往扎门乌德的火车上
她那特别惆怅伤感的眼神
正和我兴致勃勃回北京的心情相反
...
Our journey back to Beijing was much easier and shorter. This time we made our way back on train-bus-flight.
Departed Ulaanbaatar on Saturday 8pm
Arrived Beijing on Sunday 6.30pm
Total time taken: 22.5 hours
Total cost: 34,300 tugrik + 50 yuan + S$86.07 = S$137.19
Leg 1: Train from Ulaanbaatar to Zamyn Uud
Total time: 12 hours
Total cost: 34,300 tugrik pp
We wanted to avoid getting in and out of the vehicle to get our passports stamped but could not get on the international train from Ulaanbaatar to Erlian so we had to pass by Zamyn Uud again. We had purchased our train tickets to Zamyn Uud on the same day we first arrived in Ulaanbaatar. The process was quite frustrating as we wasted so much time waiting at the yellow International Railway Ticketing Office for nothing and had to go back to the train station again to queue. No angry mob or bruises this time. As expected, the train was quite full and we were in a four berth cabin again.
Leg 2: Bus from Mongolia Zamyn Uud to Inner Mongolia Erlian
Total time: 4.5-5 hours
Total cost: 50 yuan pp
The bus we took had an aggressive "middle man" who could speak Chinese and Mongolian. He shouted at all of us to pay up and coordinated with customs clearance. Majority of the passengers were men from China with tons of baggage. Some of them don't have a visa. Some don't even have passport! :O
Arrived Beijing on Sunday 6.30pm
Total time taken: 22.5 hours
Total cost: 34,300 tugrik + 50 yuan + S$86.07 = S$137.19
Leg 1: Train from Ulaanbaatar to Zamyn Uud
Total time: 12 hours
Total cost: 34,300 tugrik pp
We wanted to avoid getting in and out of the vehicle to get our passports stamped but could not get on the international train from Ulaanbaatar to Erlian so we had to pass by Zamyn Uud again. We had purchased our train tickets to Zamyn Uud on the same day we first arrived in Ulaanbaatar. The process was quite frustrating as we wasted so much time waiting at the yellow International Railway Ticketing Office for nothing and had to go back to the train station again to queue. No angry mob or bruises this time. As expected, the train was quite full and we were in a four berth cabin again.
Leg 2: Bus from Mongolia Zamyn Uud to Inner Mongolia Erlian
Total time: 4.5-5 hours
Total cost: 50 yuan pp
The bus we took had an aggressive "middle man" who could speak Chinese and Mongolian. He shouted at all of us to pay up and coordinated with customs clearance. Majority of the passengers were men from China with tons of baggage. Some of them don't have a visa. Some don't even have passport! :O
你们是哪里人?
(沉默)
韩国人?
(摇头)
那18个人行李一大堆在后面 管你大包儿小包 一人加20！来！一人70！
把钱拿出来！
谁没签证？数一下！7个！
那7个先过去！
还有那4个没护照 一人100 帮你们签个字 要不你自己跟海关说 最多罚你200 还有谁？快说不然我不管了哦
我们是最后一辆车 今天车特别多 12点才能过关！
下车下车！全下车 把行李拿下去！
It took us 4.5-5 hours to get over to the other side...
Leg 3: Flight from Inner Mongolia Erlian to Beijing
Total time: 1 hr 20 mins
Total cost: S$86.07pp
We had booked this domestic flight online via eLong in Singapore. The only cafe in Erlian airport might as well convert to a vending machine - no hot food only cold drinks, not allowed to take a seat if you never buy anything. It was a delight Beijing Capital Airlines serve sandwiches and mineral water on this flight! Dropped our packs at BCIA's left luggage, hopped onto the airport express again, so looking forward to have a feast on our last night in Beijing!
(沉默)
韩国人?
(摇头)
那18个人行李一大堆在后面 管你大包儿小包 一人加20！来！一人70！
把钱拿出来！
谁没签证？数一下！7个！
那7个先过去！
还有那4个没护照 一人100 帮你们签个字 要不你自己跟海关说 最多罚你200 还有谁？快说不然我不管了哦
我们是最后一辆车 今天车特别多 12点才能过关！
下车下车！全下车 把行李拿下去！
It took us 4.5-5 hours to get over to the other side...
Leg 3: Flight from Inner Mongolia Erlian to Beijing
Total time: 1 hr 20 mins
Total cost: S$86.07pp
We had booked this domestic flight online via eLong in Singapore. The only cafe in Erlian airport might as well convert to a vending machine - no hot food only cold drinks, not allowed to take a seat if you never buy anything. It was a delight Beijing Capital Airlines serve sandwiches and mineral water on this flight! Dropped our packs at BCIA's left luggage, hopped onto the airport express again, so looking forward to have a feast on our last night in Beijing!
It was time to head back to the capital. I asked around for transport at the carpark while he went to the park office to pay for our tent space. There were only a few vehicles and our chances looked grim. I was loitering around when a foreigner approached me.
"Where are you going?" Carlo had curly hair and wore tinted glasses.
"UB. You?"
"We are going to UB in the afternoon."
"Can we hitch a ride?"
"Sure. But you have to wait. We are going in to have a look. Have you seen the horses?"
I shook my head. "We tried to yesterday but didn't see any."
"You can come with us if you want." He offered.
"REALLY?" My eyes lit up and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I ran to the park office to tell him the good news.
On our first sighting, we saw about eight takhis but they were too far away.
Carlo with his powerful camera
As the vehicle moved deeper into the park, we spotted another pack on top of the hills.
We followed Carlo's friends up the steep hills. I was struggling to keep up as it was windy and cold.
It was magical as we watched them quietly from a distance. Takhis are more cautious and afraid of human beings than domestic horses. One will keep an eye on us while the rest feed. If we move too close, they will move further away.
I only realised we've climbed so far up when it was time to go back down.
Thank you Carlo and friends!
On the way back to UB, the vehicle made an ovoo stop. Carlo's friends got out and we took the opportunity to thank Carlo again. "I like to help young people. You two remind me of my son and daughter." He said and gave me a peck on the cheek.
Celebrated our return to civilisation at Marco Polo (~MNT 19,200 pp)
After Monogl Els, we had no other place we had planned to go. He wanted to head back to UB but I thought we should make use of our time here and not slip back to comfort zone. Since Hustai National Park was on the way to UB, we agreed to try our luck to hitch a ride there.
Packed up and found two toads underneath our tent (?!)
This man was on his way to UB and he gave us a ride to Hustai National Park. The park was another 7km from the highway and we thought he would drop us off the highway. But he went out of his way and dropped us at the park entrance. Not only that, he did not ask for any money! It was too good to be true. We felt so grateful and at the same time obliged to return this huge favour. Thank you sooo much!
The only accommodation in the park was Hustai Resort. It was fully booked and the pregnant park manager allowed us to camp beside the basketball court for US$6 per night.
Don't smash our tent pls
Hustai National Park is home to the last species of wild horses - Przewalski's horse or Takhi. This useless map in the park office roughly shows where are the endangered horses. In summary, they can be anywhere in the national park.
We started walking at 2.30pm. We walked...and walked...and walked...for as long as we could. There were lots of crazy grasshoppers but no sight of any horses. The walk was not physically demanding but he grew really fed up walking aimlessly so we aborted our search and returned to park HQ.
We only had pringles and coke for the whole day so we were really hungry. Devoured this plate of grilled chicken goulash (US$7), washed up and went back to our tent, disappointed we had made a wasted trip here...
Since we didn't make it to the Gobi, we decided to stop for a night at the sand dunes of Mongol Els (sometimes known as "Little Gobi") en route to UB. Munkhsuuri's son-in-law gave us a lift to the market to catch the bus. It was full and spillover passengers had to sit on little stools along the aisle which was fine as we were going to alight in an hour's time.
When we got down the bus, this man turned up to fetch us. We didn't know him but he seemed to know us. We believed our hosts at Munkhsuuri must have called him to keep an eye out for us T_T He didn't look like a bad guy so we followed him to his ger and arranged for two camels and one meal for dinner.
The sand dunes pop out of nowhere in the steppes
Mongol Altai Tour Camp operates a restaurant and accommodation at the foot of the dunes
Let's go for a walk in the sand
步步进沙
没有沙漠沙丘也不错呀
Cancelled the second camel to save some money lol and took turns to go for a ride
Trying to get camel to kneel down but I ended up on my knees instead lol
Checking out camel's hump (*pat#poke)
After a painful horse ride at Tuvhun Monastery, riding a camel felt surprisingly good on my sore groin man...
This monument shows the size of Mongolia then and now. Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongols conquered nearly all of Asia, the Middle East and parts of eastern Europe. The Mongol Empire stretched to Iran, Iraq, Syria and even as far as Hungary and Poland. Super powerful army.
The original plan was to make our way from Kharkhorin to Dalanzadgad via Arvaikheer but we were not confident we would be able to hitch a ride there so we gave up on the Gobi and stayed put in Kharkhorin today.
We strolled to Erdene Zuu, an ancient Buddhist monastery, one kilometre southeast of Munkhsuuri Guesthouse.
The monastery has an interesting mix and influence of architecture
Chinese style temples
Tibetan style temples
Tibetan Buddhism has been the predominant religion in Mongolia since the 16th and 17th century.
An old lady in deel (Monoglia traditional clothing) turning prayer wheels
Outside the monastery walls are stalls selling a dazzling array of ornaments and souvenirs including prayer beads, accessories and ancient porn paintings lol
Wandered further from the monastery searching for other relics in the area
Good old turtle we found ya
This place in Kharkhorin is maintained by an old lady Munkhsuuri and managed by Munkhsuuri's daughter who speaks English. It's a warm welcome back to civilisation especially after wandering in the wilderness for a few days.
More of a ger camp rather than a guesthouse
Sleep under the most stunning starry skies
Have a hot shower but don't take too long though because the water pressure is low and there may be a queue waiting to shower too (only one shower was working during our stay)
Recharge your body with simple hot meals
Tasty pancakes
Say hello to this calm and submissive dog
Lovely hosts and their adorable blonde hair daughter
I have a fantasy about galloping on a horse on Mongolia's grasslands. First of all, I have to get on a horse.
The opportunity came when we saw a pack of horses waiting outside the forests - Tuvhun Monastery was hidden inside the woods.
Riding a horse is second nature to Mongolians. They mounted their chosen horses swiftly and came well prepared with boots.
Chuu! Off we go with the pack into the forest. When I saw other visitors from the opposite direction tramping on the muddy ground I was glad I didn't have to get my shoes dirty.
No I did not get to gallop...not even trot. I was just sitting on the horse with the boy leading it one hour each way. I was disappointed the boy disallowed me to take control of the reins after my horse strayed off to feed on leaves off the trees which sent me crashing into the branches lol.
Even he got to control the horse by himself.
The monastery was established by Zanabazar, a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and creator of the soyombo script (which later became the national emblem of Mongolia).
Anything up there?
Look for two trees connected by a single horizontal branch inside the forests.
Oh our wee wee were so painful. So sore I almost wanted to get down and walk in the mud on the way back. Neva gonna ride a horse again...
