Ulaanbaatar & Ger Camp

Today was a busy day in Ulaanbaatar, we had to pack our bags to leave, go on a city tour and then head out to camp.
I had done most of my arrangements last night once we got back so I was pretty set to go, just had to put in last minute toiletries.

After breakfast Toya took us to the Gandan Monastery complex where we got to see a number of temples. What was cool is the monks were in the middle of their chanting ritual so we got to see that happen while touring around the temples. We went to three.

The first one was the oldest temple left over from the 1800’s whereas the rest were built well after. The second temple had a massive statue in it of one of their Gods and its size was simply remarkable. And the third was the weather temple that was from the Dalhi Lama. It was a very interesting site to visit.

Next we went to the old home of the last king and queen of Mongolia. This was a very simple palace, nothing elaborate to be honest. But the temples inside the complex were very well cared for, and inside of them was pretty fantastic. They had temples dedicated to gods, ornate silks, and all sorts of other things. This palace complex was truly fascinating.

Lastly on our city tour we went to Zaisan Hill to view the city, but also to see the monument to the Soviet soldiers who helped Mongolia out during the revolution. The view was outstanding.

After lunch we grabbed our overnight bags and were on our way to the desert for the ger camp. We made two stops on route, one at the grocery store, and the other at the statue/monument to Chinggis Khaan.

The monument was massive, and really cool. At the base of it there is a movie, and a museum. On the main level there is a giant Mongolian boot and an elevator to the top of the monument. At the top, you can get out and walk onto the horses head that Chinggis is riding. It was so cool to get that close and see the details, but also to have a panoramic view of the area. It was an fantastic site visit.

After we exhausted our time here, we headed back on the road to the Ger camp. We did on road and off road driving, got held up in a Mongolian traffic jam (herds of cattle and horses taking up space on the road) and saw some crazy driving techniques. Eventually we made it around 7 pm, just in time for dinner.
We had enough time to get to our gers and get settled in before having dinner. After dinner we went to the Welsch’s Ger for vodka, junk food, s’mores and socializing. It was fun. We know how to have a good time.

We all didn’t make it very long since we were all exhausted from the day, so it definitely was an early night for all of us, especially with tomorrow’s activities just on the horizon.Read more