In the Mongolian train restaurant, the freshly prepared scrambled eggs with onions tasted very good! I was allowed to look into the kitchen and all the dishes are freshly cooked. There is an extra area for dishwashing – I haven't discovered a dishwasher!

The route leads through the Gobi desert for hours through uninhabited territory! You can see a few houses and yurts, a herd of horses, cows or camels from time to time!

At the border with China 21:00 we have to get off with all our luggage, wait through the border control and 5 hours in the station hall for the conversion for the Chinese track width!

Silke

Der Beitrag Last stage Trans-Mongolian Railway Ulaanbaatar -Beijing erschien zuerst auf Ü50 ein Jahr die Welt entdecken!.

We rented a car with driver for one day. The very nice driver drove us over the winter palace of Bogd Kahn and the Dsaisan memorial (on a hill in the south of the city), to the National Park Terelj. From UB (Ulan Bator) to the huge Genghis Khan statue about 54 km away. The equestrian statue, which is about 30 m high on a pedestal, is 10 years old and arguably the tallest equestrian statue in the world. We reached the head of the horse by an elevator and a few stairs, from where you have a magnificent view of the Mongolian steppe.

Then we went to Turtle Rock, which honors its name! The stairs to the Ariyabal Meditation Temple have also paid off. The temple is built on a steep slope and has the shape of an elephant head. The 108 steps simbolize the trunk.

After that, the adventure started! A young man picked us up at a meeting point where we were to take the bus back to UB the next day. The riverbed had to be crossed on foot over bridges and balancing over tree trunks. In an all-terrain vehicle we sat in front three and drove through deep streams, cross-country through the mountains to the yurts (Mongolian "Ger") of the nomadic family. Reiner and I got a yurt for us, with a coal oven in the middle (which our family had cheered on us well, but which was cold in the morning), a table, a washbasin and four beds in it. No running water, electricity for light is generated with solar cells on car batteries. To the toilet one had to walk behind a wooden shed about 25 m away. In the second Ger, the young family slept with the young child.

Everyone was very friendly! We were the only visitors there and there were still the grandma and the grandpa, aunt and uncle for dinner. The young woman spoke a few words of English and otherwise we took "hands and feet" and actually took the picture dictionary to talk to grandma and toddler. We got traditional milk tea and delicious pastries (like radar cakes) with homemade butter and it was probably cooked a vegetarian noodle soup with vegetables especially because of me! I was also allowed to take a snab. After a cool night, but thanks to padded jackets, sleeping bag and provided blankets, we slept quite warm again, there was tea water and the pastry in our yurt.

The family members then built on another yurt and installed, among other things, an antenna for a phone! Reiner and I couldn't help much and climbed on a small hike to the next mountain – insane view! Then the uncle and the young man drove the horses in and saddled one for Reiner! Reiner also ventured for a while! The uncle took us back to the bus stop. Horses, cows and yak graze on the pastures all around! There are no fences or linen!

The bus arrived on time at 2 o'clock PM and was actually already full! But the driver has strapped our backpacks onto the roof and everyone should come together a bit! The first 30 km we drove with 25 people in a large taxi (I at Reiner on the lap) towards Ulan Bator. The last 30 km we changed to a bigger bus and landed at the hotel again at about 18:00.

Mongolia could definitely have been a few days longer!

Silke

Der Beitrag Terelj National Park, Genghis-Khan, Turtle Rock, Nomad family Yurt/Ger, Yak erschien zuerst auf Ü50 ein Jahr die Welt entdecken!.

Many guests had traditional clothes on! The children were also very sweetly cleaned out!

In the evening we were still eating vegan in the restaurant "Luna Blanca". Reiner had fried shiitake mushrooms on broccoli with rice and I cooked and fried vegan dumplings with chilli and horseradish sauce. I was absolutely surprised by Mongolia!

Silke

Der Beitrag Ulan-Bator, Gandan Monastery, Vegan Dinner erschien zuerst auf Ü50 ein Jahr die Welt entdecken!.

The train arrived in Ulan-Ude 30 minutes late. The passengers who were already on the train were no longer allowed to get out onto the platform.By Ulan-Bator we had caught up with the delay.We didn't get much sleep because there was intensive border control twice. With face check, customs declaration, opening backpacks and compartment search. We stood one hour from about 20:45 at the Russian border for departure in Naushki, and about 75 minutes from 23:00 in Sukhe-Bator to enter Mongolia.

Besides, the locomotive (we were right behind it) whistled loudly every few minutes and it smelled quite like qualm. 

The wagon 2.Class was a bit older and the mattresses a little harder but otherwise the same as the Russian ones. There was a pillowcase, a small one. Towel and two sheets. The coal stove at the entrance was particularly interesting.

Silke

Der Beitrag 306bl Ulan-Ude 26.9.- Ulan-Bator 27.9. erschien zuerst auf Ü50 ein Jahr die Welt entdecken!.

Der Beitrag Status: Not yet travelled erschien zuerst auf Ü50 ein Jahr die Welt entdecken!.