We just wondered around today. Went to the silk market and did some shopping. Also walked aound the Forbidden city. It is hot and we are pretty much done walking. So we get back and start to cram all off our treasure into our bags.
Beijing is an amazing, beautiful city. It is so clean and vibrant. Someone told us we would need a whole week just to see the city. They were right. We hardly saw anything in 2 whole days.
The food was great as well. So much to choose from. And after 3 weeks of the same ol thing it was nice to have flavor and color and choices.
Tomorrow we take the train to the airport. So easy to get around. Can't believe how many countries we go to that have mass transport managed. And our own country is brutal to travel in affordably.
That is it for the blog thanks for following along.
Feel free to leave us comments and please forgive the typos and grammerical errors. Sometime I may go back and spell check.
Rena and Ann Mongolia/Beijing june 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The great wall kicks our a...es
So we don't have much time in Beijing so we want to get in all that we can. So we joined up for a 10K hike along the great wall. It is suppose to be for reasonably fit people and is strenuous. Ann and I aren't the most fit but we make it up in determination. So at 7am we have our good hikers on and are ready to go. We get on the bus and there isn't anyone over 25. Well there are maybe 5 of us out of 40 who are over 30ish. Oh well we won't die right?
It is a scenic 2 hour drive to the wall. We are hiking on a part of the wall that has been restored and part that is unrestored. There are suppose to be no other people on this part and especially post card sellers.
So we arrive it is amazing here. So lush and green with steep mountains all around. The wall was built in sections depending on who the emporer was at the time. The wall is so large that if you stretched it out it would go around the world. Pretty amazing.
So we start trekking. Up and Up and Up. It is hot and this is going to be another adventure.
We are hiking 8 towers. Our leader says that the first five are the hardest and then we go downhill. And going slow is ok. No problem...
So after we hit tower 3 I am ready to have a heart attack. I never knew my heart could pound so hard. The young bucks are 2 towers ahead of us. At least we aren't in last place. All it is now is mind over matter. Keep moving even if it is slow and easy. At tower 5 we celebrate all down hill now. And we are almost out of water. Whish there was at least one seller here. The guide did tell us that the downhill part was kinda rough and maybe even a little dangerous. Well he didn't lie. It was crumbling wall and very slippery. Alomost took as long to do the last 2 towers as did going up to the first 5. Rubber legs do not describe how my legs felt. A nice guy from Amsterdam shared some of his water with us. And finally we made it to the bottom. Well we did it. Walked 10k on the Great Wall and not the east peasy touristy part. We stopped for lunch and drank another litre of water each. Then the 2 hour bus ride home was quite except for the soft snores of everyone sleeping.
Pretty sure I earned my beer with supper tonight.
It is a scenic 2 hour drive to the wall. We are hiking on a part of the wall that has been restored and part that is unrestored. There are suppose to be no other people on this part and especially post card sellers.
So we arrive it is amazing here. So lush and green with steep mountains all around. The wall was built in sections depending on who the emporer was at the time. The wall is so large that if you stretched it out it would go around the world. Pretty amazing.
So we start trekking. Up and Up and Up. It is hot and this is going to be another adventure.
We are hiking 8 towers. Our leader says that the first five are the hardest and then we go downhill. And going slow is ok. No problem...
So after we hit tower 3 I am ready to have a heart attack. I never knew my heart could pound so hard. The young bucks are 2 towers ahead of us. At least we aren't in last place. All it is now is mind over matter. Keep moving even if it is slow and easy. At tower 5 we celebrate all down hill now. And we are almost out of water. Whish there was at least one seller here. The guide did tell us that the downhill part was kinda rough and maybe even a little dangerous. Well he didn't lie. It was crumbling wall and very slippery. Alomost took as long to do the last 2 towers as did going up to the first 5. Rubber legs do not describe how my legs felt. A nice guy from Amsterdam shared some of his water with us. And finally we made it to the bottom. Well we did it. Walked 10k on the Great Wall and not the east peasy touristy part. We stopped for lunch and drank another litre of water each. Then the 2 hour bus ride home was quite except for the soft snores of everyone sleeping.
Pretty sure I earned my beer with supper tonight.
the longest train ride.
So we decided to take the train into Beijing instead of flying. It is a great way to see the country side and chill and relax after a hectic schedual. So up early and head for the train station for 6am. It was interesting to watch the local people bring in thier dairy products on the morning train. I can't imagine what time these local farmers got up to milk their herds and get on the train and come into the city for 6am. crazy.
So the train is easy peasy to get on and we are set in our deluxe, 2 berth, private bath, air conditioned sleeper car. Except that the private bath is a shared bath with another cabin. And... The bath isn't a toilet just a sink with a shower head/faucet. And the airconditiong is a really noisy fan. hmm well the windows are open so we should be getting a breeze right? Nope as soon as we move the dude with the power over the windows closed them. Too dusty he says. Ok so how hot can it be.
Well in a couple of hours the indoor temp read at 35 C . And we are dying.
So we head into the restaurant car and want some cold pop. I ask the lady if she can take american or credit card. She say yes we take it all and I can give you change in Yuan ( which is chinese money) . Perfect I said we will have 2 cokes. After we drink our cokes I give her $10 in US and she says no change no change! What? You said you could make change. Oh well I said just run us a tab and we will surely use up most of it. So later that night we are getting ready for out dinner of ichiban noodles and I want a beer. She comes to get me and wants me to settle my bill. i get the beer and she says again no change no change. I said that is all I have right now. She leaves and comes back with $2 US and a english pound i think. I should have recieved around $7 in change. I look at her and say that isn't enough change. She tells me that the exchange rate is about 1/3 of what they are getting at the bank. I told her that I am not about to let her rip me off. She says that in Beijing she can't get a decent exchange for american money. Funny that is what we plan on doing in Beijing. We scrounge through our bags and find just enough yaun to pay the bill. She leaves in a huff. Funny how all the mongolian people were so genuine and wonderful til you hit the tourist train. Its ok though I stood up for myself and won in the end.
So our trainride in to the heat of hell lasted 30hrs. We rode across the gobi desert and went by some of the mines. When we woke the next morning we were in lush China. Lots of cool little farms and lots of green and rivers everywhere.
What a difference a night makes. We went along the great wall of China but we slept right through it. We pulled into the beijing main train station around 2pm. Whew it is hot and muggy.
The subway runs right from the train station to within 2 blocks of our next hostel. We have great direction and can't believe how well the transit system is set up. all in english and makes sense.
we check into out hostel. It is the previous palace of an emporer. Very cool. All the rooms face the courtyard.
We wonder around downtown Beijing and got our berrings.
/
So the train is easy peasy to get on and we are set in our deluxe, 2 berth, private bath, air conditioned sleeper car. Except that the private bath is a shared bath with another cabin. And... The bath isn't a toilet just a sink with a shower head/faucet. And the airconditiong is a really noisy fan. hmm well the windows are open so we should be getting a breeze right? Nope as soon as we move the dude with the power over the windows closed them. Too dusty he says. Ok so how hot can it be.
Well in a couple of hours the indoor temp read at 35 C . And we are dying.
So we head into the restaurant car and want some cold pop. I ask the lady if she can take american or credit card. She say yes we take it all and I can give you change in Yuan ( which is chinese money) . Perfect I said we will have 2 cokes. After we drink our cokes I give her $10 in US and she says no change no change! What? You said you could make change. Oh well I said just run us a tab and we will surely use up most of it. So later that night we are getting ready for out dinner of ichiban noodles and I want a beer. She comes to get me and wants me to settle my bill. i get the beer and she says again no change no change. I said that is all I have right now. She leaves and comes back with $2 US and a english pound i think. I should have recieved around $7 in change. I look at her and say that isn't enough change. She tells me that the exchange rate is about 1/3 of what they are getting at the bank. I told her that I am not about to let her rip me off. She says that in Beijing she can't get a decent exchange for american money. Funny that is what we plan on doing in Beijing. We scrounge through our bags and find just enough yaun to pay the bill. She leaves in a huff. Funny how all the mongolian people were so genuine and wonderful til you hit the tourist train. Its ok though I stood up for myself and won in the end.
So our trainride in to the heat of hell lasted 30hrs. We rode across the gobi desert and went by some of the mines. When we woke the next morning we were in lush China. Lots of cool little farms and lots of green and rivers everywhere.
What a difference a night makes. We went along the great wall of China but we slept right through it. We pulled into the beijing main train station around 2pm. Whew it is hot and muggy.
The subway runs right from the train station to within 2 blocks of our next hostel. We have great direction and can't believe how well the transit system is set up. all in english and makes sense.
we check into out hostel. It is the previous palace of an emporer. Very cool. All the rooms face the courtyard.
We wonder around downtown Beijing and got our berrings.
/
around Ulaan Bataar
So when we got in first thing first. SHOWER and then laundry. It feels so good to have clean hair and clothes. We do some running around and try to track down the package that our first guide Saraa sent us from up north. So off to the post office we go. After alot of confusion and some mild arguing we find out that the parcel never got sent from the post office up north. Frustrating. So Saraa found a gentleman who was flying to U.B. and he said he would deliver the package to us. So off to the airport we go to meet this stranger.. We have his name and that he walks with wooden hands which we think are crutches. We also know that he is french. So we see an older gentleman kinda hunched over and I approach him and say in french. "hello Richard?" And he nods. I ask him how he is and does he speak english. He says no! ok so now what. In my little bit of french I asked him if he was ok and if he had someone meeting him. He didn't understand. We waited around while he called a translator. Finally it all got sorted out and his ride showed up. We thanked him for the package and went on our way back to the hostel to meet our last guide Bobo. She wanted to say goodbye in person and has a present for us. WE say our goodbyes and off to bed early.
The next day we visit the Natural History Museum and History of Mongolia Museum. Lots of info and cool stuff. I also paid a visit to the local music store to buy myself a horse head fiddle. Very cool. Wish I could play it.
We say goodbye to all our new friends and house mates. and go to bed early
The next day we visit the Natural History Museum and History of Mongolia Museum. Lots of info and cool stuff. I also paid a visit to the local music store to buy myself a horse head fiddle. Very cool. Wish I could play it.
We say goodbye to all our new friends and house mates. and go to bed early
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
last day in central
So this morning we got up early and went to visit a local monastary. It is up in the mountains. What a beautiful spot. A local lady whos grandson was restoring the monastary gave us a tour. She just ran up the hills in her slippery soled shoes. We stumbled up after her. This monastary is defintely one of the more scenic ones. The old grounds can still be seen from up above. We bought some handi crafts from the store to help support the restoration.
Our driver is anxious to get on the road back to U.B. So we start to make the drive back. One thing that Blake wants to do that we haven't done is visit a nomadic family. We tried to tell the driver and Bobo that this is important to him. So we finally stopped. It wasn't the same as Ann and I's visits. But he got an idea of what a typicall ger looked like. They served us some tea and dried cheese and of course yoghurt.
They were shearing the sheep and the whole family was there to help. They even had a son that had cerebral palsy. He couldn't walk and drug himself around on the ground. He was right in there helping shear the sheep. It was nice to see the son on the family farm verus in the orphanage that we had visited earlier.
The rest of the ride home was uneventful.
Once back in U.B. we said goodbye to our guide and driver. And made dinner plans with Blake for the following day.
Oh yeah it still rained a few drops.
Our driver is anxious to get on the road back to U.B. So we start to make the drive back. One thing that Blake wants to do that we haven't done is visit a nomadic family. We tried to tell the driver and Bobo that this is important to him. So we finally stopped. It wasn't the same as Ann and I's visits. But he got an idea of what a typicall ger looked like. They served us some tea and dried cheese and of course yoghurt.
They were shearing the sheep and the whole family was there to help. They even had a son that had cerebral palsy. He couldn't walk and drug himself around on the ground. He was right in there helping shear the sheep. It was nice to see the son on the family farm verus in the orphanage that we had visited earlier.
The rest of the ride home was uneventful.
Once back in U.B. we said goodbye to our guide and driver. And made dinner plans with Blake for the following day.
Oh yeah it still rained a few drops.
one more time in the sand dunes.
We are off to another small sand dune. This one is suppose to be cool because there is an oasis there. So we pull up to our next ger camp. The usuall. It is a small family run operation. Which is more to my liking. They have to light a fire under the hot water tank to heat the water for showers. There is a beautiful lake here. Lots of animals and right next to the water is the sand dunes. Kinda like beach front property in the middle of desert. There are also some huge mountains close by. This area is very diverse and beautiful. WE have a small simple lunch and a warm beer. then go for a walk to the lake. WE have to take off our shoes and walk through the muck to get to the other side. I tried not to think about what \i was walking in. In the warm water was a huge amount of tadpoles. Our guide Bobo said look at the fish. I said these are baby frogs. Then went on to explain how it all works. There were also some fresh water snails. She was laughing because i was teaching her about local animals. I guess they don't have frogs in Ulaan Bataar.
Before supper we got a local guy to take us camel riding. Blake got on this huge camel. And Ann and I rode our nice small ones. We got to control our own camels which made it a interesting ride. We wanted to ride in the dunes and they wanted to eat and drink. Guess who won... Not us. It was funny. We paid for Bobo to ride with us. She has never been able to afford to go camel riding. It cost us an extra $5. Her smile was worth every penny. The camel owner was telling us that he lost all his camels after last winter. He had been doing camel riding for the tourists for 7 years and had his camels nice and trained . They didn't survive the harse winter of 09. So he had to buy all new camels this spring and start over. So many sad stories all over mongolia.
We had dinner and another warm beer. Then of course it rained with thunder and lightening. We turned it for the night.
Before supper we got a local guy to take us camel riding. Blake got on this huge camel. And Ann and I rode our nice small ones. We got to control our own camels which made it a interesting ride. We wanted to ride in the dunes and they wanted to eat and drink. Guess who won... Not us. It was funny. We paid for Bobo to ride with us. She has never been able to afford to go camel riding. It cost us an extra $5. Her smile was worth every penny. The camel owner was telling us that he lost all his camels after last winter. He had been doing camel riding for the tourists for 7 years and had his camels nice and trained . They didn't survive the harse winter of 09. So he had to buy all new camels this spring and start over. So many sad stories all over mongolia.
We had dinner and another warm beer. Then of course it rained with thunder and lightening. We turned it for the night.
day 4 central mongolia
So today we are off for some hot springs. And we are looking forward to it. It is a short drive today which is good for our driver who is in pain.
We decide to go to the springs first before our hotel for the night. Good thing. The drive was beautiful. we criss crossed these small brooks and drove through fields of wild flowers of all colors. What a amazing valley. ANd then we are at a numch of ger camps all around the hotspring. We asked our guide if we could stay here instead of intown. SHe called her manager and they made the arrangements. So we got our bathing gear on and got ready to plunge into the healing hot spring. IT is 86 at the source so they have to cool it down. There are warnings all over if you have high blood pressure or heart condition to not go in or keep the time to a minimum. So we get in...... brrrrrrrrr. What? Can someone pee so it will warm up? We are very confused and a little pissed. We drove all day to get here and moved our accomodations to stay here and the showers were so hot we couldn't stand them and then the pool was freezing. Blake went to get someone. He said no hot water in mongolian and they understood. Just open a pipe and put more water in. Then it warmed up a bit. We would have had to stay in along time for it to be too hot that is for sure.
While we were soaking a young couple from Toronto came into the pool. THey were on this epic journey on horseback. Just the two of them , no guide, no gps, and 3 horses. They were 20 and 21 with moderate experience on horseback. I guess they had this romantic adventure in mind. They started out 2 weeks before with a map that had a road they were going to follow. Except the road didn't exsist. They spent alot of time getting lost. They basically went until they saw a ger and stopped to ask directions to the next well. Then 3 wells in a row were dry. They were dehydrated and the horses were dry and they managed to find a little boy who took them home and the boys dad lead them and their horses to another well that had a little water and alot of muck in it. I guess the major problem they had been having was the semi-wild horses of mongolia. The horses have an attitude and wouldn't let the guy get on one day. They tried for 8 hours to get on and the horse would just spin like a mad man in circles. Or the horse wouldn't move if they were on their back. So they spent alot of time walking the horses. The hot springs were half way into their trip. So they had to weeks to go still. They weren't looking happy.
We invited them to join us for dinner. They looked relieved. We chatted about travelling and they were going to turkey next so I gave them some hints.
Went to bed early because another long day on the road adhead.
We decide to go to the springs first before our hotel for the night. Good thing. The drive was beautiful. we criss crossed these small brooks and drove through fields of wild flowers of all colors. What a amazing valley. ANd then we are at a numch of ger camps all around the hotspring. We asked our guide if we could stay here instead of intown. SHe called her manager and they made the arrangements. So we got our bathing gear on and got ready to plunge into the healing hot spring. IT is 86 at the source so they have to cool it down. There are warnings all over if you have high blood pressure or heart condition to not go in or keep the time to a minimum. So we get in...... brrrrrrrrr. What? Can someone pee so it will warm up? We are very confused and a little pissed. We drove all day to get here and moved our accomodations to stay here and the showers were so hot we couldn't stand them and then the pool was freezing. Blake went to get someone. He said no hot water in mongolian and they understood. Just open a pipe and put more water in. Then it warmed up a bit. We would have had to stay in along time for it to be too hot that is for sure.
While we were soaking a young couple from Toronto came into the pool. THey were on this epic journey on horseback. Just the two of them , no guide, no gps, and 3 horses. They were 20 and 21 with moderate experience on horseback. I guess they had this romantic adventure in mind. They started out 2 weeks before with a map that had a road they were going to follow. Except the road didn't exsist. They spent alot of time getting lost. They basically went until they saw a ger and stopped to ask directions to the next well. Then 3 wells in a row were dry. They were dehydrated and the horses were dry and they managed to find a little boy who took them home and the boys dad lead them and their horses to another well that had a little water and alot of muck in it. I guess the major problem they had been having was the semi-wild horses of mongolia. The horses have an attitude and wouldn't let the guy get on one day. They tried for 8 hours to get on and the horse would just spin like a mad man in circles. Or the horse wouldn't move if they were on their back. So they spent alot of time walking the horses. The hot springs were half way into their trip. So they had to weeks to go still. They weren't looking happy.
We invited them to join us for dinner. They looked relieved. We chatted about travelling and they were going to turkey next so I gave them some hints.
Went to bed early because another long day on the road adhead.
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