Travels with Kathryn

I am packed, legs are waxed, nails are done, which means I am nearly ready for le grand depart!

Tomorrow, I am flying to Ulaanbaatar (which I can not spell – you will see many versions in the coming posts!). Mongolia has been on the list for a while, originally it was going to be via the Trans-Mongolian but I cannot see travel to Russia being something I would want to do (regardless of being allowed to do) any time soon. Then, having loved Kyrgyzstan, various people I met on my travels said if you liked Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia generally, that one must go to Mongolia. So off I go.

Why now? Well, yes, it will be to escape the current sweltering heat of London, but also the Nadaam festival takes place in July.  This is a national festival which incorporates the traditional 3 three manly games of Mongolian wrestling, horse racing and archery. I will get to see this, which I am very much looking forward to. But I am also hoping I will get the big sky feeling and plains of Mongolia and an opportunity to re-emerse myself in the history of the man, the legend, Genghis Khan. 

I am again travelling with Intrepid, and I will be accompanied by Colette whom I met on my China trip. We both live in London, but this will be the first time we have managed to meet up since we left China! I shall also, of course, be accompanied by The Monkey (has was darned post Sri Lanka. Poor thing).

I seem to have a lot of stuff for what is only a 2 and a bit weeks trip. However, the weather is very unsettled (mid 20s to 4 degrees plus rain), and as we are staying in yurts (known as gers), a sleeping bag is required. I have found an old one (no idea where from, so it may not be coming back with me) and shall be using my puffa as a pillow/cushion.

Yes, you are going to get lots of history (it is what I do) and I have brought a new camera so you should be getting better quality images of what I hope will be the amzing scenery as well as perhaps a few games photos. However, I will attempt to include more food photos (as requested), which you may regret as I hear it is quite random meat heavy, but if you have any other requests, please add in below.

I should also warn you that I am going to the Gobi desert where there is mention of opportunities to climb sand dunes. I think for those of you that followed my China blog, will know that this is not something that I will necessarily be doing. See: https://travelswithkathryn.blog/2025/06/16/stage-7-8-dunhuang-part-2/

Tomorrow, I need to be at Heathrow at 7.30am where I will be dressed as a bleary-eyed ninja. We are also flying overnight before a day of sightseeing on Saturday (start as we mean to go on). So, I am hoping for a cold and quiet flight to work on my napping abilities.