Terelj National Park

I’ve been in Mongolia for 4 days now. I got in last Wednesday at 11pm after a full day of travelling (6 hours at the Seoul Airport). Amy & Andy (and their driver) picked me up form the airport. I pretty much spent my first day here sleeping (both Amy & Andy were working). We did go out for lunch and dinner and I met a few of their friends. The next day I went for a run in the morning and then checked out Amy’s work in the afternoon.

Going for a run might sound simple enough, but crossing the road here in Ulaan Baatar is not an easy task. Lanes are more like guidelines, as is the colour of the traffic light. You almost need to wear ear plugs due to the excessive use of the car horns. Giving way is uncommon and it’s kind’ve a case of first-in-best-dressed. The traffic is so bad that the Red Cross (who Amy & Andy are volunteering for) have banned any of their workers from driving.

There has been no hot water at the apartment for the last week and the power was off for most of the first day I was here. The building they live in reminds me of (insert a scene from any action movie based in Eastern Europe/Russia).

This past weekend we took 2 dirt bikes and a 4WD to the Terelj National Park (which is about 1.5 hours out of Ulaan Baatar) with some of Amy & Andy’s friends. It is amazing (think the Grampians but better)! So many places to explore, rocks to climb and views to see. I learnt how to ride the dirt bike and had a lot of fun riding that up and down the tracks. We stayed in a Gur which belonged to one of the families living there, they cooked meals for us as well. Saturday night we went exploring with the 4WD down some tracks that hadn’t been used in quite some time. It really was a great weekend!

On the way their on Saturday, we pulled over on the side of the road where a man was showing off some of his pets. I think the photo says it all.