July 8 -- Our last day in the Gobi was but a morning. We were up at 5:30 and out at six. No nice sunrise though. And of course our flight was delayed by an hour. We took a fifty-seater Saab turbo prop 510km north to Ulaanbaatar. It took about an hour to get there.
Once in UB, we ran a bunch of errands -- bank, supermarket, post office, and chemist -- before heading out of town. Our destination was the Jalman Meadows ger camp, about 100km northeast of UB. It took a while to get out of the city traffic and it was the bumpiest ride yet -- mostly because we didn't have our super bus. The only place to see along the way was an enormous shiny stainless steel statue of Chinggis Khan. It was 40m tall. They plan on building a thousand horseman to accompany him and 200 gers for hotels. Very ambitious.
The ride took us up into the hills. We're about 5000ft above sea level and you can see coniferous trees fit the hillsides. The camp is an eco-friendly site. There are no permanent structures and electricity is provided by windmills and solar panels. The shower is a vat where you pour a mixture of hot and boiling water. There's a small electric pump connected to a showerhead. It's surprisingly effective!
We tossed a frisbee with a few of the kids here. There's an right year old boy who speaks excellent English with an American accent. They all go to an International Bachelorate school. One of the older kids is a junior who wants to study engineering in America (maybe MIT!)
Tomorrow is rafting and horseback riding, provided it doesn't rain. It should be a fun day!
Great account of Mongolia. I would love to go there even if just for Nadaam. What are your thoughts of going there independently?
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