After
obtaining a Mongolian visa in about 20 minutes while in Bangkok Thailand, I
expected the border crossing into Mongolia to be equally straight forward, not
quite. On approach to the first booth after exiting China I was warmly greeted
in English by a beautiful female soldier in full camouflage uniform and combat
boots wearing designer sunglasses. She explained the process and pointed out
the buildings housing Immigration and Customs that I had to present
myself, so after receiving a slip of paper from the booth the glamorous
solider guarded I proceeded to the next building and received an arrivals stamp
in my passport. The Customs booth was next, fast and easy, it was about one (1)
kilometre up the road where things got a little confusing. I entered a bigger
Customs building and asked if I was required to complete any more forms after
already doing so at the Customs booth, after initial blank stares followed by a
phone call my passport and motorcycle registration papers were requested and I
was told to wait. About thirty minutes later the very pleasant and polite woman
return my documents and told me I was ok to go, no forms to fill out, nothing
to sign, no additional paperwork handed to me, nothing, I really did wonder
what happened while I waited, if anything. Anyway I was good to go and soon
enough was headed North on a nice new tar road.
Saynshand was where spent my first night in Mongolia, I
found a very nice hotel with a garage for the bike and a restaurant that served
an excellent meal of fall off the bone braised steak, salad and potato wedges
for me.
The following morning I continued North on the same nice new tar road to the town of Choyr, then turned South West towards Ih Gadzrig Chuluu Natural Reserve to view spectacular rock formations and camp a night out under the stars on the edge of the Govi Desert. This is also where I first experienced the real or what would become the normal standard of roads and road signage in Mongolia.
While camping out I also learnt that in Mongolia this time
of year the sun sets about 9.45 pm and rises about 4.15 am, so I was up, packed
and back on the dirt track highway early enough to reach the town of Mandalgovi
for breakfast, before heading North again to Mongolia’s capital city Ulaanbaatar.
My first task in UB was to apply for a Kazakhstan visa, my passport was submitted
and received back without a hitch. My second task was to front up at Lotus
Children’s Centre for six (6) days of thoroughly enjoyable volunteer work.
Lotus Children’s Centre, located just out of UB in a quiet rural area provides
a home to eighty (80) abandoned, orphaned or abused children between the ages
of one (1) to eighteen (18), six (6) of which have mental and or physical
disabilities, LCC provides the children with a safe environment, meals,
accommodation and an education through local schools. While working at LCC I
assembled Ger's for other volunteers to be accommodated in, mixed concrete using
a shovel then poured the concrete using a steel bucket constructing a Ger ground
slab, fixed door locks, fixed broken furniture, fixed gazebo handrails and
laughed, ate meals and had a great time with other volunteers, staff and the
children. One afternoon I caught a local bus back to UB with LLC staff, the bus
stopped at a petrol station to refuel, twenty (20) litres of fuel was added to
the bus tank costing 35,600 Togrog (T), and I had to laugh when the bus driver’s
assistant handed over a wad of cash eighty (80) millimetres thick. Apart from
the work, a highlight was being picked up one morning by an eleven (11) seater minivan
with 6 adults and twenty nine (29) children on board, yes 35 people heading to
the Lotus centre about one hour’s drive from UB. That afternoon on the return
journey, all the children were attending a concert in UB so the minivan again
had thirty aboard, and the bigger eighteen (18) seater bus had fifty (50) on board,
I managed to squeeze on part of one (1) of a two (2) seat combination row with
four children, so five (5) on two seats. I did not see or hear one (1) child
complain about the squeeze, many slept throughout the journey, so with one
child asleep on my shoulder and another perched on my knee I sat with one butt
cheek on part of a seat with a numb leg from the child’s weigh and lack of
movement and thought about how wonderful and uplifting my time at LCC had been.
After eleven (11) days in UB and with only a thirty (30) day
visa, it was now time to pack and move on, my destination for the day was
Harhorin, but not before a down pour of rain just as I reached slippery as ice
black clay sections of road. Mishaps averted I made it to Harhorin in time for
a quick visit to Erdened Zuu Khid Monastery before settling into a Ger camp for
the night.
The following day I had a short easy ride to the town of
Tsetserleg, spending the night at Fairfield Guesthouse. Owned and run by
Australian Murray Benn and wife Elisabeth it provided me with the chance to
converse in English and receive a little local knowledge from Murray. I also
visited the local museum and the monastery high on a nearby hill overlooking
the bright multi-coloured roof homes in Tsetserleg.
The next morning I set off, riding around Tsagaan Nuur
(White Lake), then North crossing the odd river while riding dirt, sand and mud
tracks all day using map and compass for navigation, stopping to check
directions and say hello to locals including a family tending their Yak heard
and again after crossing a river via a narrow log bridge. I continued through
the town of Jargalant, got chased by big black woolly dogs and after a nine (9)
hour ride day I was thankful to reach Moron, eat a meal and sink into a
comfortable bed for the night.
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