Tsagaan Suvarga

The first morning, we loaded up our stuff in Gana's car. I was quite elated to be able to go on a second journey with him, our bond was stronger this time and he was the only one I was actually really close with during this time. In the car, my social battery was depleted and I was quite reserved, I retreated into my inner shell and was just vibing by the window, making small talk but I wasn't really feeling it. The people I was with were good, but something about me was holding me back from actually talking with them. I guess maybe I was just too tired and a bit overwhelmed to be suddenly traveling with so many people at once. This continued for the duration of the trip.

We stopped by in the middle of nowhere for lunch, they played around and found a skull of a horned animal which made for an excellent photo op. They went around the place and did some hikes while I stuck around with Khulan, our cook, and Gana. I walked around towards the other side where a herd of sheep were grazing near a frozen pond. Lunch was delicious soup, it was good, we ate inside the car as the sandstorm was kicking off.

We made another brief stop at a road side where they took a group photo, I was too shy and ended up just hiding behind the car and making some lame excuse. In exchange, I did teach them a bit about photography composition. I helped take their photos in the roadside and Carmen at Gana's car, they loved it which made me happy and I think from then on I started to slowly come out of my shell and open up a bit.

Things turned even better when we finally reached the sight for the day after 7 hours on the road. Tsagaan Suvarge, the White Stupa. These scarlet-painted mountains that seemed to extend endlessly towards the desert horizons were such a power spot that I felt so happy and energized. The wind was strong, strong enough to blow poor Gana's hat away. He was able to get it back somehow. The cliifs we were on were insane, these textures were out of this world. It was a seabed in there were a lot of colors hidden once I looked closer. I helped Hayata take his photos and edited it in Lightroom as a gift.

Back at the camp, we stayed with a nomadic family's ger again, my second time. Changyoon, Hayata and Nanami played some games at night while Carmen played some tunes. I couldn't be bothered to join as I was so tired.Read more