Mann des Jahrtausends

30. Juni 2011 - Ulan Baator - Erdene

Seit heute sind die Emma und ich genau einen Monat zusammen unterwegs. Es ist schon spanend, wie man mit einem Menschen, den man vorhin nie gesehen hat, so ein Projekt zu stande bringt und trotzt vielen Rückschlägen so weit kommen kann. Das macht uns sehr glücklich. Zudem hat es sie motiviert, ihre Reise nochmals zu verlängern. Ihr Traum ist Indien. Wir haben zur Feier des Tages uns im teuersten Irish-Pup der Stadt ein herrliches Diner gegönnt. Lasagne und Ceasar Salad.

Wenn man die Tage durch UB wandert, fällt einem auf, dass sich die Stadt herauszuputzen beginnt. Nadaam steht vor vor Tür und jede Strasse will sauber sein. Viele werden sogar neu geteert und überall spriessen die Festzelte aus dem Boden. Wir haben unsere Karten für die Eröffnungsfeier bestellt. Was für ein Highlight.

Ein weiteres Highlight habe ich heute mit unseren Zimmerkompanen erlebt. Albert, kyle, raquel und ich sind heute aus der Stadt gefahren um uns die 50 Meter hohe Statue von Kultfigur und Nationalheld Chingis Khan anzuschauen. Dieses Ding steht an selber Ort und Stelle, wo damals der Khan der Khane, der Mann des Milleniums, eine bedeutende Reliquie gefunden hatt. Das zugehörige Museum war enttäuschend, erwartet doch jeder etwas Geschichte über den ehemaligen Herrscher. Anstelle gibts eine doofe Ausstellung mit Bronzestücken. Herrlich ist aber der Ausblick vom Kopfe der Statue.

Emmas day - by emma

29. Juni - Ulan Baator

I have gotten so used to speak english that when I am speaking swedish I am building the sentences as they where in english, which results in very bad swedish.

The reason why I have been speaking swedish in the first place is that we met two guys from Sweden earlier today. They are staying at the same hostel as us and we went out together for beer and dinner. In the end we drank plenty of beers and ate lots of good food.
We went to an Irish Pub where I had a delicious hamburger, Lukas shared a plate with Gustav, one of the swedish guys. They had fried chicken wings, onion rings, french fries, potatoes, salad and much more. It was expensive, but we deserved it, according to the day we had.

The plan is to take the train back to Beijing after Nadaam-festival. Being spontaneous when you are out traveling almost always results in some kind of extra work. In my case, I have to get a new visa for China.
We were all (including our room mates) trying to sleep as long as possible this morning. Although we all woke up when they came to clean our room around nine. Lukas went online on his computer and I went for breakfast. Yoghurt, bread, instant noodles and coffee. A Redbull for Lukas, as I thought he might needed it for the upcoming meeting with Ger to Ger.

Later on, I went to the Chinese Embassy and found out that they have very limited opening hours. I am therefore going to give it a new try on friday morning. On my way back, I passed by a window where they had a english Cosmopolitan. I went in and found a cozy cafe where they played Dylan, had books and magazines for borrow and coffee for sale. So I sat down for a espresso, Cosmopolitan and a window seat.

While I enjoyed my espresso Lukas had a "booking flight ticket/ canceling the whole trip- meeting" at the travel agency Ger to Ger.
It turned out that all the flights from UlaanBaatar to ölgii are fully booked. Sadly enough Lukas had to cancel the trip he had been looking forward to so long. 80 percent refund for the flight ticket back from ölgii and hopefully 100 percent for the trip (OR?).

At this point we have been quite used to the opposite of "rückenwind". So we went to our hostel manager and counted the refund we got, since we got back earlier than expected from our trip. They gave us less than we should have gotten. After long time of counting, thinking and calculating we got the right amount and we felt rich again. Slowly we are turning our difficulties into something good.

On the way back to our room, or to be correct- apartment, we decided to go out for dinner with Gustav and Nicolas. It turned out to be a nice evening and when Lukas later on fell asleep on his bed I started to speak swedish with a funny english twist with Gustav. Tomorrow They are off to Beijing with the train.

Interesting note: Tomorrow marks one month of travelling together. From my point of view, it has been a very interesting month and I really enjoy travelling with Lukas. I would consider that we get along very well.
As it is called; so far, so good.

Life is good... *sambadance*

28. Juni 2011 - Karakorum - Ulan Batoor

Das ging jetzt plötzlich schnell. Im Nu waren wir zurück in Ulan Batoor. Eingecheckt ins gleiche Guesthouse und zack, da sitz ich nun. Zum ersten Mal Stom und zum ersten Mal Internet seit Wochen. (Uee, his life is saved - emma) Es hiess heute auch Abschied nehmen von Chladat unserem magestralen Driver und Kumpel der letzten Tage. Es war nicht immer einfach, nicht die gleiche Sprache sprechend auf den selben Nenner zu kommen. Wir hoffen bald seine Email zu erhalten um ihm auch die Bilder des Trips zu kommen zu lassen.

Was ist nach der Halbzeit zu sagen? 15 Tage in der Mongolei. Ein Land wie Tibet, nur freier. Schön wie China, nur nicht dreckig. Und eine Freundlichkeit, die seines Gleichen sucht. Man spürt richtig das vibrieren dieser eigentlich jungen Nation mit so viel Geschichte. Aufbruch herrscht. Wir witzeln viel, wie es wohl wäre, wenn die Mongolei zu China gehören würde... überall wären Highways und Millionenstädte irgendwo in der Landschaft. Das gibt es hier nicht, auch wenn die Voraussetzungen da wären.

Stattdessen ist die Infrastruktur schlecht, Verkehrsregeln Fakultativ und selbst die Fahrzeuge wissen nicht, ob sie jetzt das Lenkrad links oder rechts haben müssen. Die geteerten Strassen sind schwieriger zu befahren, wie die Wiese daneben und trotzdem läufts. Es herrscht Tatendrang, völlig ohen Kommunismus und ein friedliches Zusammenleben von Minderheiten.

Wir haben hier ein Paradies gefunden. Der erste Ort an dem ich mich wirklich vorstellen könnte zu bleiben. Grosse Worte.

So ganz nebenbei ist noch dieses Wendyposter entstanden :P

From Ancient Capitals and the Mongolian Kids-Volleyball-Nationalteam - by emma

27. Juni 2011 - Tsenkher Hotsprings - Karakorum

We have soon finished our mongolian Chengis vodka and we both got pretty tipsy after only a couple of glasses. We blame it on the altitude.
Last stop today before we are reaching our final destination Ulaanbaatar is Kharakhorum. A little ancient city not to far from Ulaanbaatar. We started this morning with a proper breakfast, yoghurt with muesli, bread, jam, yakbutter, cheese paistries and tea.

Full and happy we left the hot springs for visiting temples in Kharakorum, the old capital of mongolia, bevore Kublai Khaan moved it to Bejing in ancient days. On the way here we started to enjoy the ride when we finally reached the paved road instead of gravel road. This is one good thing with being out travelling- you really get perspectives. Especially on things you take for granted back home.

After approximately four hours in the car we came to the temple of Erdene Zuu Khiid in Kharakorum. Thumbs up for free entry and we spent over an hour walking around in the temple area. We got some really nice photos, realized that we  need to read more about Bhuddism and spend some money on touristic souvenirs.

We had lunch in town and as usual our incredible driver were finished with his meal when both me and Lukas just had begun. He is one version of the  "one-minute-man".

The tourist attraction that definitely took the cake today was the 60 cm long stone penis. We took some entertaining photos, bought some more touristic souvenirs and left for looking at a turtle also made of stone.

Our last over night stop is at a place in town with a wonderful family. Or, to be correct, they have some wonderful kids.
I started to feel sick today, probably just a cold, but I decided to just ignore it and we went for dinner with our neighbours in the ger beside us. Mother and daughter from Maryland, USA. This mongolian dinner was actually quite good, vegetarian dumplings. No greasy meat, which we are getting pretty tired of.

We drank vodka, since this is actually the last night in this trip, and then Luke thought it was his time to shine. He learned the kids how to play volleyball and I was there with the camera.
It was a nice evening spent with some friendly lokals.

Tomorrow we will be back in UB and hopefully we are going to meet the nice danish couple who will also be back tomorrow. Then we have some paperwork to do, I need to get a visa for China since we are planning to take the train back to Beijing and Lukas need to book a flight ticket to ölgii.
Even though this trip has come to an end, our mongolian trip are far away from the end. We still have almost two weeks left in this beautiful country  and we are going to enjoy every single minute and continue to make the most of it. 

Hot Pools are great :D

26. Juni 2011 - White Lake - Tsenkher Hotsprings

The day started not so good. first we had to say goodbye to Hendrik and Kathrina, the Danish dudes and then we had to introduce our Driver to the New Itenery. That ended up in calling the UB Guesthouse for helping translating. Finally on the Road i realized that i made a bad deal with emma. I have an appointment in the far west of Mongolia. 7 Days Car Ride from UB and 4 from where we are now. Our trip was supposed to bring me there and emma would go they way back to UB with the driver. Because of our change i have to buy a flight from UB to Bayan Ogil... what will cost me another 400 Dollar. I first thought i can compensate this with the money we save by returning earlier, but thats not true because emma was supposed to pay after i left. So i am not that happy about that. Of course i dont judge her for that but for me it would be easier and cheaper to just follow the first plan we had. Id needed a serious talk, but we are fine again. and thats good. =)

I am really happy that we were able to solve this problem like grown ups. Thats so important enjoy a journey and work together as a team.

We arrived now at the famous Tsenkher hotsprings. The Accommodation here is much more expensive but gives unlimited access to the hot pools in the camp - and they are amazing... and hot... ive burned my feet during our first try. :D

Later on we joined a funny group of random people in the pool and had some travellerconversations till the stars came up in their full brightness but still not shiny enough to see the opposits face. Because we are so hardcore we stayed for hours in the now perfect temperated pool till we were the last ones to leave.

one thing about the weather. its just fantastic. The land of the blue sky does not lie. almost no rain. hot sun and chili wind. everything cools down during the night and the rhythm starts in the morning from new. in china it already heats up to 40 degrees... and here it is just perfect. A big hug for mongolia.

Staralfur - by luke

5. June 2011 - White Lake

Before we write something about today, there must be a little chapter about the mongolian food. We had this encounter for the last days and we had to realize that there is actually more then soup with potatoes, meat, carrots and cabbage - But they dont care :D They rather stay with their tasteless rural food than taking our fancy pasta offer. wired. but finally we found our favourite dish: Fish paistry! Its made of paistry and fish (NO WAY) and comes pan-fried. Mjummy.

Today we made it to the volcano. it seemes to be a very popular spot around here, then a lot of tourists, most of them came by horses, were climbing up the rocky path to the crater. when we where up there i finally realized how much influence that vulcano took on the environment and how beautiful the black lavafield flows trough the valley, overgrown with trees and farns. The Buddhist and Shamans-Followers appreciate that by building a lot of ovoos on it. We also have to mention that we had a great time with our danish fellows. we found out that hendrik works for the danish travel company Dawa mentioned having a deal with UB Guesthouse. What a coincidence again. He was checking out the quality of the UB Guesthouse as an tour operator.

Later on i was climbing the hill behind our Ger, took some great shots and listened to sigur ros. i should do this more often. but the tight schedule of our tour let me almost no time. On my way down ive met some travelers which i saw on the peak of the vulcano earlier the day. so we started drinkin Vodka (what a good reason :P) When i came out of their ger ive found Chladat totally embarrassed looking for me. I was in another gear camp and they came searching me!!! Everybody was looking for me even if emma knew where i was. so i have a new nickname now: Swiss guy!!! Where is the Swiss guy? Haha, calm down dudes, i just went for a walk.

The Mongolians really look good for the foreigners here. you cant get lost. and if you do, they turn around every stone, use every connection they have to bring you back. even if they dont have to, because you travel independent. thats impressive. also no rip-offs like in south east asia for example... here is the heart and survival on first position, then comes the money.

Changes - by luke

24. Juni 2011 - Somewhere in the Mountains - White Lake.

Today we made a decision. It is now the second day in a row that we spent in a car. Of course, the scenery is still fantastic but luke agrees now to emmas thoughts that this is not what we are looking for. Of course, this is mongolia and we have to take it how it is. We missed to have a guide so we always have to look for somebody who speaks english. because it IS remote and the roads ARE bad but as long as we have the chance to change something we should do that. So we dont go directly to the west as expectet. We take the way from where we are back to UB, which takes us 5 then 12 days. The Money we save Emma will may use for a gobi-trip and i will fly to where we supposed to drive. So it will be equal with the money and we are able to see more sights like the old capital of karakorum, some famous hotsprings and also our drivers home. Sounds complicated, but in the end it makes more then just sense.

So all is fine again and we can talk of a big luck, that we did not start to fight or something... it seems that we are a pretty good team. :D Not only that. its also a new motivation to see more and also learn more about the country of blue sky.

Today we arrived after another 9 hours bumpy car ride at the white lake and made friends with a danish couple. they fortunately have the same goal for tomorrow, means reaching the top of a vulcano around the lake. So we teamed up and also our drivers seem not to be unhappy of this idea.

The only thing that remains unclear is what happens now to our hitchhiker lama, who became like a part of the crew. how will he get to his hometown which we supposed to reach on our premier route?... we will see.

What have we done today? - by emma

3. Juni 2011 - Khövsgöl Nuur Nationalpark - Somewhere in the Mountains.

Well, we have been sitting in the car, driving. Driving and driving a little more. Sadly enough, we had to leave the beautiful lake Khövsgöl and our lovely host Dawa since we have this tight schedule.

8.30 in the morning I was up whatching the sunset over the lake and Luke slept (surprisingly enough...) when Dava came in to our gear with breakfast. Bread, home made butter, jam, fried eggs and tea. We enjoyed the breakfast, took some photos with the family and left.

We were "looking forward" to only five to six hours in the car, but when the five to six hours turned into eleven hours we were pretty tired and our motivation according to this hole trip/ adventure started to slowly fade away.

It is not only bumpy and boring to sit in the car, even though it is most of the time. We enjoy each others company, including our driver and our hitch hiker altough they dont know a word in english. Funny things seems to be happening on the road that that we can all laugh about.
For example, Luke borrowed our drivers lighter and lost it. He bought a new one and the driver placed it between the front seats in the car- right above the engine. Suddenly in the middle of nowhere there was an explosion. I can tell you that I really had some exercise for my stomach muscles afterwards.

When we finally arrived at the top of a beautiful Mongolian hill we sat the tent up (it is a good thing that I was a Scout when I was a kid since I seem to be McGyver in this company...) (thats no all correct - Luke) and cooked some dinner. While waiting for the pasta water to boil they practiced some hand stand and climbed a tree. I was the photographer.

The day ended in the tent with a bottle of whine listening to the rain outside.

Important note: Luke finished his first english book! Congrats to him. Now he only have 15 to goo if he wants too keep up with me... (EMMA!!! - Luke)

We're Shamanized!!!

22. Juni 2011 - Khövsgöl Nuur Nationalpark

Wieder sitzen wir in unserem inzwischen lieb gewonnenen Ger, haben gerade Mongolische Dumplings mit viel FLEISCH gegessen und schauen den flackernden Kerzen zu. Wäre unser Zeitplan nicht so eng, dann würden wir hier sofort noch einige Tage bleiben.

Dawa, das Familienoberhaupt, hatte heute die spontane Idee die Rehntierhirten im Nordwesten einen Besuch abzustatten. Diese Ethnishche Minderheit lebt zurückgezogen in den Wäldern und ihre Lebensart ist mit derer der Samisch in Skandinavien zu vergleichen. Wieder einmal durchquärten wir wunderschöne Wälder und Felder, deren Farben so intensiv sind, kaum vorstellbar, entlang dem Khövsgol Nuur See, in dem sich gut 2 Prozent des Weltweiten Trinkwassers befinden.

Bei den Hirten angekommen, waren wir dann etwas enttäuscht. Auch hier, in diesem entlegenen Ort sind die Touristendollar angekommen. So zog diese Familie aus ihrem Teretorium zum See und sobald sie uns sahen, wurde ein Arsenal an Touristensouvenirs ausgerollt. Ebenfalls hatten diese Hirten nur 10 Tiere, obwohl wir laut Wikipedia an die 700 erwarten durften.

Dawa erfuhr aber in einem Gespräch dann von einer Shamanen-Pristerin, die ihren Sitz ganz in der Nähe zu haben scheint. Wir lieben Dawas Ideen und schwupps waren wir da und erlebten eine Shamanenzeremonie hautnah mit. Es sei eine Ausnahme, daher sie selten Fremde in ihrem Waldhaus begrüsst. Das Waldstück war dekoriert mit verschiedenfarbenen Stoffstücken, jedes einem Anderen Gott gewittmet. Als sie dann auf ihrer Trommel zu spielen begann und in Trance viel, waren wir sehr, sehr beeindruckt. Als wären sie von der  freigesetzten Energie angelockt, schlichen etliche Wildpferde um den heiligen Ort... Es war ein magischer Moment, in dem ich mich der Natur so Nahe fühlte, wie noch selten zu vor. Was haben wir mal wieder für ein Glück.

Als wir uns am Abend im Badhaus eine Dusche gönnten, konnte ich meinen Augen kaum trauen. Da war Sebastian, ein Reisender, den wir damals in Chengdu getroffen hatten. Dies war nach Patrick in Hong Kong und Steve in der Schlange vor der Mongolischen Botschaft in Beijing nun das dritte Mal, dass mir das passierte. Wie krass ist das denn. Ich hab immer gedacht, die Leute, die mir solche Geschichten erzählen, verarschen mich. Aber es ist war. Ich habe es soeben erneut erlebt. Wir hatten nicht viel zu reden, nicht mit jedem ist man gleich dicke, aber der Zufall haute uns beide um, wie die Blitze in der folgenden Nacht einige Bauern, die vom Unwetter auf dem Felde überrascht wurden.

Wirklich schade, dass wir morgen weiter müssen. Dieser Flecken Erde in seiner Unberührtheit und Reinheit wird mir fehlen. Auch die Gastfreundschaft von Dawa und ihrer Familie wird in Erinnerung bleiben. Sie hat mir auch nahe gelegt, dass sie gerne wieder selber Touristen durchs Land führen möchte, hatte sie das früher oft für das UB Guesthouse getan. Zudem ist sie sehr Glücklich, dass eben dieser Touroperator jetzt einen Vertrag mit einer Dänischen Reiseagentur hat. Die Zukunft is also gesichert.

My horse likes you - by emma

21. Juni 2011 - Khövsgöl Nuur Nationalpark

At the moment I am lying on my bed, writing the blog. Sitting up is nearly impossible. Lukas is lying in his bed beside me, whining about his pain. Horseback riding on the mongolian countryside is much more exhausting than we could have ever imagined. Five hours on a horse and we have seen mongolia in its best.

After twelve (!) hours in the car yesterday I started to lose my, usually unbeatable, positive spirit. I started to think about if all of the money we have spent on going on this trip was actually worth it. Sitting in a bumpy car all day long was not really what I expected.
Today I am convinced that this trip that we are doing is worth every single cent.

The views we have seen today is beyond amazing. We find it hard to choose the best pictures from all we took today.
To describe it short, we are living in a Ger close to the lake Khövsgöl. The water in the lake are comparable to the lakes in New Zealand which is the most beautiful water I have ever seen. It is turquoise and totally clear. (You can even drink it!)
We were riding through a forest covered in summer flowers in different colors, everywhere we went there were Yaks and we were riding through several open fields.

We stopped for lunch in a typical mongolian cafe- just as in a private not so good looking kitchen where the mother (?) in the village were cooking the same dish as they all seem to eat here, spaghetti, potatoes, some kind of meat, carrots and onions, all in boiling water.

At the end of the lake (opposite side from where we are staying) you are pretty close to the Russian border. Being uncareful can cost you your life though you will be shot by the Russian border forces. We have also found out that we came so far up north that we actually are in what is called the Siberian Taiga. We are in Siberia. OMG :)

Visiting reindeer people in a village about 50 km from here is what is up tomorrow. Right now, one of my favourite movies is up - Be Kind Rewind. What could possible be better than to end a fantastic day with watching a good movie with some good company in your own Ger with tea and a fireplace?

Gerücht und Wahrheit - by luke

20. June 2011 - ??? - Khövsgöl Nuur Nationalpark

Man fragt sich oft, was hinter all den Grüchten steht, die einem Land voraus gehen. Was die Mongolei angeht, trifft mehr zu, als man denkt. Hier wird die Zeit zurück gedreht und steht an manchen Orten gar still. Nomaden sind hier wirkliche noch Nomaden, trotzt der Satellitenschüssel am Ger. Der Weg ist gepflastert mit traditionellen Ovoos, kleine oder grössere Heiligtümer, die dem Reisenden Glück bereiten, sofern er sie im Uhrzeigersin umrundet und 3 Steine oder andere Güter dem Haufen hinzufügt. Wir tun das ziemlich oft. Eine willkommene Pause für unsere Hintern.

Ebenfalls war ist, dass das, was die hier Strassen nennen, bei uns nicht mal als Feldweg durchgehen würde. Da ist sie doch Dick auf der Karte. Eine Linie so gross wie ne Autobahn. Aber wo ist sie denn bitte, die Strasse? Wir holpern seit 3 Stunden über grünste Wiese. Die Richtung stimmt aber, daher wir ab und zu eine Ortschaft passieren. Alle par Kilometer treffen wir auf einen Mongolen, der an seinem Auto rum schraubt und sich der Ersatzteile den Wracks am Strassenrand bedient.

Beim Pinkeln sollte man auch aufpassen, dass man nicht über irgend welche Gebeine verendeter Tiere stürzt. Zu beginn noch waren wir geschockt, inzwischen ist es normal. Weisser Stein? Wird wohl ein Knochen sein. Auch das sich hinsetzen hinter dem Auto - vor einem das Panorama einer endlosen Weite - falls man mal gross muss. *schmunzel*

Unsere Fahrt dauerte gut 12 Stunden. Jetzt weiss ich auch, warum die Mongolen keinen Vergnügungspark haben - Die brauchen den gar nicht! Was wir eins an G-Kräften erlebten... Das bringt mich zu etwas anderem wahren: Die Badehäuser in den Städten sind Gold wert. Wasser! Und das noch von Oben! Klar, der Fluss war wunderbar und man konnte draus trinken... Aber hei, von Oben :D

Wir sind jetzt seit drei Tagen auf Roadtripp und wir beginnen zu spüren, das das mit nichts zu vergleichen ist, was wir bis jetzt gemacht haben. Weit ist hier wirklich weit, extrem ist extrem und fordernd nahe an überfordernd. Währen da nicht die tollen Familien, die wir manchmal besuchen, noch ein ganzes stück härter.

Heute sind wir bei einer sehr fürsorglichen Familie. Dawa lebt zusammen mit ihrem Vater, ihrem Sohn und ihrer Schwester unter einem Dach. Wir spüren sofort, dass wir als Menschen wahr genommen werden.

At the river - by luke and emma

19. June 2011 - Amarbayasgalant - ???

This morning when we woke up our friends had left and they had left us a gift. We got some wet wipes, candles and oat meal bars. Very useful on a trip like this though we have a hard time finding a shower and need snacks to eat on the road. That impressed us almost the same like the procession of Monks we were able to see in the nearby Monastery. Only a few years ago Monks started practicing there again - so the most members are still Children - Often seen guests in the nearby Candy-shop. Yes, i am whistling the melody too :P

At the moment we are sitting in our own ger (a little mongolian house that looks more like a tent), drinking wine and in the lack of electricity we have a few candles burning.

Today has been a day fully packed with stunning scenery. We have, or to be correct, our driver, have driven us through FORESTS deserts and green hills. The mongolian country side is spectacular. We have seen horses tumbling around in the grass playing, fantastic views over green hills that ends in the horizon and on several times along the trip we have said that life can be so much worse.

This is just as good as it can be.

When we finally reached our destination of the day we went straight down in the river for a cooling dip while the afternoon sun was shining.

Our new Guest, a boy called Lama, is a relative of the Family we visited yesterday. they wished him to join us because we will pass by his hometown in about 4 Days. Like a little Family. We try to tear down the language barrier with using the Language Chapter from the Lonely Planet and practicing some Mongolian Wrestling in the Sunset. At least Luke does. "This Guy is bloody good" he says. Well, he will participate the Nadaam-Festival in his Hometown, so he is supposed to be good. :D

 

 

Mongolian Roadtrip Teil 1 - Auf ins Abenteuer.

18. June 2011 - Ulan Baator - Amarbayasgalant - 370km

Emma and I decided today that we as long as we are on this trip, try to write the blog together. Not everyday, not anytime, but when the right moment is here. For those who do not speak english, Google is a nice tool ;-)

Do you know how it feels to be a milkshake in Mixer? We do.
After a couple of weeks of just waiting we are now finally on the road! We were a bit scared in the beginning but the more further we get the more we realise that this is so far away from the backpacker life as we can get. with other words, we left all of our worries in Ulaanbaatar and are now really enjoying the roadtrip.

Es ist wieder mal typisch. So unfassbar schlecht vorbereitet und ausgerüstet wie wir, kann man fast gar nicht sein. Weder Wanderschuhe noch Regenschutz befinden sich in unserem Gepäck und wir starten in ein Abenteuer für das sich andere Jahre vorbereiten. Zudem habe wir festgestellt, dass wir nicht mal genau wissen, wohin uns die einzelnen Tagesetappen führen und dass der Driver kein English spricht, machts auch nicht einfacher. Was machen wir eigentlich hier? Aber wisst ihr was? Die Fahrt raus aus Ulan Batoor bis hier her zum Amarbayasgalant Kloster mitten in der Mongolischen Steppe, traumhaft gelegen zwischen den Bergen auf einem Plateau, hatte es in sich. Ich lerne stück für Stück die Mongolische Sprache durch simples mit dem Finger auf was zeigen. Chlachat am Steuerrad gibt schmunzelnd Antwort. Am Abend habe ichs dann wieder vergessen, wie gerade jetzt, wo ich nach einem Beispiel suche *huch*

Wir schlafen heute im Haus einer mongolischen Familie. Bekannte von der Hostelbesitzerin in Ulan Baator, wo wir unseren Driver gemietet haben. Zum Grossen Glück ist noch eine andere Gruppe hier, deren Guide uns dann zumindest die Namen der Orte aufgeschrieben hat, wo wir hinfahren. So können wir in unserem nagelneuen LP, den wir im Hostel haben mitgehen lassen, nachschauen können, wo wir eigentlich sind. schon heute auf der Fahrt habe ich akribisch auf der Karte verfolgt wos lang geht. Es erinnert mich an die alten Zeiten mit Sven, wo ich als schlechtester Navigator aller Zeiten uns fast nach Venedig statt Stockholm lotste *lach*