museum, featuring displays about Genghis Khan and the local area.
Before proceeding to our ger camp for the evening we stopped in the local town ( population of 14,745) for an ATM (amazing easy to understand and use) and walk through their local market. Each province in Mongolia has a centrally located small town to provide needed services and schools for the local population. Nomadic children come there to go to school, boarding in town until the weekend.
The local market in the village. It consisted of a series of small shops selling a variety of products.
Huge carrots!
Two local nomads coming to town to buy supplies.
Dried cheese products popular with nomadic families. There is always a bowl on their table in their ger.
A funny story here. We are outside a small market. The gentleman in the red coat just exited the market and handed a bottle to the man on the horse who tucked it into his coat and then sauntered off on his horse! Hilarious encounter!
Our ger camp for the night was called Secret of Silk Road and turned out to be not your typical ger camp. It is only a few years old and offered fancy amenities like a sauna, massages, laundry service and even an en-suite toilet and shower in our ger! When we saw that a 50 minute massage cost 110,000 tugrik (Mongolian currency) which is $32.37 both Scott and I immediately signed up. Had to be the world’s best bargain! Unfortunately we never saw another such opportunity the rest of the trip. And other prices were equally impressive. A 0.5 liter of beer was $3.53 and bar drinks were $5.89.
The main reception center and dining room of the Secret of Silk Road ger camp.
Secret of Silk Road Ger camp with 40 tourist gers.
Modern gers in the camp.
Our ger, again with a modern decorated door. I managed to bang my head multiple times entering/leaving these gers.
Pretty fancy ger, including a cushioned chair- a first.
En suite toilet and shower at this ger camp.
Price list for the various offerings at the camp.
The very large dining room of the camp.
Vodka tonics in funky, crooked glasses. They were so cheap we each had two!
Again a lot of great salads were available on the dinner buffet.
A couple of the main entrees.
Another marvelous Mongolian sunset.
Tomorrow we continue our trip southward toward the Gobi desert.
This morning we leave Ulaanbaatar to begin our exploration of this vast country. But the first order of business was to drive about one hour to Hui Doloon hudag, the horse racing site for Naadam. It is simply an open field with rolling hills, located about 50 km from the city. We will be attending the most important race- 5 year old horses who will be racing 30km across the steppes. The riders are boys and girls aged 5-13! And they used to ride bareback, now use saddles and helmets for safety reasons. Horses and riders trot out the 30 km, turn around and immediately race back. Those horses must really be something to handle those distances. The top 5 winning riders get school supplies and a medal while the owner of the horse and trainers get free apartments, cars and money! Seems a bit unfair to me but everyone seems happy with the system.
Our touring vehicles turned out to be late model Lexus SUVs! We had three vehicles (3 people each plus driver) and rotated drivers and vehicles each day. Maggie always rode in the lead vehicle which then held 4 people.
What was unbelievable was how many people come out to watch these races; Maggie said up to 800, 000 people come here. It has a county fair kind of vibe- games, food, drinks (airag) and partying! We arrived early to absorb the experience, ate some more Naadam fried pancakes and worked our way down to the area of the finish line where thousands of people jockeyed for viewing locations. And then, it was over in a blink of an eye and people either went back to partying or like us tried to leave the venue, which turned out to be a major problem as it took us 1.5 hours to leave the parking area and get back to the paved roadway.
Parking everywhere you look. Might be a real challenge finding our vehicle when we want to leave.
Many people camp overnight at the site of the Naadam horse races.
Local family enjoying their breakfast while waiting for the horse race to end.
Most people drive to the site. Others simply ride their horses.
Carnival like atmosphere here.
Wonder what he is cooking. Looks pretty elaborate.
Souvenirs and candy for sale.
This sheep will soon be part of a restaurant offering.
Cool, remote controlled (by the parent) cars for rent.
Not sure what the object of this game is.
Camel rides are available.
Dressed in her party finery!
One of dozens of pop-up restaurants here.
A ger restaurant. Note how they allow air circulation by opening the lower portion of the ger.
Enjoying another hot fresh Naadam specialty-Huushuur, the deep fried meat pie. It was really good!
Scott had to try the horse meat and chicken offering. The horsemeat tasted like beef to me.
Now that looks like a fun slide!
Hmmm. Seems there were more adults than kids on the train ride.
The crowd is huge! Supposedly up to 800,000 people show up for these races.
Spraying the spectators with a water mist right before the horse riders show up.
Here come the leaders. It goes real fast! I am amazed at the endurance of these horses, running like that for over 15 miles.
Ten minutes after the race leaders/ winners showed up the stands were empty!
Messing with the crowd after the race. The kids loved getting wet.
Yes, we were there.
Cars and people everywhere.
Trying to leave the parking area after the horse race. It took us 1.5 hours to reach the road!
We stopped at a local ger camp for a late lunch before heading further south, stopping for awhile to watch a local nomadic family milking the mares in their herd; the milk is then used to make their alcoholic airag drink. It is a fairly complicated process. The mare’s foal will start nursing to start the milk flow, then is pulled aside for the nomad to continue collecting the milk. The foal is left touching the mare during the process. The foal is allowed to resume feeding once the milking process is completed. This milking occurs 8-9 times a day from mid-June to October!
Note dirt tracks which serve as roads when off the paved highway, which are few and far between. Surprisingly the dirt roads are in good shape and we often were traveling at 40 mph or so on them.
The dining hall at the lunch stop ger camp.
Our lunch stop. Unusual decor in the dining room.
Chicken nuggets and meatballs for lunch.
Our French lady pouring hot water for tea.
Now that looks like a fun camping rig!
Locals gathering at the local watering hole for some swimming and probably washing of clothes.
A large herd of cashmere goats and sheep enjoying the delicacies of Mongolia grasslands. By the way, the goats and sheep do not interbreed!
Pick out your next cashmere sweater. Mongolia supplies most of the cashmere to the world.
The expansive steppes of Mongolia. Treeless as far as the eye can see.
The small herd of mare horses and their foals, waiting to be milked.
The nomad lady milking a mare.
Scott handing out hard candy to this ger family.
Maggie asking the children how old they were. They were very polite.
We arrived at our first stay in a ger camp around 7PM. It was surprisingly modern with nice beds, very clean restrooms and showers. There was even electricity available 24 hours. Our ger experience begins!
Genghis Khan revered the sky, I can see why. The cloud formations are ever changing and marvelous.
Our first sign of the real “rock”!
Our first ger camp experience. It was located 102 miles from Ulaanbaatar and 3 miles from a real road.
The ger camp had 37 gers for tourists.
The way luggage is deleivered to your ger by young people working at the camps.
The main dining ger and wash facilities at the camp.
The central dining ger.
Our home, away from home.
Modern day gers have elaborate wooden doors, rather than the canvas of old.
Furnishings were basic but adequate. It was cool at night so a blanket was provided. We did not need the stove.
This ger had electricity 24/7. Not all of them will.
Modern, clean toilets with lots of toilet paper!
Showers were good, although most did not provide soap or washclothes.
Very modern bathrooms.
Typical buffet selections. The potatoes were excellent.
Surprisingly good salads and kimchee.
The beer here was cold and cheap.
Nearby hill that Scott climbed after dinner.
Sunset on our first night on the steppes of Mongolia.
Today is the start of Mongolia’s most famous sports competition- the yearly multi-day Naadam Festival and we will be going to the opening ceremony. The festival, in one form or another, dates back to the days of Genghis Khan. It consists of three major sports: archery, wrestling and horse racing. We will have a opportunity to view all three in the next two days.
The opening ceremony is held at the 20,000 seat sports stadium in Ulaanbaatar where we have reserved seats waiting for us. We arrived at the stadium several hours before the opening ceremony (scheduled for noon) so we could wander around and view some of the competitions that had already begun-men and women’s archery and an unusual men’s competition called “knuckle bone shooting”.
I was amazed at the skill of the archers. Men aimed at small cylindrical targets 75 meters away (women shot from 60-65 meters) and scored highly time after time. It is colorful and the skill level is astounding.
Part of the men’s archery participants.
Men shoot from 75 meters to the target.
What the arrows look like.
Women getting ready to compete. They are in 4 member teams. They shoot from 60-65 meters.
A rare left handed archer.
Knuckle bone shooting may be the most unusual sport I have ever seen. It is a team-based sport where domino shaped tablets are “flicked” at a target of real sheep knuckle bones with the goal of knocking them down-like the old carnival game of throwing balls at a row of dolls. We sat in a large hall watching dozens of teams (men only) compete in this most unusual sport where they loudly urged their teammates as they launched their tablets at the target located a good 10-15 feet away.
The knuckle bone shooting competition arena.
It is a team event. Shooters are encouraged by their teammates.
Lining up your shot.
You must “flick” the tablet from a tray resting on your knee.
The object is to knock the sheep knuckle bones off the tray.
We then were marched into the stadium we were had rock star seats, located initially in the shade. However, before the two hour event was over we found ourselves seated in the hot, noon day sun! Smart people brought umbrellas to seek some degree of shade. The two hour pageant has all the trappings of a musical spectacular-music, dancing, racing horses and elaborate costumes galore. It is the equivalent of the opening of the Olympics soon to be held in Paris. The opening ceremony was as elaborate as any I have seen in the USA. It was quite a spectacle and included the appearance of the famous Mongolian rock band- the Hu! The pictures I was able to take do not do justice to the spectacle we saw. You had to be there to appreciate it.
These are the 9 horsehair banners that represent the nine regions of Mongolia and are normally kept in the parliament building, only leaving the building when Naadam is held.They date back to the time of Genghis Khan.
Plenty of booths selling food and souvenirs.
Our ticket to the opening ceremony.
The stadium holds 20,000 people and it was full by the time the opening ceremony started.
The pageantry begins.
Military presentation of the nine banners.
Dancers and music.
Horses and riders on display.
A huge moving stage with video streaming on its backdrop.
Trying the special Naadam food: Huushuur, a meat-filled deep-fried pancake. It was good!
Local orchestra playing traditional Mongolian instruments.
Interesting display using streamers. Note all the umbrellas suddenly in use as protection against the sun.
Acrobatic demonstrations. Note how high he is in the air.
Riders racing around the stadium.
Colorful costumes.
Even a bit of acrobatics on horses.
Immediately after the two hour show the wrestling competition began and we watched part of that spectacle. It is a big deal. 512 or 1024 men compete in a single elimination contest to hopefully become the ultimate champion. The winner receives a free apartment and fancy car, so it is a big deal to win. And, oh, by the way, age categories are not involved. Matches rarely last more than a few minutes but the overall contest takes up to two days to complete. A wrestler must win 9-10 matches to be the champion and they become national heroes.
The wrestling competition begins right after the opening show.
Note the huge size difference between these two wrestlers. The “little” guy won this match!
During lunch in a nearby restaurant we were able to watch wrestling matches streamed live.
After a late lunch in a nearby restaurant we toured the Bogd Khan Palace museum complex, built between 1893 and 1903, and dedicated to the head of Mongolian religion at the time and who claimed independence from China. It was a short era of a theocracy in Mongolia. The complex includes seven prayer temples and the winter palace of the Bogd Khan.
The winter palace complex of Bogd Khan, who declared independence from China in 1911. The complex houses 7 temples and the palace home of the Bogd Khan.
Unfortunately picture taking was not allowed the temples.
Temple main doors.
The winter palace of Bogd Khan.pitcures were not allowed inside, which had the furnishings on display.
An original ger of the Bogd Khan covered with snow leopard skins.
One of the Buddhist temples in the palace complex.
Decorative outside pillar of a temple building.
A door of one of the temples.
It was a long day and we headed back to the hotel to prepare for leaving in the morning.
Another colorful Ulaanbaatar building
Hot pot dinner at a local restaurant.
We went with the VIP beef dish- thinly sliced beef.
Cashmere products are a big market for Mongolia. And the prices are a bargain- $30-45 for a scarf.
Tomorrow we will view the completion of the famous horse race and start our tour of the rest of Mongolia.
July 10, 2024: The Largest Equestrian Statue in the World
We met some of our travel companions yesterday as we were transported to the hotel and the remaining members this morning as we gathered in the lobby for our local tour today. There are two ladies from France, a lady professor from China who teaches English there and a lady Philippines professor who teaches math (long time friends reconnecting after many years), an English lady in the midst of a year long vacation with no pre-planned destination in mind and a surgeon and his wife from California. There are nine of us in total-a nice size group that turned out to be a lot of fun.
One of many flower gardens along the roadway in Ulaanbaatar.
Memorial in Mongolia.
Another monument
Each bus stop has these small shops selling items of interest to bus riders.
Today we will be visiting several local sights, highlighted by the Genghis Khan statue complex located 54 km outside the city. Lesson of the day: the proper pronunciation of his name is “Ching-ess Han” (k is silent). The statue of Khan on his horse is made of stainless steel, and is the tallest equestrian statue in the world, standing 40 meters high. The statue is placed with him pointing east, toward his birthplace. I have to admit it is impressive, especially when you walk up to the top and stand outside on the head of the horse, as we did.
Landscape in the area of Ulaanbaatar.
The first of many herds of animals we see during our stay.
Fences are popular in Mongolia. People erect them as soon as they buy a piece of land. They often look very expensive.
The famous steel statue of Genghis Khan.
Entrance to the statue park.
It is really big-40 meters tall!
People like to wear their native attire.
Outside deck on top of the horse’s head.
Standing outside on the horse’s head. Tough getting a clear picture because of all the crowds that gather there.
View from the top of the statue.
There was a further surprise while we were there as it became obvious that some dignitary was coming and we soon were honored by the presence of the handsome king of Bhutan and his lovely wife and son! And here we thought the fanfare was for us.
A senior wearing his native clothes.
Waiting for a special guest.
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is the Druk Gyalpo, the monarch of the Kingdom of Bhutan. He is 44 years old.
The king’s wife and son.
Camels were available at the site for rides.
The cloud formations in Mongolia were awesome!
Selfie of Scott and me, wearing my colors!
By the time we left the statue complex it was time for lunch at a nearby ger camp called Terelj Lodge. Next lesson: ger is pronounced “gear” and is the name of the popular house that the nomadic people use. Another less common name for these dwellings is “yurt” which is actually a Russian name. Ger camps are the hotels for travelers in Mongolia and we will be spending most of the trip using them once we leave Ulaanbaatar. More on them later. The lunch was surprisingly western in nature.
Another expensive fence surrounding simply a plot of land.
One of the few signs we saw in the area.
A tourist ger camp where we had lunch.
The camp was nestled near the mountains.
One of the tourist gers in the camp.
Scott’s favorite Mongolian beer.
A very nice salad, the first of many we had on the trip.
Chicken main course.
From an old cart used to move gers before modern times.
From the ger camp we stopped at a nearby attraction called turtle rock, named obviously by its looks.
A rock called “turtle rock” for obvious reasons.
A visitor holding a vulture for a picture.
Golden eagle (I think).
The next stop was a visit to the Aryabal Buddhist meditation temple, built in 1810 as a meditation retreat. Monks would climb to the caves high in the cliffs and meditate for months at a time. The temple was destroyed when Stalin ruled Mongolia in the 1920s but it was rebuilt and reopened in 2007. The path to the temple is lined with 144 placards with the teachings of Buddha. 52% of the Mongolian people practice Buddhism.
Entrance to the Aryabal temple complex.
Our visit to the Aryabal Temple, shown in the circle. There are a series of Buddhist sayings along the walkway to the temple.
A relevant Buddhist saying that caught my eye.
Yet another wise saying.
Wildflowers at the Aryabal Temple.
Buddhist writings on the rock.
Entrance to the temple area ( picture taken by Scott).
The temple (another Scott photo).
Complements of Scott as I did not walk all the way to the temple..
The last stop of the day was at the ger home of a local nomad where we were able to see what living in a ger entailed. We learned nomads live a simple life with minimal trappings. They can disassemble their ger in 30-45 minutes and be ready to move to a new location, something they commonly do at least four times a year. It was here that we got our first taste of fermented (2% alcohol) mare’s milk called “airag”, a common staple of their diet. Not sure how my body would react I only took a sip of the sour tasting beverage. Research on horse milk has shown that it has relatively high levels of the protein albumin, which can help regulate blood pressure and also has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects. It is an acquired taste in my opinion.
Our visit to a local nomadic family.
Doors of gers were often decorative.
Dried cheese and bread offered to guests in the ger we visited.
Airag is offered to guests when visiting a ger.
The ger owner sat and answered questions we posed.
All their worldly possessions are stored in the ger, their home.
The furniture is hand made and pretty elegant.
Cowhide used to make a container for the fermented airag drink.
Clothing for dressy occasions.
Rope made by nomads using animal skins.
It was then back to the city. Tomorrow we will be attending the opening of the yearly Naadam Festival.
July 9, 2024: Ulaanbaatar, the Capital of Mongolia.
Backing up a bit. The Seattle airport was a zoo (July 4th weekend) when I arrived at 9:45 on Sunday. Luckily flying business class gave me some perks and I avoided the long security lines. Our Delta flight left only four minutes late with an anticipated flight time of almost 11 hours. I arrived in Seoul, South Korea on July 8 at 4:10PM( local time), a bit ahead of schedule.
Our flight path took us past our home on Miller Bay. That is the port of Kingston on the upper right with Mt. Baker in the background. It was a beautiful day for flying.
Aerial view of Poulsbo, WA on Liberty Bay.
Our flight route from Seattle to Seoul. Flight time about 11 hours.
I had a unique experience on the flight. We ran into some turbulence along the way that lasted for quite awhile (several hours). In my experience it was mild turbulence, but the captain went super cautious and told the staff to stay seated. I am sure this is because of the recent turbulence incidents where people were hurt. As a result we were never served the 2nd meal that normally occurs about 2 hours before landing. The purser apologized for the inconvenience and told us we would receive an additional 5000 miles credit on our frequent flier program- a nice touch.
The “cubicle” pods in Delta business class. There was even a sliding door to close up the cubicle.
I chose the Korean menu for lunch.
Pre-dinner drink while watching the Bob Marley movie. There was a good selection of newer movies to watch.
My Korean based lunch. The beef short ribs were outstanding.
Who can pass up an ice cream sundae for dessert?
Seoul international airport terminal 2 on a rainy afternoon. It is a very modern airport.
The Seoul airport is new and modern and it was easy negotiating it and getting through immigration. I was through immigration, got my luggage and was on the hotel shuttle by 5:10PM. I booked us a room at the nearby supposed 5 star Grand Hyatt Incheon hotel for a modest $133 price. Try that in the USA! The hotel turned out to be huge(1024 rooms) and definitely in the 5 star category.
Lobby of west tower of Grand Hyatt. The hotel has 1024 rooms!
One of several fountains in resturant area, which features 8 different places to eat.
Our room at the Grand Hyatt.
View from hotel room -Terminal 1 of airport and golf course to the left!
The ultra high tech toilet. I was almost afraid to use it!
The toilet controls! I think it can do everything but wash your clothes.
Scott arrived in Seoul late last night, albeit long after I went to bed. We have a leisurely morning as our flight from Seoul to Ulaanbaatar does not leave until 1:55PM. There are limited flights to Mongolia and we were supposed to be on a MIAT ( Mongolian Airlines) 787 flight for the 2.5 hour flight. However, we learned that there was a problem with the plane and they had to reschedule us to fly on two smaller 737 planes that would leave within 20 minutes of each other. I found myself on one plane and Scott was on the other. As it turned out both planes arrived safely and we reconnected at the Ulaanbaatar airport where we were met by a representative of Amicus who took us to our hotel (Grand Hill hotel) for our three night stay while in Ulaanbaatar.
Our first surprise of the trip: Ulaanbaatar has huge traffic problems and we found ourselves right in the middle of it; people were leaving town as this was the start of the Naadam Festival week. It took three hours to make the trip from the airport to our hotel, which normally should have taken about one hour!
Flat Mongolia landscape as far as you can see.
An occasional evidence of humans in the vast land.
Airport in Ulaanbaatar. We learned there are only 6 gates.
Country #105 stamp in my passport!
Modern three lane highway leading from the airport to the city.
The bumper to bumper traffic once we got close to the city,
Screenshot showing we still have over an hour to traverse the last six miles to the hotel!
Sunset, three hours later, and we are still not at the hotel.
The hotel Irish pub that had nothing Irish in it- no Irish beer, food or music!
Scott with a celebratory Mongolian beer now that we are here!
10:30 PM bowl of Pho for dinner.
Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, dates back to 1639. Over 1.5 million people live there, about half of the total population of the country. It is a modern looking city and you could easily feel you were on a major city in the US. I noted there was little trash and no graffiti! Surprisingly about 1/3 of the cars on the road were right hand drive, yet they drive like we do in the USA. And ever other car seemed to be a Lexus SUV. I later learned that they get a lot of used cars from Japan which explains the right hand drive.
Modern buildings everywhere. Lots of construction going on.
Our Mongolian expedition is about to begin!
July 7-8, 2024: A Visit to Mongolia and Naadam Festival
In 2020 I was scheduled to go to Mongolia and we all knew what happened. It has been on my bucket list for many years. I especially wanted to experience the Naadam Festival which I liken to our Olympics. The festival dates back to the 13th century when it was first established by Genghis Khan to celebrate his war victories. It has become an annual competition that features horse racing, archery and wrestling. It is held in early July and my tour will include seeing part of the spectacle.
Our youngest son, Scott, is able to join me on yet another “father-son” adventure! He will be flying up from New Zealand and will meet me in Seoul, South Korea, one of the few common entry points to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia and the start of the 13 day trip throughout the country. I booked the tour with a local Mongolian travel company, Amicus Mongolia Travel Company. Details of the trip can be found on their website: https://www.amicusmongolia.com/mongolia-naadam-festival-tours/naadam-group-tour.
Geography lesson for the day: Where is Mongolia? It is in Asia, mainly surrounded by China and Russia. It is the world’s largest landlocked country and the least populated country as it only has 3.5 million people. 94% of the people are Buddhists and there is a literacy rate of 93%. A bit of trivia: Mongolia is as big as Texas, California and Montana combined! Its landscape is quite varied- mountains to the north and west and the Gobi desert in the south. Much of the country are grasslands called “steppes”. It is a member of the United Nations and thus will be the 105th country I will have visited!
Mongolia is a landlocked country in Asia.
Who has not heard of the famous Mongolian warrior, Genghis Khan, perhaps the greatest conqueror in history? He was also known as Chinggis Khan, although he was called “Temujin” when he was born c. 1162. He is credited with uniting the various tribes of Mongolia and defeating neighboring countries, ultimately creating an empire that extended from China to Eastern Europe! That empire lasted from 1206 to 1368.
This is the book I read before leaving on the trip. A good one if you want to learn more about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire.
The extent of the Mongol Empire, created by the conquests of Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Modern day Mongolia is shown in green.
I am flying non-stop to Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, July 7, on a Delta flight. Flight time is expected to be almost 12 hours. Luckily I will be in business class so should be able to grab some decent sleep during the flight. Because of limited and weird flights (2AM or 2PM) to Ulaanbaatar we decided it would be best to simply spend the night at the Seoul airport and fly to Ulaanbaatar tomorrow.
To catch our flight from Frankfurt to Seattle we had to leave Barcelona at 6:50AM, necessitating getting to the Barcelona airport by 5AM and thus leaving the hotel by 4:30AM. The good news is that traffic at that time would be minimal but European airports are always busy that time of the day. The transfer went smoothly and because we were in business class the trip through security and immigration went quickly and we were soon in the Lufthansa lounge to await our departure. The transfer in Frankfurt also went smoothly and we were soon ensconced in our cubicles headed non-stop to Seattle.We both managed to recapture some of the sleep we lost last night and passed the time reading or playing games as the movies being shown on the flight were a bit disappointing for some reason.
A new McDonalds sweet treat-McPops. They are mini stuffed donuts. We did not try them
The Barcelona lounge. These plastic surrounding panels were a good idea.
The new Avionic welcome drink.
Description of the new Lufthansa welcome aboard Apertif drink they offered us.
Today’s menu.
White wine on today’s flight. I drank the German Riesling.
And the reds.
Quite an appetizer selection.
Yvonne had the vegetarian pasta.
My chicken curry dish.
Tart dessert. Better than I thought it might be…or was I desperate?
Fresh fruit was tasty.
Our flight path from Frankfurt to Seattle. We cross Greenland and northern Canada.
Duck lunch entree.
Views of Canadian Rockies.
Northern British Columbia.
That is the Columbia River in British Columbia.
In the region of Ross Lake in Washington state.
Near Ruby Mountian in Washington state.
Near Granite Falls in Washington State
Mt. Rainier welcoming us home.
Looking west while over Federal Way, WA. We are landing toward the north.
Once we landed in Seattle and proceeded to customs we could not believe how the global entry process has become even more streamlined. You walk up to a kiosk which takes your picture and within a second or two you either get a green light or told you need to see someone. The kiosks used to print out a form that you had to give to an agent who further queried you. This time there was an agent standing near the kiosk who simply asked “ did you buy anything you need to declare”. When we said “no” he said “ welcome home” and we walked out of the international terminal with our lugggage. The whole process took less than 5 minutes! Amazing advancement to what was an archaic system. Kudos to the US Immigration Department.
The relatively new walkway linking the south terminal with the new arrival hall where customs and immigration reside. It had to be tall enough to allow planes to go under it. As a result they have the longest, steepest escalators we have ever seen!
The international arrival hall in Seattle. You collect your luggage before proceeding to immigration.
We claimed our parked car and only had to wait about 20 minutes for our ferry to leave Seattle and return us to Bainbridge Island, a 20 minute drive to our home. It was good to be home, safe and sound, once again! Time to plan the next trip!
Epilogue
1. I really liked AmaWaterways. The ship and staff were excellent. The way they handle excursions is marvelous, and the local tour guides they use were all outstanding. The food and service in the restaurant was excellent. My only (minor) complaint was I had hoped there would be more French inspired dishes offered at mealtime.
2. The Rhone River landscape is not as dramatic as the German rivers, which seemed to have castles on hillsides wherever you looked. On the other hand, the French towns we visited had awesome Roman ruins to see.
3. The four of us really liked the three day pre and post trip options that AmaWaterways offers as part of their river trips. I would not like to fly that distance simply for a seven day cruise.
4. I was somewhat shocked at how busy both France and Spain were, even though this was not high season, I would hate to be there in the height of summer. For you travelers I would certainly suggest you go early or late in the season to avoid the crowds.
“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.” – Paula Bendfelt
In my quest to collect countries since I retired Andorra was an elusive one! I was never near enough or had extra time to visit this very small, landlocked sovereign country that lies between Spain and France. I vowed that this time would be different; I would make time to allow for a visit.
Andorra is about a three hour drive from Barcelona. I did not want to drive and trains do not go directly there so I looked for a tour that might take us on a day trip. I did find several on Viator and selected one that appealed to me. It was labeled as a small group which was desirable. I booked it quite a few months before the river cruise trip. We almost had a major glitch when the tour guide (Antonio Falcon) texted me that he could not take us on the day we had agreed on. Luckily we were able to move it to today by shifting our food tour day.
Andorra is small (181 square miles) with a population of about 79,00o. It is the 6th smallest microstate in Europe. The others (smallest to largest) are Vatican City, Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein and Malta. We have visited all the others on previous trips, so this visit will complete the set! It has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. Surprisingly it is not a member of the EU although its currency is the euro. It was created by Charlemagne in the year 795 to act as a buffer state against Moorish invasion. It was jointly ruled by France and Spain until recent times. Andorra, nestled in the Pyrénées Mountains, is known for its ski resorts and as a tax haven. It consists of seven states (called “parishes”). Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest elevation city in Europe, sitting at an elevation of 1,023 meters.
As it turned out we were the only people on his tour. Antonio picked us up at the hotel and we walked to the local underground garage where he had arranged for a rental car (as he commonly does when he leads this tour. For larger groups he simply gets a larger car).
Our small but adequate Kia vehicle. I rode in front seat with the driver.
Cloudy skies as we left Barcelona.
Time flew by as Antonio loves to talk and we learned a lot about the area. We stopped in a small town for a coffee and “technical stop” about 2 hours (traffic in Barcelona had slowed our departure) after leaving Barcelona.
The castle above Cardona, Spain where salt has been mined since Roman days.
Our coffee stop in Solsona, Spain. Its population is about 9000.
The Catalonian flag.
Fountain outside the cathedral.
The coffee shop was new and modern. We had hoped to find an “old world” shop in this small town.
Disappointing pastry. That is all that was available this morning.
No such thing as an americano here.
Cathedral of Santa Maria de Solsona, dating back to the 14th century.
It is obviously a very old church. I was surprised that it was a cathedral, given the small town it is in.
Inside the original early century chapel.
A really old door at the Solsona cathedral.
The original cistern in the church courtyard.
Courtyard of the cathedral.
A vending machine for candles!
10 AM and the town was quiet.
A door in Solsona.
Back on the road we arrived at the capital of Andorra, Andorra la Vella around 12:30.
The Pyrenees start to appear.
Fields of red poppies.
Near Oliana, Spain, an area noted for rock climbing.
Near to village of Coll de Nargo, Spain.
A ancient stone home below a big Stone Mountain!
Scenery near Organya, Spain.
Ribera d’Urgellet, Spain with a population of 923.
Ruins of a fortress above La Seu d’ Urgell. The bishop of this town is one of the co-princes of Andorra.
Crossing the border into Andorra. No one stopped us. We drove right by the security police stationed there.
Antonio proceeded to show us the major sights in the area, including a famous bridge and the oldest known church that dates back to the 8-9th century. Because parking was an issue he briefly dropped us off in the center of town to check out the souvenir shopping (surprisingly it was not good) before picking us up and taking us to a nearby town for a fabulous late lunch!
Sant Julia del Loria, the southern parish of Andorra. Popularion 9200, elevation of 908 meters making it the lowest elevation village in Andorra.
The gateway to the capital, Andorra La Vella.
Andorra is noted for its tax free shopping.
What an Andorra license plate looks like.
Pont de la Margineda, that dates back to the 14th century
We finally made it to Andorra!
Another view of the bridge (and us).
Church of Santa Coloma. The oldest church in Andorra. The chapel dates to the 8th century. The tower is from the 12th century.
Unfortunately the church was not open to view its interior.
Original 12th century timbers in the church wall.
The main street of Andorra La Vella. I expected an older looking town.
The Gran Vilara River flows through Andorra La Vella.
Famous Andorra landmark.
Local take on Salvador Dali concept of a melted clock.
Our guide said perfumes are a bargain in Andorra.
The mountain village (population 853) of Anyos.
Entering the mountain village of La Massana, which reminded us of a mountain ski village.
Snow capped peaks in the Pyrenees mountains.
Our luncheon venue.
I believe it was a former barn or farming building.
A tasteful, relaxing atmosphere.
Menu of the restaurant. Antonio made some suggestions.
A marvelous rioja. Surprisingly you can get it in the USA.
Antonio showing us how to prepare bread smeared with garlic and tomatoes.
Andorran trinxat, a mixture of cabbage, potatoes, onions and sausage.Delicious!
Veal and mushrooms.
Sausage and bean cassoulet.
Meats are finished on this wood fired grill.
Happy, satisfied customers.
After a lovely, leisurely lunch Antonio drove to a couple more spectacular viewpoints overlooking the valley and a local shrine before heading back to Barcelona on an alternative route. We basically had covered all the “parishes” of Andorra during our brief visit.
The area around Canillo.
Scenery becomes even more spectacular. It reminded us of Switzerland.
Scenery near Canillo, a small town in Andorra.
The scenery is spectacular.
A sculpture on the grounds of Our Lady of Meritxell.
Our Laday of Meritxell, the patron saint of Andorra. This is a replica of the 12th century statue. The original was lost in a fire in 1972. The story behind the statue is that it appeared by a blooming rose in January. The locals put it in a chapel. The next day it was found back by the rose. This happened three times and the villagers took it as a sign they should build a church there, which they did in the 12th century.
Courtyard of the Church of Our Lady of Meritxell.
I have never seen a circular main altar.
One of several bookcases that house bibles in languages from around the world.
List of languages where bibles have been translated.
Even one in the American Indian language.
The 12th century chapel of Meritxell.
The original statue was lost in a 1972 fire.
The view leaving the shrine.
We arrived back around 7 PM just in time to face the only rain we saw the entire trip. In fact it became a downpour as we walked the short distance to our hotel. Although we had our raincoats Yvonne requested that we buy an umbrella to avoid getting entirely soaked!
The village of Torrefeta i Florejacs, Spain. Population of 590.
Lush yellow fields. I am not sure what was growing; nevertheless it provided for a dramatic landscape.
The rain dissuaded us from venturing out for a quick dinner; we opted to simply grab something in the hotel dining room which turned out to be a pleasant experience as they brought complementary champagne at the beginning of the meal-another nice touch!
Overlooking La Rambla where the rain is finally ending. The city needed it!
Complimentary champagne to start the meal.
Toasted Iberian ham & Brie sandwich.
Roasted vegetable and ham soup. All European soups seem to be puréed.
Thus ends our lovely trip. We must catch a 4:30 AM cab to the airport as our flight leaves at 6:50 AM and we do not to risk missing it.
April 21, 2024: A Barcelona Food Tour and Flamenco!
I wanted to stay a couple of days with an objective of visiting the country of Andorra, which is located about three hours from Barcelona. I had signed up for a tour that was supposed to be today but at the last minute the tour operator had to switch days until tomorrow so we had a “free “ day here. I had purposely switched hotels to a more quaint one (Hotel 1898) located on the famous “La Rambla” street, undoubtedly the most famous street in Barcelona. It is mostly a pedestrian only street that extends one mile to the Barcelona harbor. It is lined with shops, restaurants and bars and is considered the “happening” place in Barcelona. I recalled an earlier visit here with friends where we had marvelous huge goblets of sangria and tapas.
A lady from Australia who several people said could be Yvonne’s sister!
The lobby of Hotel 1898. It was originally the headquarters of the General Philippines Tobacco Company.
The building was originally built in 1891. It was made into a hotel in 2005. It got its name as 1898 was the year Cuba and the Philippines got their independence.
Not sure how comfortable these chairs would be.
Hallway leading to our room.
We commonly take walking food tours when we visit a new city/country and I found an interesting one here in Barcelona, so at 10:30 AM we walked to a nearby plaza where we met Brendan, our tour guide, who happened to be an Irishman and a “foodie” living in Barcelona. There were 8 other people from around the world who also joined this leisurely four hour food tour. Not surprisingly we were introduced to new Spanish food and drinks with great stories. Brendan is also a history buff so we learned new things about this area. It was a very interesting four hours! That is the main reason we enjoy these food tours.
The famous La Rambla pedestrian walkway.
A side street off LaRambla.
Even the steel shutters protecting businesses are fair game for graffiti.
A Wedding? Or simply a well dressed lady posing for a TikTok posting.
The 14th century Palau Reial Major, palace of the Kings of Aragon.
Plaça de Ramon Berenguer el Gran, where we met our food tour guide.
Meeting Brendan, an Irish man who is a foodie and lives in Barcelona.
Our first stop on the food tour-freshly made Spanish churros, a popular Spanish breakfast fare.
Because they use yeast in the mixture these churros are more like a doughnut. We liked it better than churros we find in the USA. You traditionally dip them in hot chocolate.
The hot chocolate dipping sauce has the consistency of a pudding. It was marvelous!
A famous bakery that was over 100 years old! Sadly we did not stop.
Businesses that have existed over 100 years get one of these plaques located by its door.
A quiet street that once housed merchants.
Because people could not read, symbols would identify the type of merchants who occupied a street. This was likely a street of brothels.
Entrance to an intriguing art gallery.
Entering a small residential square for our next tasting.
A very unassuming bar and snack shop.
A very small bodega where we tasted homemade vermouth and ham.
Flassaders, a traditional homemade vermouth , which was really tasty.
Tasty olives. I was surprised at some of the colors.
Fabulous Iberian ham, made from pigs who eat acorns!
Our group on the Barcelona Secret Food Tour, led by Brendan.
Our next stop in a different part of town.
Nice decor.
Local beer and mild fried peppers(Pimientos de Padrón).
Papas rellanas- potato stuffed with meat.
Inside of a papas rellanas. It was really tasty.
Fried seafood of various types.
The famous tortilla de sobrasada, the potato and onion omelet. Marvelous!
Pickled Spanish anchovies. I did not think I would like them, but they were good!
Callos, a stew made with tripe, sausage and other items. Not my favorite.
The “after” picture!
Sign identifying the men’s bathroom.
The correct way to pour sangria.
These are “calcots”, a mild onion only available in late winter. They are roasted on a fire and dipped in an almond sauce.
You need a bib to eat calcots.
Roasted calcots ready to eat.
You need to pull off the outer burnt layer (messy).
Dip and eat, as shown!
Butifarra sausage and beans. Made of pork, it is very mild and a favorite in Catalonia.
Drinking wine from a parron. Dangerous!
Somewhat like a crème brûlée.
A homemade lemoncello digestif to finish our tour.
Lunch was out of the question after this tour so we lounged around a bit and I convinced Yvonne to take in the other major attraction of Barcelona and Spain- a flamenco show! There are quite a few small venue shows in the area and the hotel steered us to one located about an 8 minute walk from the hotel. Traditionally the shows feature a singer, guitarist and a male and female flamenco dancer. Shows typically are 45-60 minutes long and the theaters hold maybe 50 people as intimacy is an important feature of the show.
We returned to our room to find this welcome gift, mislabeled as we have never stayed there before. However, the thought was appreciated.
Streetlight on La Rambla.
One of several flower shops on La Rambla. Note the wavy sidewalk tile. There were also shops selling flower and vegetable seeds.
Lots of sidewalk cafes serving sangria and tapas.
A door on La Rambla.
Plaça Reial, where the flamenco venue was located.
Opening in 1963, Tarantos advertise they are the oldest showplace in Barcelona.
The show started with the guitar player and singer.
The lady dancing alone. The male also had his time in the spotlight.
They sometimes danced together. It was strenuous dancing.
The participants in tonight’s show.
Another Barcelona door.
One last gelato for the road!
Still not hungry after the show I simply sampled yet another Barcelona gelato store as we called it a day, as tomorrow we must be ready to leave for Andorra at 8 AM.
