Travels with Kathryn

7.30am departures seem to be very much the done thing in Mongolia. So there was I at 6.30am this morning in the communal bathroom with people perkily saying good morning to me and engaging in chat. No. Too early. I was better after I had eaten my eclectic breakfast:

Today, we are driving along a road (an actual road) to Tsagaan Suvarga. We’d been driving for about an hour when we came to a HUGE metropolis. There were apartment blocks, shops, petrol stations (we filled up for the first time in I can’t rememberhow many days), other vehicles and even traffic lights. After being in the desert this is all a bit much quite frankly. We had reached Dalanzadgad the capital of Ömnögovi Province and has a population of 32,500 people (a substantial metropolis). This is also the location of the nearest airport to the Gobi, so for 5* travellers they fly here and get a luxury transfer to fancy gers with ensuite sunken baths. Not my kind of holiday – they will have missed out on our vans bouncing along for miles…

After another hour (11.15am) we pulled into a small dusty town for what was apparently lunch. I am not quite sure why we have such early starts which then require us to make people open restaurants early, and then for us to eat early but what do I know? To be fair, it took a bit of time to cook so actually it was after 12 when it was dished up and then 12.45 before we set off again.

We were headed to the Del Uul petroglyphs. These are one of Mongolia’s few UNESCO world heritage sites (although tentative and not yet approved)- although rather oddly they are not included on the standard itinerary, but an added extra. This is also the first time we have seen the drivers consult maps/ask for directions as they head off into nothingness. Really solidified my view that I wouldn’t and couldn’t drive here. Three hours of driving later and just as we were ready to give up (maybe this is why it’s tentative/not on the official itinerary), we found them! Hurrah.

The petroglyphs date back to 3,000-5,000 BCE and are within an area of 15km there are over 5,000 of which we saw a small fraction. These are apparently important monuments of the art of the transition from ancient hunter-gatherer societies to livestock breeding and the beginning of nomadic culture.

Its a really interesting location as it seems to be a ridge with a collection of granite-like rocky clusters. Where there are petroglyphs these are flat and shiny, but you can see in other places where the rock is breaking into slices and crumbling away almost as if it were slate. This may require some geology knowledge that I have not yet acquired. However, I can very much recommend my travel companion Colette’s blog entry on the subject available: https://wp.me/pgHvWa-1Fv

By now it was after 5pm so rather than visit the Tsagaan Suvarga (because it is late and very windy) we are heading to our ger camp for tonight. The drive involved some rather hairy moments as we drove up, over and down numerous ridges – there was certainly some sliding over to attempt to rebalance. Have I mentioned I wouldn’t want to drive here? Its 6pm and we have arrived, its very windy and dusty. This is also the first camp we’ve stayed in where electricity will be turned off at 11pm ie no late showering, but I am also now making sure everything is plugged in and on charge.

If I were opening a tourist ger I would keep all the original features, but would definitely include: a mirror, bedside lights (its always a single overhead bulb) and perhaps a chair with a back. I reckon I could then say its at least 4*. Note I am not adding a sunken bath or any of that silliness.

Dinner was a buffet with absolute mountains of broccoli. Excellent.

I then showered, pyjama and bed. Tomorrow we will be tackling Tsagaan Suvarga with our usual 7.30am departure.