Mongolia

As exotic as it sounds, and as exotic as I imagine it to be, Mongolia delivers its promise of wonder to city folks like me. Fed with stories from TV and books of Genghis Khan and his Mongol horde, the very idea of travelling to Mongolia is an adventure already. So to make sure I fully make it worthwhile, I joined a group of photographers for the trip. And to make it even more adventurous, I decided to extend the trip on my own, and it would be my first solo backpacking trip to an under-developed country!


Mongolia is a huge landlocked country, with a population less than Singapore, but living in a land area over two thousand times the size of Singapore. So transportation wise, the trip would be best enjoyed with a personal vehicle and guide. My two weeks of travel with the photography group would be a circuit round south Gobi, while my solo extended trip would bring me up north to Lake Khovsgol near Siberia.


Ulan Bator, Mongolia's capital city, is of course the gateway into Mongolia. The city, with its Soviet style architecture, was not my favourite part of the trip. There's an air of solemnity about, which I didn't like and I've come across many young beggars on the streets. I later read that there're many orphans living in the sewers under the city! However, we are only in Ulan Bator a day or two, and we're off to the countryside!



The immense Gobi, with its shifting sand dunes, the Nadaam Festival, Lake Khovsgol - these are some of the many highlights of Mongolia which I hope to cover in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!