| Crawling out of my tent in the early Mongolian | | | | in Mongolia, forget about bringing a tall one. Once |
| morning, I look across a vast steppe covered in a | | | | you step out of it, in one of those winds, say |
| colorful carpet with intricate patterns. There are | | | | goodbye to it, as it tumbleweeds itself all the way |
| chives growing, as far as the eye can see and | | | | to the Russian border. |
| they're all in flower. Literally millions of mauve and | | | | Mongolia really is a magnificent country to travel |
| white heads bobbing gently in the morning breeze. | | | | through and driving overland at our own pace, in |
| A delicious, heady scent of herbs permeates the | | | | our Land Rover, is allowing me to truly immerse |
| air as I move around our Land Rover, searching | | | | myself into some of the most spectacular |
| for my red tin mug. | | | | landscapes I have ever set eyes upon. I love the |
| We're camped on the edge of an enormous open | | | | great expanse of space and being able to interact |
| valley. It's like a giant basin, rimmed with dark | | | | with the local people in the towns, the markets |
| towering mountains.....sentinels in the early morning | | | | and the herders, sharing a tiny part of their |
| light. | | | | traditional nomadic lives. |
| Mongolia, the Land of the Great Blue Sky is | | | | Mongolia with all her beauty has indeed dazzled |
| indeed living up to her name on this crystal clear | | | | me but I am acutely aware of becoming |
| day. | | | | complacent. She is a land of temperature |
| "People pay squillions to wake up to a 360 degree | | | | extremes and can change dramatically within a |
| view like this" I think, as I take in the beauty | | | | few hours. I have heard reports of local folk who |
| which lies before me and languish in my chair, | | | | are aware of these extremes, having been |
| sipping my steaming coffee. It's an idyllic scene | | | | caught out. Frozen dead bodies of unprepared |
| and as I absorb the smells, sights and sounds, I | | | | herders have been found, out on the steppe in |
| wonder how long it will be till the wind wakes | | | | these circumstances. These extreme |
| from her nightly slumber and begins to roar. | | | | temperatures are far more prevalent in Spring |
| I think back to two nights ago when we were | | | | and Autumn. |
| camped in the Khongoryn Els Sand Dunes. Our | | | | It's not often that two days are alike and I'm |
| nice little dome tent with the "cute little vents and | | | | learning to expect the unexpected. From |
| lots of netting for great airflow"...just didn't cut it! | | | | sweltering in a pair of shorts one day, to twenty- |
| A wind from hell blew in during the night and | | | | four hours later when I'm pulling on all my winter |
| hammered us for over six hours. I felt as though | | | | woollies including my knitted beanie. |
| someone was standing over me with a giant | | | | Traveling in Mongolia was an eye opener. A real |
| pepper -shaker, spilling it over my face all night. | | | | shift from my western lifestyle. I only got a |
| I'm sure the wind speed was over sixty | | | | diminutive taste of what this country has to offer |
| kilometres per hour because most of the time | | | | and I was here for eight weeks. But what I saw, |
| my tent was so bowed in that it was touching | | | | smelled, heard and tasted tantalized all of my |
| my face. I could hear the gusts coming through | | | | senses. Mongolia is indelibly imprinted in my mind. |
| the dunes, like roaring waves or is it...a screaming | | | | Mongolia is not for the faint hearted and if you're |
| banshee? I spent most of the night cowering into | | | | looking for a five star type, cushy, comfortable |
| my sleeping bag to keep the sand from getting in | | | | holiday, then forget it. Mongolia is probably not for |
| my eyes, nose and ears. | | | | you. It's challenging, both emotionally and physically. |
| In the morning I was literally laying in a sandpit. | | | | If you decide that you'd like to experience a |
| What a night! The sandman really did show up! | | | | Mongolian adventure, it is in your best interests |
| And speaking of tents, if you're coming to travel | | | | and safety to be fully prepared. |