Travels with Kathryn

I have now slept. I feel much better. So, where I left off yesterday we arrived into Ulaanbaatar airport and were met by Manduu (corrected spelling). Colette and I decided that rather than waste the day, we would fill it with some of the key sites outside of Ulaanbaatar and then crash. This is exactly what we did.

As my regular readers know, I usually start with a history of the country I am in. I am not going to do this yet as I have many long journeys to really delve into details (such fun!). In particular, we are going to revisit the man, the myth, the legend Chinngis Khan (note I am using this corrected spelling as Genghis is the anglicised version). In fact, he may be the only famous Mongolian most of us can name (well, him and some of his sons/grandsons). Any others feel free to add in the comments below.

Anyway, one of the attractions of Mongolia for me is the appeal of “big sky” landscapes and it has not disappointed. Even just driving from the airport, you start to see the flat plains, blue sky and the odd ger. We started with a quick stop to see this new build gold Budha with possibly a hotel behind it. A bit odd.

We then drove to Gorkhi Terelj National Park – now having talked about this landscape, I was surprised (and probably shouldn’t be) that there were loads of trees, and rocks. I was getting distinctly Switzerland vibes.

Anyway, first thing to do as we’re in Mongolia was ride a horse. You know me, never one to shy away from things on holiday that I would never do in real life. These are well trained tourist horses, very docile. I was issued with my hard hat (which was to come in useful later), shin protectors and a stead that could cope with me. Before everyone worries about the poor little horse carrying me (as I did) Mongolian horses are smaller and incredibly strong. They are one of the reason the Mongol army were so successful- they can travel for many miles, and basically live off very little/forage for themselves.

Now the first problem, mounting but managed (by both of us) with the aid of a paint can, then having my cushion adjusted by a man ferkling around, but off we went being rope lead by a local man who’s probably been on a horse since before he could walk whilst we held on trying to look like the natural horse women we were not. In summary, Oscar Wilde had a point when he said of horses: “dangers at both ends, and bl**dy uncomfortable in the middle“. It was a nice experience, even with my horse continually farting, and the park is beautiful, but after an hour I was looking forward to getting off. Here is where classic Kathryn elegance/natural athletic ability came to the fore – and I fell off. In my defence, the official line was that the horse was spooked by half of my weight being off (on the same paint can) and decided it was done and threw me off. So day 1, I have a bruised arm, a mild bit of whip lash (good thing I had that hat) and a very bruised bottom. Just what you need for 2 weeks of long drives.

Anyway, I shall persevere. Next stop (with me sitting carefully) was to Turtle Rock. This is (shockingly) a rock formation which looks like a big turtle. This is a popular landmark and you can climb it if you want. We declined.

Next stop was the Aryapala Temple. This former monestary has been rebuilt and today is used as a meditation centre. Now, as the meme says, my parents didn’t raise a quitter, but they did raise a complainer so there was so there was much chuntering up hill. However, really you go to the temple for the views.

We then departed the National Park (beautiful though it was) to the GIANT statue of Chinngis Khan. It really is something to behold. This is the world’s tallest equestrian statute at 40m tall. It was built where according to legend where Chinngis found a golden whip, and nothing at all to do with the fact that the company who built it owned a bit of unused land. The visitor complex on which it is built (and full of a rather random assortment of attractions including a small museum and a very big boot) has 36 columns representing the 36 Khans from Chinngis to Ligdan Khan. He does face towards his birthplace which is at Khennti in the east of the country. It was built and opened in 2008 which was the 800 the anniversary of the founding of Mongolia.

By now it was just after 1pm and I must admit I was starting to flag. We stopped for lunch at what was effectively a roadside yurt and I had my first cup of milk tea. This is effectively warm milk with salt, sheep fat and a tiny bit of black tea. It’s ok, provided imho you think of it more as a cup-a-soup than a cup of tea. This was accompanied by a mountain of lamb noodles. You may be thinking I would have taken photos, I was tired and forgot. I also did not take a photo of my first long drop/hole toilet which you may be grateful for.

Sleepy and full I used the hour drive to our hotel to nap. Valiently Colette stayed awake, but when I woke up we had left the plains/big sky and were in a traffic jam with high rises either side. I was a bit confused.

We thanked Manduu and sent him off with a generous tip and checked into our hotel. It is not the one that Intrepid usually uses and I would describe it as somewhat basic. However, there was hot water in the shower and beds – all we needed at this stage. I found the toilet strange until I realised I was sitting on the kiddie seat which could be flapped up for the grown up seat. Odd I thought, until the restaurant we’ve been to for lunch today also had optional kiddie seats.

We both showered and then I managed one page (if that) of my book before falling asleep. It was 5pm and we had no more plans until a 9.30am pick up on Sunday. Now I may have not have slept the whole time, 3 hour bursts then a bit of reading etc, but have probably had about 9 hours (it would have been more had we had air conditioning, but I shall not complain compared to how it’s been in London) so feeling refreshed and ready for a whole day of the sites of Ulaanbaatar (and yes, there will be a history section you lucky sausages). More tomorrow.