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!

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.

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.