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 Mongolia bicycle tour 2001 offline version Copyright 2002: René Maassen rene_maassen@zonnet.nl
Nederlandse (Dutch) versie Best viewed at 800 by 600 pixels. 1). Wait till the document is fully loaded in your browser (1,2 MB). 2). Save the document local on your PC (File, Save as....Full HTML Document). 3). Close the connection. 4). Scroll through the photo book.  01). Mongolia is the land of the endless grass plains, temperatures between -40 C (-40 F) and + 40 C (104 F), ghers, horses, yaks, camels and nomads: an economy that is fueled by grass. We want to bicycle in one of the remotest country's on the planet. Mongolia is 3x as large as France (France is the size of Texas) and our visum is valid for only 1 month.  02). On thursday June 14th our slow train rolls into Mongolia.  03). The train runs through the Southern Gobi dessert. In the train we meet Batsuuri. He lives in UB and will help us with many problems. We may stay for free in his Mongolian Hotel (those are empty in summer).  04). Ulan Bator is the capital of Mongolia. It's a very ugly town, build in Soviet style by the Russians. Their heritage are dreadful cities full with leaking and rusting pipes for central city heating and concrete boxes to house people in a terrible state of construction and maintenance. Today the Russians are not beloved in Mongolia (neither the Chinese, they still have a 'claim' on this since 1911 independent country, what they call "Outer Mongolia". The most Northern province of China is called "Inner Mongolia", to give you the feeling). There are hardly any ethical or historical relations with the Russians or the Chinese, other than war-like relations. Like this, Mongolia could keep it's independence till today, squeezed between two even larger neighbours that more than likely would have loved to "integrate" the now defenceless country. The cavalry of Ghengis Khan (1162 - 1227) where the regional masters in long gone times (the Western border was as far West as Hungary!). His introduction into the world history of the mobile army (on horse) was one of the pillars behind his success. The Chinese had even build their famous "Great Chinese Wall" to stop the Mongols (it didn't). Today the leading rolls have been reversed and Mongolia keeps quiet. (Photo by John Scane.)  05). 15th June 2001. The monastery "Gandan Tegchinlin" in Ulaan Bator. In the mean while we are busy for days to get a visum extension. With the help of Batsuuri, the local TV and many Dollars we get one month extra.  06). 2001/06/17. Photo from Batsuuri's hotel. This is outside town in a district called "Yarmag". In the distance, 12 km (8 miles), lays UB. With the crowded city bus we travel up-and-down to town.  07). 2001/06/20. The time is ripe: now we'll ride into the country side! Finally all paperwork is finished. Now we will see the true Mongolia!  08). 2001/06/21. From UB to Kharhorin runs a paved road (Mongolia has only 3 or so). For the rest, Mongolia has only 'tracks'. Here we see our first herd of camels. Today it is almost 40 C (104 F) and no wind.  09). 2001/06/22. This stretch from UB to Kharhorin is almost without surface water. Next to the road are rain water mudd holes for the cattle. The nomads know a few wells and springs.  10). 2001/06/23. This is Engchbat, a jeep driver and mechanic. On just the 4th day of cycling in Mongolia, this whole journey was planned around this remote country, catastrophe hits hard. My freewheel is definitely finished. This problem never happens (unless it happens: Rene's 1st law of shit-prevention). In a nearby gher we seek some shadow and I try to fix it. But I don't have the special tool that is needed to open the freewheel housing. This is the end of the journey! NOT! Engchbat simply makes that tool from some rusty piece of steel and sharpens the freewheel edges as emergency repair. And it works, this trip is saved from a sudden death!  11). We stay the next day too at these very friendly people. Each gher has a dog that is very aggressive at first, but soon friendly afterwards (the dog depends on humans for it's warm meal). On a hot day, like today, you can see that the felt material of the gher-cover is folded up. On such a warm day, it is suprisingly cool inside the gher, because the felt (wool) isolates against heat too. In the winter people simply add more layers of felt as extra insulation. The felt is made in August from crushed sheep wool in a centuries old procedure.  12). We help to rope the annimals to milk them. In this camp of 4 ghers lives one family. This is their spring location. Every hand is needed to catch the beasts (ghoat, sheep, horse and yak) and milk them. Our help is very welcome! The women are busy most of the day to produce products from the milk (cheese, butter, yochurt, sour cream, alcoholic drinks: yes you can make those too from milk!).  13). Most families move their camp four times a year. That goes very fast, all is designed for mobility. (Photo from postcard: author unknown).  14). One of woman makes a new "del": the Mongolian long jacket. In the gher are wooden boxes with the peoples possesions.  15). Our host "Tso-gerden" and his wife "Ojung-ghered". Their gher has a solar panel that charges a battery. Inside the gher are a bulp, radio and a TV.  16). The clan is almost complete here (grandma didn't want to pose). Back home in the Netherlands we are short people, but here we are giants.  17). 2001/06/26. At Kharhorin. In the times of Ghengis Khan this was the capital of the Mongolians. Apart from this huge monastery, no buildings have been left. Today it is officialy a "monastery museum". The Boeddhist people try to make it a true monastery again (the communists banned that).  18). Kharhorin. The Mongolian Boeddhism is spawned from the Tibetan Mahajana Boeddhism. In this, among many things are the 10 protector demons of the Boeddha, on of these is on this door.  19). A pillars end , portrait as a turtle. This is very likely the only remaining piece of an other stone building, from the days this was Ghengis Khan's capital. In the back ground are the enormous walls of the "monastery museum".  20). Kharhorin.  21). Kharhorin.  22). 2001/06/26. We ride further. A herd of yaks passes.  23). 2001/06/27. Our green tent drowns in this green landscape.  24). 2001/06/27. Curious children gather around us. Where we stop, no tourist ever comes (the great advantage of cycling!) These kids are natural beautiful: playfull, unprejudiced, cheerful and curious. No begging, no pushing.  25). 2001/06/28. (Drink)water needs our daily attention, planning and management. Now it rains and the river water is very muddy therefore and undrinkable. We collect the rain water with the screen we've made ourselves at home.  26). View from the kitchen window; we are indeed in Mongolia.  27). The town "Tsetserleg". That means "garden" in Mongolian. This is indeed a green and nice town, without Sovjet influences. It lays very pretty between the sparsly tree covered mountains. The roads here are quite bad are will get worse farther west.  28). 2001/06/29. We drink a glass of "airmag", that is fermented (=rotten) horse milk. It contains a few percent alcohol. Mongolians love this as a summer drink (only then the horses have enough milk), we know nicer drinks. Jolanda gets sick soon afterwards. We place our tent here and stay a few days. In the nearby ghers we get food and thea. I can buy some cheese, yochurt and "bortz" (dried meat) too. This after a long 'struggle': they didn't want to be paid for the goods I'd bought.  29). Several families have their summer camp here. Most come to take a look and make a chat with their new temporairy neighbours. Our Mongolian phrase book is worth it's weight in gold!  30). Our next-door neighbours.  31). One of their grandchildren. (Watch the completely wooden wheel of the cart too).  32). 2001/07/02. We continue our route to the West. This stretch of road recieved maintenance recently. What a great views and grand cycling!  33). A last little but steep pass, below us lays Terkin Tsagaan Nuur ("Great White Lake"). We will camp here a few days. Giant pikes swim in this lake, we eat one: fantastic!  34). Sunset at Terkin Tsagaan Nuur (Photo by John Scane).  35). 2001/07/04. We want to cross the central mountain ridge of Mongolia; we'll go from the North side to the South side. There is nothing more than a horse track to follow.  36). Ready for a new day at work.  37). Happy camper drinks a large cup of thea in the nice afternoon sun.  38). 2001/07/06. The last gher camp for the pass. The tiny green dot in front of the gher is our tent. Grumbling yaks are marching by. (They make that noise the whole day; a grumbling yak is a happy yak).  39). Herdsman have sharp eyes. This family member lives a mile up the valley. They have spotted us, and have come to check us out.  40). The whole clan wants to be photographed. Things are always cheerful here in Mongolia. And what a beautiful people these are!  41). 2001/07/07. On our way to the pass (2710 meters, 9000 feet). The horse track is gone: there is no trail. On our satelite map of Mongolia and GPS we push through the marsh land. We camp at the pass. At night temperatures drop to - 2 C (30 F). Then a second pass follows of 2710 meters (9000 feet) too.  42). 2001/07/09. We have survived this too. We are now at the Southern side, the side of the Gobi dessert. It is here a lot dryer and warmer.  43). Soon the first herdsman come again to take a look and to make a chat. I order cheese, that we collect the next morning at their gher (very young cheese).  44). 2001/07/10. To the neighbours to collect the ordered cheese. (we also get thea and food). After some pushing, they accept some money for our cheese.  45). Inside, these people make "airmag" too, that fermented horse milk. The bag is an inside-out turned sheep skin. They place the de-creamed horse milk in there to let it rot to sour horse milk alcohol.  46). The kids pose in front of the gher, than all say goodbye and wish us the best. What a hospitable country and people these are!  47). 2001/07/18. We take a short cut, that turns out to be a lot longer than expected. We camp at this cheerful family. The man at the far right must the the tallest Mongolian. The second tallest man in the center is his father. All other Mongolians have been shorter than us. The wind propellor generates electricity that charges a battery. That feeds a satelite reciever (!), TV, Radio and light bulb. The brown wall, is a shit wall (a wall made of shit, that's why it's brown). In the summer months, animal dung is collected. That fuels the stove the whole winter. (Human shit is eaten by the dogs. Outside is one large toilet, restroom for the Americans, you can have a shit where ever you please. The dogs follow you for their warm meal). Green electricity and total recycling here in Mongolia! Jolanda wears a brown "del" (no shit) and stands next to me. Did you notice her?  48). 2001/07/23. A worn down monastery is being repaired by the locals. Under the communist regime (1911 - 1991), religion was illegal. After the peacefull revolution a democratic system was introduced. At present the largest now elected party is....... the communist party! But now the people are free to practice their Boeddhist religion (in the far West live Muslims). But funds and resources are failing for the job.  49). 2001/07/24. A pack of camels near our tent in the evening sun. Camels are very shy.  50). 2001/07/25. On our way back to UB. These are again "Tso-gerden" and his wife "Ojung-ghered" from photo 15. At photo 15 (when my freewheel broke down), they where at their spring camp. They had shown where there summer camp would be (a few kilometer to the North). We visit them again. These people have a wooden cabin at their summer camp. The rest of the year they live in their gher, that is more economical to heat.  51). 2001/07/06. We camp next to this gher that belongs to this woman and her children. Her husband is in UB. We are again recieved friendly with smiles, thea and food.  52). Two dumb blondes on one photo. (Contrary to people, blonde camels are quite rare).  53). 2001/08/03. Safe back in UB. We may stay again in the hotel of Batsuuri in Yarmag. This is the central square of UB. The statue is the "Ulan Bator" (Red Hero). Sukhbaatar was his name. In 1921 he declared Mongolia definitely independent from China, after he, with the help of the by then communists too Russians, pushed the then still capitalistic Chinese out (of which the then leaders of China, the American backed Kuomintang, that are todays leaders of Taiwan, who had fled for the communist revolution of Mao in 1949 to Taiwan). Are you still with me? Mongolia had declared independence for the first time in 1911 already. Benefiting from the chaos the Western colonial powers and the Chinese themselves had made in China.  54). Detail from a Sovjet style flat in UB. What a contrast to the country side of this country! The concrete front plates of the building are all loose and may fall down at any moment.  55). René, Batsuuri, his mother and Jolanda.  56). The kitchen chef of Batsuuri's hotel and restaurant. She and her husband cook great meals. Mongolians eat mainly mutton meat. Other tourists we speak in UB complain about the mutton meat, but we think it's delicious!  57). On August 5th we are on the train back to beijing. Our bicycles are packed in these self made boxes (in UB) that fit precisely in our coupe (a worse fit was possible).  58). Goodbye beautiful Mongolia! Thank you so much all of you lovely, hospitable and beautiful people in this magic land. We hope for a safe and free future under the blue sky's for these peaceful and great people! May Boeddha's wisdom be available to all of mankind.
Mongolia bicycle tour summer 2001 offline version Copyright 2002: René Maassen rene_maassen@zonnet.nl More bicycle travel books: http://www.home.zonnet.nl/rene_maassen Best viewed at 800 by 600 pixels. 1). Wait till the document is fully loaded in your browser (1,2 MB). 2). Save the document local on your PC (File, Save as....Full HTML Document). 3). Close the connection. 4). Scroll through the photo book. |
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Rene en Jolanda Maassen prive pagina's. Fietsreizen en fietsen op de fiets door IJsland, USA, Amerika, Japan, China, Mongolie, Mongolië, Laos, Thailand, Singapore. Rene,Jolanda,Maassen,fietsreizen,fietsen,fiets,fietsvakantie,wereldfietser, fietsreiziger,foto,fotoboek,reisfotoboek,IJsland,USA,Amerika,Japan,China,Mongolie,Mongolië,Laos,Thailand,Singapore. Bicycle bycycle tour coast to coast cross USA bikes cycling world bicyle tour. Orlando Florida Pensacola Dollar Louisiana New Orleans Texas Hylton Arizona Tombstone Saguaro cactus The Rim Strawberry Payson Grand Canyon California Californie Californië Bad Water Death Valley Emigrant Pass Pacific San Francisco Tokyo Tokio Yen reizende zon Mt. Fuji Fuji-san Toba Kinosaki Honshu Skikoku Matsuyama Kochi Osaka Kobe onsen China Tianjin Peking Beijing trein Verboden stad Peking eend mongolie UB Ulan Batar Ulaan Bator steppen gher Togruk ghers paarden kamelen koeien geiten schapen gras Kharhorin Tsetserleg Bayankhongor kaas airmag gefermenteerd paardenmelk yoghurt zuivel bortz gedroogd vlees Trans Siberië express expres trein Moskou bus fiets RMB volksgeld Volksrepubliek China Chengdu Sishuan Lehsan Leshan Boeddha Kunming Yunnan Zuiden van de wolken Xishuangbanna Jinghong Mengla ananas pommelon banaan passievrucht tropisch bamboe Panda beer Pandabeer Laos Boten Udom Xai Muang Xai Boeddhistisch klooster tempel monnik oranje wit schilderingen bedelen bedelnap Mekong rivier Luang Prabang UNESCO werelderfgoedlijst boot Pakbeng Huay Xai Kip Kippen Thailand Chiang Kong Chiang Rai Chiang Mai Lamphun olifanten Pai trek raften bamboe raft vlot Kampheng Phet Old Sukhothai Ayuthaya Bangkok lucky Boeddha Phetburi Ranong Istmus of Kra Krabi Trang Maleisie Penang VOC fort forten Melakka Malacca Singapore Lee Kuan Yew Tijgerbalsum Haw Par villa coast park. IJsland Seydisfjordur Husavik Myvatn middernachtzon middernachtszon 24 uur dag licht Westfjorden Isafjordur Latrabjarg Reykjavik Hekla Kjolur Landmannalaugar Sprengisandur zwarte woestijn lavazand vulkaan Askja zwemmen zwavel Vatnajokul Vatnajokull James Bond "A view to a kill" Jokulsarlon Kverkfjoll zuidkust vissen kabeljouw veerboot Faroer Faroër eilanden Thorshaven.