Mongolia - Fly Drive
- Thread starter Glenboy
- Start date
Thanks a million for the kind sentiments folks and apologies for the delay in updating. Life is getting far too busy ...
Day 5
The first thing we had to do this morning was to get a new battery and fit it in Frank’s bike. There’s a kettle in one of the rooms, so after a breakfast of green tea and biscuits we go looking. We quickly find a guy who seems to be selling tyres, fixing punctures, etc and point out our problem. He offers to bring me to a parts shop to get the battery so I hop into his car and we are soon at a parts shop which seems to have a huge selection of all types of car and bike parts including batteries. I have the dud battery with me and the lady produces a brand new replacement. I am impressed with what happens next. My tyre-fixing facilitator takes the calculator on the counter and types in the price for the new battery and I get the impression that he’s making sure I won’t be overcharged. I pay the equivalent of €7 for the new battery and we bring it back to the bikes. Our new friend puts the water into the battery and fits it in the bike. The problem is solved and I give him a few bob which he is reluctant to take.
We leave Bulgan headed for Moron (the locals pronounce it Mooroon or something like that but we decided to stick with Moron, it felt appropriate). This will be about 340km but it’s a tarmac road all the way. Originally we had planned to take an offroad track to the northwest towards Hatgal and Lake Khuvsgul but because we had lost so much time over the last few days we decided to get to Moron by the main road and then go north to Hatgal. The road is good and we make steady progress, however top speed is averaging about 60kph. My bike is the oldest and I’m the heaviest so I notice the two lads pulling away from me on the inclines but I keep my head down and tuck in my elbows on the downhill stretches and manage to close the gap.
We are very surprised with the scenery today. It looks Alpine-like with tree covered hills but instead of Alpine cottages there are yurts (gers).
We meet up with the Chilean guy Eduardo along the way and it turns out his plan is similar to our own so he tags along with us for a while. By the time it gets to early evening we are approaching Moron but are stiff, sore and weary. At one of our increasingly frequent stops we check the Lonely Planet guide to if there are any recommended accommodations in Moron. One sounds good – Baigal Guesthouse – which promises guest gers, hot showers and includes “breakfast with eggs from under her own chickens, plus fresh yoghurt and jam” and Baigal speaks English too. We find it after a bit and check in.
After we have unloaded everything and get ready to have the much awaited showers in the shed in the yard but we learn that there is no water, hot or cold. The one sit down toilet hasn’t been flushed in a while and stinks to high heaven. The alternative is a squat toilet or “long drop” – a few planks over a deep hole in the ground.
We change and ramble into town for something to eat. After passing the local wrestling stadium
we find a nice restaurant and have another “not too sure what that is” meals which tastes quite good actually and wash it down with some excellent local beers. Back to the ger then for a good night’s sleep.
The first thing we had to do this morning was to get a new battery and fit it in Frank’s bike. There’s a kettle in one of the rooms, so after a breakfast of green tea and biscuits we go looking. We quickly find a guy who seems to be selling tyres, fixing punctures, etc and point out our problem. He offers to bring me to a parts shop to get the battery so I hop into his car and we are soon at a parts shop which seems to have a huge selection of all types of car and bike parts including batteries. I have the dud battery with me and the lady produces a brand new replacement. I am impressed with what happens next. My tyre-fixing facilitator takes the calculator on the counter and types in the price for the new battery and I get the impression that he’s making sure I won’t be overcharged. I pay the equivalent of €7 for the new battery and we bring it back to the bikes. Our new friend puts the water into the battery and fits it in the bike. The problem is solved and I give him a few bob which he is reluctant to take.
We leave Bulgan headed for Moron (the locals pronounce it Mooroon or something like that but we decided to stick with Moron, it felt appropriate). This will be about 340km but it’s a tarmac road all the way. Originally we had planned to take an offroad track to the northwest towards Hatgal and Lake Khuvsgul but because we had lost so much time over the last few days we decided to get to Moron by the main road and then go north to Hatgal. The road is good and we make steady progress, however top speed is averaging about 60kph. My bike is the oldest and I’m the heaviest so I notice the two lads pulling away from me on the inclines but I keep my head down and tuck in my elbows on the downhill stretches and manage to close the gap.
We are very surprised with the scenery today. It looks Alpine-like with tree covered hills but instead of Alpine cottages there are yurts (gers).
We meet up with the Chilean guy Eduardo along the way and it turns out his plan is similar to our own so he tags along with us for a while. By the time it gets to early evening we are approaching Moron but are stiff, sore and weary. At one of our increasingly frequent stops we check the Lonely Planet guide to if there are any recommended accommodations in Moron. One sounds good – Baigal Guesthouse – which promises guest gers, hot showers and includes “breakfast with eggs from under her own chickens, plus fresh yoghurt and jam” and Baigal speaks English too. We find it after a bit and check in.
After we have unloaded everything and get ready to have the much awaited showers in the shed in the yard but we learn that there is no water, hot or cold. The one sit down toilet hasn’t been flushed in a while and stinks to high heaven. The alternative is a squat toilet or “long drop” – a few planks over a deep hole in the ground.
We change and ramble into town for something to eat. After passing the local wrestling stadium
we find a nice restaurant and have another “not too sure what that is” meals which tastes quite good actually and wash it down with some excellent local beers. Back to the ger then for a good night’s sleep.
Great write up.. Mongolia is on my to do list I want to see the statue of the Great Khan.
Hooked...
Oh and many thanks for your time
Hooked...
Oh and many thanks for your time
Now thats an entertaining trip, crack on bud Im really enjoying the tale. 
Very interesting report thanks Feargal and looking forward to your next installment. I can see the Jochen fella and meself following in your footsteps at some point.
Well done you for exemplary levels of diplomacy regarding the helmet wanging incident. I fear I would have sparked an incident 
Great write up.. Mongolia is on my to do list I want to see the statue of the Great Khan.
Hooked...
Oh and many thanks for your time
Thanks a million, Genghis will make an appearance soon. We had a great day out at his statue.
Now thats an entertaining trip, crack on bud Im really enjoying the tale.
Glad you’re enjoying it Andi. This writing up is all new to me!
Couldn’t recommend it highly enough Aidan. You and the J-Man would certainly enjoy it.
Well done you for exemplary levels of diplomacy regarding the helmet wanging incident. I fear I would have sparked an incident
I had brought an old helmet with me actually as well as old but serviceable gear as I knew we would have several offs (which of course we did) with the result that I wasn’t as annoyed as I’d have been if it was a newish helmet. Nonetheless, the only practical thing to do was withdraw, it wasn’t a biggie, no real damage done and in all such situations when a confrontation escalates the locals will invariably gather round and support their own guy even if he’s in the wrong.
Day 6
Well, the Lonely Planet guide for Mongolia needs updating. Our breakfast consists of a flask of green tea and a plate with slices of bread covered in Nutella – no “eggs from under chickens” or yoghurt or jam. There are three guest gers here and the eight people staying share the only facility for washing
Despite being a bit disappointed overall we each remark that we have had our best night’s sleep so far. We pack up and hit the road but before leaving town we fill up with petrol. Our destination today is Hatgal which is about 100km away by tarmac road so we’re not feeling rushed. Hatgal is a resort town at the southern end of Lake Khovsgul so there should be no problem finding accommodation there.
The journey is uneventful until we come across a sign at the roadside indicating the point where 50 degrees North and 100 degrees East meet.
The roadway leading in to the site is blocked with a large mound of earth but by now we don’t feel any inhibitions about going around these. The road brings to a newly constructed and quite impressive feature which is clearly being developed as a tourist attraction.
We want to ride the bikes up to the point itself and eventually manage to find a way up to it. Some workmen there indicate that we are the first bikes they have seen to visit here.
I put my Garmin tracker on the point and check the reading
There are large stainless steel letters indicating North, South, East and West
We arrive in Hatgal around 4pm and start looking for a café called New Roots. It was recommended on a website and app called iOverlander which has some very useful information. Travellers can upload listings of all kinds of places with a description, GPS coordinates, opening times, photos, etc. New Roots is run by some Americans living in Mongolia and is a very warm and welcoming place to stop. We have coffees and sandwiches and they are excellent.
Feeling refreshed we set about finding accommodation for the night. While there seems to be quite a few guest houses and ger camps most of them are closed as the season hasn’t kicked off yet. It’s noticeably cooler here than where we had been earlier in the week and we see that the lake is still partially frozen. It’s 136km long and the top end is only 12km from the Russian border. We learn that from about 10km north of Hatgal it’s still completely frozen.
We faff about for almost two hours trying to find accommodation and I’m becoming frustrated. We are also diverted by stumbling across a disused Soviet era oil storage depot on the lake shore
Apart from this blight on the landscape the area is stunningly beautiful
At one point I notice that my bike seems to have lurched a little when I put it on the side stand. I look underneath and see that the bracket on one side holding the combined side and centre-stand has cracked and a bolt is missing with the biggest part of the bracket about to break free. I undo the now largely redundant bolt and move it to the other side where it will hopefully hold it all in place until I can organise a repair.
What do you do with dirty hands then? Wash them in snow, of course!
Still looking for a place to stay, we see from the map that a road which initially goes inland comes back out and goes north along the western shore for about 20km and from a local map we saw in the café there seems to be quite a bit of accommodation availability in that direction.
This road is a very stony track, sometimes hard-packed sometimes very loose but passing through absolutely gorgeous, forested terrain. We experience our first river crossing and as the water levels are low this year we have no problem. Light is beginning to fade as we emerge again along the lakeshore. There are several ger camps and we phone a couple of the phone numbers we see on the signs but get no answer. Then as we are about to run out of road we see two that seem to be alive. I go to check out one and Pat checks out the other. Both offer a heated ger with hot showers, evening meal and breakfast and we decide to go with the cheaper one which works out at about €25 each.
This “checking out” and decision making takes almost an hour! We finally get taking off the bike gear and a late evening meal is cooked for us. We are the only diners and indeed are the only people staying here. We had been warned previously by several people that the food in Mongolia wasn’t good and that we would definitely have “issues” but I can honestly say that none of the three of us had any such issues at all. One of the guys there had got a boiler going so that we would have hot water for showers after we’d eaten but by that stage all we wanted to do was sleep. They had also got the stove going in the ger while we were eating so we returned to a very cosy space and settled down for a good night’s sleep.
Well, the Lonely Planet guide for Mongolia needs updating. Our breakfast consists of a flask of green tea and a plate with slices of bread covered in Nutella – no “eggs from under chickens” or yoghurt or jam. There are three guest gers here and the eight people staying share the only facility for washing
Despite being a bit disappointed overall we each remark that we have had our best night’s sleep so far. We pack up and hit the road but before leaving town we fill up with petrol. Our destination today is Hatgal which is about 100km away by tarmac road so we’re not feeling rushed. Hatgal is a resort town at the southern end of Lake Khovsgul so there should be no problem finding accommodation there.
The journey is uneventful until we come across a sign at the roadside indicating the point where 50 degrees North and 100 degrees East meet.
The roadway leading in to the site is blocked with a large mound of earth but by now we don’t feel any inhibitions about going around these. The road brings to a newly constructed and quite impressive feature which is clearly being developed as a tourist attraction.
We want to ride the bikes up to the point itself and eventually manage to find a way up to it. Some workmen there indicate that we are the first bikes they have seen to visit here.
I put my Garmin tracker on the point and check the reading
There are large stainless steel letters indicating North, South, East and West
We arrive in Hatgal around 4pm and start looking for a café called New Roots. It was recommended on a website and app called iOverlander which has some very useful information. Travellers can upload listings of all kinds of places with a description, GPS coordinates, opening times, photos, etc. New Roots is run by some Americans living in Mongolia and is a very warm and welcoming place to stop. We have coffees and sandwiches and they are excellent.
Feeling refreshed we set about finding accommodation for the night. While there seems to be quite a few guest houses and ger camps most of them are closed as the season hasn’t kicked off yet. It’s noticeably cooler here than where we had been earlier in the week and we see that the lake is still partially frozen. It’s 136km long and the top end is only 12km from the Russian border. We learn that from about 10km north of Hatgal it’s still completely frozen.
We faff about for almost two hours trying to find accommodation and I’m becoming frustrated. We are also diverted by stumbling across a disused Soviet era oil storage depot on the lake shore
Apart from this blight on the landscape the area is stunningly beautiful
At one point I notice that my bike seems to have lurched a little when I put it on the side stand. I look underneath and see that the bracket on one side holding the combined side and centre-stand has cracked and a bolt is missing with the biggest part of the bracket about to break free. I undo the now largely redundant bolt and move it to the other side where it will hopefully hold it all in place until I can organise a repair.
What do you do with dirty hands then? Wash them in snow, of course!
Still looking for a place to stay, we see from the map that a road which initially goes inland comes back out and goes north along the western shore for about 20km and from a local map we saw in the café there seems to be quite a bit of accommodation availability in that direction.
This road is a very stony track, sometimes hard-packed sometimes very loose but passing through absolutely gorgeous, forested terrain. We experience our first river crossing and as the water levels are low this year we have no problem. Light is beginning to fade as we emerge again along the lakeshore. There are several ger camps and we phone a couple of the phone numbers we see on the signs but get no answer. Then as we are about to run out of road we see two that seem to be alive. I go to check out one and Pat checks out the other. Both offer a heated ger with hot showers, evening meal and breakfast and we decide to go with the cheaper one which works out at about €25 each.
This “checking out” and decision making takes almost an hour! We finally get taking off the bike gear and a late evening meal is cooked for us. We are the only diners and indeed are the only people staying here. We had been warned previously by several people that the food in Mongolia wasn’t good and that we would definitely have “issues” but I can honestly say that none of the three of us had any such issues at all. One of the guys there had got a boiler going so that we would have hot water for showers after we’d eaten but by that stage all we wanted to do was sleep. They had also got the stove going in the ger while we were eating so we returned to a very cosy space and settled down for a good night’s sleep.
Fabulous trip and a great narrative, thanks for taking the trouble to share, I’m really enjoying your stories and like the others, I’m hooked
Fabulous trip and a great narrative, thanks for taking the trouble to share, I’m really enjoying your stories and like the others, I’m hooked
Many thanks for the kind words, glad you're enjoying it
Day 7
We are awake early and I head for the shower block. Feeling clean and refreshed it’s time for breakfast and we are served a really good combination of scrambled egg, some kind of sausage meat and fried vegetables. Lots of green tea and fresh bread and we’re good to go. The plan for today is to retrace our steps back to Moron and spend the night there so we’re not in a huge rush to get going. The lake looks rather uninviting in the dull morning light -
The 20km offroad track back to Hatgal seems a lot easier than it did last evening now that we are rested and have the benefit of full daylight. We pass an interesting prayer installation as we go through the woods above Hatgal -
We look for a shop in Hatgal to get our usual purchase of water, biscuits, bread, cheese, etc for the day and find a very decent supermarket. I’m amazed to see a counter displaying lots of parts for the ubiquitous Shineray. You can buy wheels, tyres, spokes, clutch and brake levers, chains and sprockets, starter motors, even pistons and ring-sets – you name it, they seem to have it!
The 100km back to Moron is tarmac and largely uneventful. At one stage we see the carcass of a dead cow at the edge of the road and there are a few large birds of prey busy having lunch. They rise up just as we pass and it’s an impressive sight.
We arrive back into Moron in mid-afternoon and I am anxious to get a bolt to replace the one that dropped out from the side-stand bracket. I spot a shop that has an auto bits-and-bobs look to it but unfortunately it seems to be a repair shop for washing machines and other electrical goods. Nonetheless the guy is anxious to assist so he comes out to have a look at what’s needed. He sees what’s missing and straight away he locks up the shop, hops into his car and invites me to follow him. We go to his friend’s house nearby where we find a yard filled with various types of machinery in various stages of decay. His pal is removing parts from an old UAZ and when the problem is explained he produces a biscuit tin filled with various bolts one of which is perfect and he offers me the use of his socket set to fit it. Excellent!
While I’ve been doing this the lads have been looking for a hotel. There’s a few listed in the Lonely Planet but we’re not so trusting of its reviews after our experience on our previous visit. They text me to meet them at a place called the 50/100 Hotel. When I arrive I can see why they have homed in on it – the car park has several high-end Toyota Landcruisers, a couple of Lexus jeeps and a Range Rover, the international signal that we’re at the top hotel in town. They have a lock-up garage for the bikes which is great and the rooms are spot on.
After showering and changing we go for an early evening ramble and see a restaurant which looks inviting. The menu is in Mongolian and there’s no pictures but I like the look of “шарсан хонины мах, хүнсний ногоо” – I imagine that it is a 10oz fillet steak served on a bed of creamed mash potato, accompanied by fried onions and mushrooms, garlic potatoes gratin, cauliflower in a rich creamy sauce and buttered carrots. It isn’t – it’s fried mutton and vegetables. Ah well, it tastes good and is washed down with the invariably good local beer.
The restaurant is on the first floor and the window beside our table is open. There’s a strong smell from some substance being applied to a flat roof outside and Pat is feeling queasy so he decides to head back to the hotel. Frank and I have another couple of beers and head back too. There’s a good buzz in the hotel bar and we decide to have a nightcap. At the next table there’s a group of youngsters who are in Mongolia with the American Peace Corps program. They realise that we’re speaking English and invite themselves to join us. We listen to their plans to solve all the problems of the world but quickly get browned off and we decide to hit the hay. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow because we’ll be heading south and going off-road again.
We are awake early and I head for the shower block. Feeling clean and refreshed it’s time for breakfast and we are served a really good combination of scrambled egg, some kind of sausage meat and fried vegetables. Lots of green tea and fresh bread and we’re good to go. The plan for today is to retrace our steps back to Moron and spend the night there so we’re not in a huge rush to get going. The lake looks rather uninviting in the dull morning light -
The 20km offroad track back to Hatgal seems a lot easier than it did last evening now that we are rested and have the benefit of full daylight. We pass an interesting prayer installation as we go through the woods above Hatgal -
We look for a shop in Hatgal to get our usual purchase of water, biscuits, bread, cheese, etc for the day and find a very decent supermarket. I’m amazed to see a counter displaying lots of parts for the ubiquitous Shineray. You can buy wheels, tyres, spokes, clutch and brake levers, chains and sprockets, starter motors, even pistons and ring-sets – you name it, they seem to have it!
The 100km back to Moron is tarmac and largely uneventful. At one stage we see the carcass of a dead cow at the edge of the road and there are a few large birds of prey busy having lunch. They rise up just as we pass and it’s an impressive sight.
We arrive back into Moron in mid-afternoon and I am anxious to get a bolt to replace the one that dropped out from the side-stand bracket. I spot a shop that has an auto bits-and-bobs look to it but unfortunately it seems to be a repair shop for washing machines and other electrical goods. Nonetheless the guy is anxious to assist so he comes out to have a look at what’s needed. He sees what’s missing and straight away he locks up the shop, hops into his car and invites me to follow him. We go to his friend’s house nearby where we find a yard filled with various types of machinery in various stages of decay. His pal is removing parts from an old UAZ and when the problem is explained he produces a biscuit tin filled with various bolts one of which is perfect and he offers me the use of his socket set to fit it. Excellent!
While I’ve been doing this the lads have been looking for a hotel. There’s a few listed in the Lonely Planet but we’re not so trusting of its reviews after our experience on our previous visit. They text me to meet them at a place called the 50/100 Hotel. When I arrive I can see why they have homed in on it – the car park has several high-end Toyota Landcruisers, a couple of Lexus jeeps and a Range Rover, the international signal that we’re at the top hotel in town. They have a lock-up garage for the bikes which is great and the rooms are spot on.
After showering and changing we go for an early evening ramble and see a restaurant which looks inviting. The menu is in Mongolian and there’s no pictures but I like the look of “шарсан хонины мах, хүнсний ногоо” – I imagine that it is a 10oz fillet steak served on a bed of creamed mash potato, accompanied by fried onions and mushrooms, garlic potatoes gratin, cauliflower in a rich creamy sauce and buttered carrots. It isn’t – it’s fried mutton and vegetables. Ah well, it tastes good and is washed down with the invariably good local beer.
The restaurant is on the first floor and the window beside our table is open. There’s a strong smell from some substance being applied to a flat roof outside and Pat is feeling queasy so he decides to head back to the hotel. Frank and I have another couple of beers and head back too. There’s a good buzz in the hotel bar and we decide to have a nightcap. At the next table there’s a group of youngsters who are in Mongolia with the American Peace Corps program. They realise that we’re speaking English and invite themselves to join us. We listen to their plans to solve all the problems of the world but quickly get browned off and we decide to hit the hay. We’re really looking forward to tomorrow because we’ll be heading south and going off-road again.
NICE ONE
great read, keep it going Fergal
great read, keep it going Fergal
Day 8
Well rested after a good night’s sleep we have a very good breakfast which is self-serve, perfect for hungry bikers. Frank needs an additional memory card for his camera so after packing up the bikes we head around to a big supermarket we had spotted the evening before. It’s quite a big store and seems to have everything and we are intrigued that they even have motorbikes for sale. Just one model, it’s a Chinese 150cc bike quite similar to our Shinerays but with a slightly more road bias. We do a quick conversion of the listed price and it’s about 630 euros! – for a brand new bike! I thought I had taken a photo of one of them but just can’t seem to find it.
Next thing on the list is petrol and we go to one of the several petrol stations in town. One of the local guys comes over to shake hands and wish us well, something that we’re becoming accustomed to
After fuelling up we look for the road south to Erdenet. This is a town in the Shine-Ider sum (district) and the plan is to go there via Jargalant which will bring us in a broadly south/southwest direction. Most of the towns and villages don’t have any tarmac but Moron being a regional capital does, however as we come to the edge of town the tarmac runs out
We head into the hills and follow a valley that seems to be going in the right direction. After a while however we get a sense that we’ve gone wrong. When you have a compass, a couple of maps, GPS, phones, the sun and three guys’ intuition all competing to indicate the right way it can get a bit confusing
We turn around and retrace our steps for about 12 or 14 km and pick another valley. The further we go in this one the clearer it becomes that we are on the right road. The landscape changes a lot today depending on whether we are in valleys, on ridges or on high plateau. Sometimes there’s very good signage to tell us we’re on the right route
Other times it’s not great
We meet an occasional car or jeep but generally have the road all to ourselves. It’s much warmer now that we have come further south and as we tootle along you couldn’t help thinking we’re in Paradise
We do encounter a few gnarly bits particularly one mountain which had quite a steep descent with very loose gravel and stones. We’re fully concentrated on keeping the bikes upright so no shots of this section unfortunately.
As late afternoon becomes early evening we arrive in Erdenet/Shine-Ider and start looking for accommodation. One place looks promising and we ask to see the rooms. There’s a heavy smell of deep-fat frying throughout the building and the room is just about OK but when we ask to see the toilet and shower the landlady brings us out to the back yard and indicates a shed-like structure about three houses up the street. Eh, no thanks.
Back out front we meet a young lady who happens to be the teacher of English in the town’s school. She’s delighted to practice her passable language skills and she gives us some good pointers. On her recommendation we enquire in a nearby shop and this old guy reaches into the depths of his deel, the traditional wrap-around clothing that the locals wear and produces a mobile phone. He rings his nephew who arrives a few minutes later on his bike and asks us to follow him to his house. We are offered the upstairs which is one big room above the family’s accommodation. It’s bright, clean and has four single beds and a sofa. He even brings up a mobile wifi device so that we’ll be connected.
We’re hungry by now and as the only restaurant in town is the one we didn’t like the smell of, I get out the stove and start cooking on the balcony. It’s just some of the ready-meal food we have with us
but it tastes great even if I say so myself and is washed down with green tea. Tired and full, we sleep like logs. Life is good.
Well rested after a good night’s sleep we have a very good breakfast which is self-serve, perfect for hungry bikers. Frank needs an additional memory card for his camera so after packing up the bikes we head around to a big supermarket we had spotted the evening before. It’s quite a big store and seems to have everything and we are intrigued that they even have motorbikes for sale. Just one model, it’s a Chinese 150cc bike quite similar to our Shinerays but with a slightly more road bias. We do a quick conversion of the listed price and it’s about 630 euros! – for a brand new bike! I thought I had taken a photo of one of them but just can’t seem to find it.
Next thing on the list is petrol and we go to one of the several petrol stations in town. One of the local guys comes over to shake hands and wish us well, something that we’re becoming accustomed to
After fuelling up we look for the road south to Erdenet. This is a town in the Shine-Ider sum (district) and the plan is to go there via Jargalant which will bring us in a broadly south/southwest direction. Most of the towns and villages don’t have any tarmac but Moron being a regional capital does, however as we come to the edge of town the tarmac runs out
We head into the hills and follow a valley that seems to be going in the right direction. After a while however we get a sense that we’ve gone wrong. When you have a compass, a couple of maps, GPS, phones, the sun and three guys’ intuition all competing to indicate the right way it can get a bit confusing
We turn around and retrace our steps for about 12 or 14 km and pick another valley. The further we go in this one the clearer it becomes that we are on the right road. The landscape changes a lot today depending on whether we are in valleys, on ridges or on high plateau. Sometimes there’s very good signage to tell us we’re on the right route
Other times it’s not great
We meet an occasional car or jeep but generally have the road all to ourselves. It’s much warmer now that we have come further south and as we tootle along you couldn’t help thinking we’re in Paradise
We do encounter a few gnarly bits particularly one mountain which had quite a steep descent with very loose gravel and stones. We’re fully concentrated on keeping the bikes upright so no shots of this section unfortunately.
As late afternoon becomes early evening we arrive in Erdenet/Shine-Ider and start looking for accommodation. One place looks promising and we ask to see the rooms. There’s a heavy smell of deep-fat frying throughout the building and the room is just about OK but when we ask to see the toilet and shower the landlady brings us out to the back yard and indicates a shed-like structure about three houses up the street. Eh, no thanks.
Back out front we meet a young lady who happens to be the teacher of English in the town’s school. She’s delighted to practice her passable language skills and she gives us some good pointers. On her recommendation we enquire in a nearby shop and this old guy reaches into the depths of his deel, the traditional wrap-around clothing that the locals wear and produces a mobile phone. He rings his nephew who arrives a few minutes later on his bike and asks us to follow him to his house. We are offered the upstairs which is one big room above the family’s accommodation. It’s bright, clean and has four single beds and a sofa. He even brings up a mobile wifi device so that we’ll be connected.
We’re hungry by now and as the only restaurant in town is the one we didn’t like the smell of, I get out the stove and start cooking on the balcony. It’s just some of the ready-meal food we have with us
but it tastes great even if I say so myself and is washed down with green tea. Tired and full, we sleep like logs. Life is good.
Thanks Con, only for you and John telling us about the logic of the Fly-Drive approach at the Horizons meetings this trip would never have happened
Ah jaysus Fergal you have me crying into my vino
. Fly ride is nuttin I invented! ( note Dub accent)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
. Fly ride is nuttin I invented! ( note Dub accent)Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ah jaysus Fergal you have me crying into my vino
Haha, too true Con.
Nonetheless, it was you and John that pointed us in the right direction - and that has opened up a whole world of possibilities
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