Road to Tsetserleg...

The ride out of UB pretty much sucked.  Even though we left after "rush hour" at around 10:30am the streets were still clogged with cars trying to run us over.  I don't know why they even bother painting lines on the road because people here just put their cars into any space they think it will fit into.  On two lane roads cars can be 4 across.  Mongolians are good friendly people when you meet them on the street, in the shops, etc. - but are downright evil once they get in cars.  Even the bus drivers wanted to run us over.  Add the smog and dust to the traffic and we were happy to get to the edge of town and into the countryside and be able to breathe.  It took about 1.5 hours just to get out of the city.

The road was generally good once outside UB with the exception of the every so often and sometimes everywhere monster size potholes.  Hitting one of the bigger ones would certainly be trip ending - it was for at least two cars we passed along the route.  One we passed had been abandoned with one of the front wheels snapped off.  The other I actually witnessed as I was about 50 feet behind him when he hit the lane wide deep hole.  I remember thinking when it passed me at warp speed - how did a Prius survive these roads all the way out tp here?  There had just been several constructions with some rough rock and dirt sections.  Just then it hit the hole, popped up in the air sideways and the front end came crashing down hard on the pavement.  As I passed I saw the front tires were sitting on the wheel wells - the whole front end suspension assembly had been destroyed.

We grabbed lunch at a small spot along the road.  The sign outside had pictures of the four items they offered.  We ordered one of each to split and all ended up being pretty good.  We find it's best to order one each of unfamiliar items and share so someone or all of us don't get stuck with a "chicken feet" scenario.  Luckily all four were quite good. 

It looked like rain when we were getting within about 100 km of Tsetserleg - but we were spared and made it into town just before dusk.  We had run hard all day and had been on the road about 10 hours to cover the 460 km distance.  Getting into town at 8:30pm proved a bit difficult as the guesthouse we wanted to stay in was sold out.  We found another next door and got checked in, but then ran into problems finding dinner.  Apparently most restaurants close at 9pmor earlier on Fridays.  This is because the town of Tsetserleg has an ordinance of no alcohol sales on Fridays and I suppose restaurants assume no one wants to eat out at a later hour without a cocktail. 

After wandering around in the pitch black streets for about an hour trying to find som food we found a place open and went inside.  We were struggling with the language on the menu when a young Mongolian girl, Michelle, came over an said in perfect English - I can help you guys with ordering.  Not only were they still serving food but we also found ot from our new friend that they would serve us beer "on the down low" if you promised to keep it quiet.  We ordered up a feast and everything was delicious.  Everyone had been telling us that the Mongolian food was no good, but so far we have enjoyed everything we have tried.

Tomorrow the road disappears and we will be riding dirt for several days - we hope it stays dry or the progress will be slow and difficult.  We would like to be back in Russia in a week.

Lunch spot.  We had one of each to share.

The storm brewing as we approached Tsetserleg.

The table buffet dinner in Tsetserleg.

Goodbye Oasis...

Today we leave the Oasis and UB to head west for the real reason we came to Mongolia - to explore the Steppe and experience the nomadic culture found outside the capital. We stayed in UB at least one and probable two days longer than expected. Not because we enjoyed the city - it is probable one of the least desirable cities in earth. It is dirty, dusty, congested and is filled with some if the most dangerous drivers we have experienced thus far. It was the Oasis and the people we met there that made staying there the extra days well worth the investment. Sharing info on the road ahead, trading travel stories and learning about the realities of life from our respective piece of the world. The saying is very true in that the more you travel the smaller the world becomes. We travel to see and experience something different - and we do end up experiencing many differences from our own way of life. But we also find that the people in places we visit and fellow travelers we meet along the way are often the same - living life and getting by with a common theme...to be happy. How we all get to that place is what makes us individuals, interesting to meet and maybe have an opportunity to get to know on a deeper level. Goodby Oasis - thanks for the hospitality and for bringing travelers together from all corners of the world...

Beat from Switzerland.  Doing it on a bicycle - hardcore!

The pavilion area and Oasis cafe.

Christiano and Sabrina from Italy.

Ron from Austraila.

Genghis Khan and the Black Market...

After saying farewell to our new friends and fellow overland travelers we rode the 50 km out to the statue of the great Mongol emperor Genghis Khan of the 12th and 13th centuries. The ride out was the normal Ulaanbaatar chaos of crazy drivers but once we got out of town the road and traffic was quite nice. The statue itself was very impressive - as we came over the rise it towered over the Steppe. You can also go inside and climb to the top where there is a small viewing platform in horses head. The platform offers a commanding panoramic view of the countryside. We took a few photos of the statue and with the eagles/buzzards out in the parking lot and headed back to the city to pick up SIM cards and visit the black market.

The SIM card proved to be as cheap as advertised - about $10 US for 2GB of data and unlimited calling. Not that there is anyone in Mongolia I would call, but we can at least call each other if we somehow get separated. We gave ourselves Mongolian names in our phone address books - just as we did in Russia. Ken is Kenghis, Mark is Markis Khan and I am Mongol Chip. We heard there is good coverage when near towns so won't be going as dark as we originally thought while crossing Mongolia.

After a quick lunch back at the Oasis we walked the 1.5 km to the markets. The first was all automotive parts and motorcycles and motorcycle parts. There were endless booths with piles of engine blocks, heads, suspension parts, tires, auto body parts, bolts, etc. You could pretty much find anything you need to get your vehicle back on the road - in fact one of the Land Cruisers at the Oasis had snapped a spring and they went earlier that day and easily procured a replacement set. All the motorbikes were Chinese models that were pretty cheap in price and build quality. You couple get a brand new small cc bike for less than $2,000 US. Most of the Mongolians are on these Chinese bikes. I can't imagine the bikes have a very long life here. The second market is the famous Naran Tuul Black Market - billed as the largest in all of Asia with 60,000 daily visitors. It was pretty impressive in the amount of goods, produce, dry goods, etc. available for sale in the endless lines of vendor container booths. Ulaanbaatar is also know as the pickpocket capital of the world with many tourists getting hit at the market. We had no problems, but kept close tabs on what we had in our pockets. The only thing we bought was a bottle of water. We didn't need anything but just wanted to see the famous market.

We walked back in time for last call on dinner orders from the Oasis kitchen, enjoyed a few beers with our new Italian friends Christiana and Sabrina. Tomorrow we head west across the vast Mongolian Steppe...

Genghis Khan.

Me and the eagle/buzzard with Genghis Khan.

Ken and Mark posing with Genghis Khan on the view platform.

Some camels we saw on the road on the way to the statue.

Beth getting ready to head east.

The auto parts market.

Mongolian security fence we passed on the walk to the market.  Look closely and see the glass shards embedded into the cement. 

A row at the black market.

Layover at the Oasis in Ulaanbaatar...

Yesterday we trekked on foot to the Black Market and found it closed - Apparently it is not open on Wednesdays to give the merchants a day off.  Disappointing, but we decided last night after enjoying another nice meal and beers at the Oasis we would be laying over another night in Ulaanbaatar - so we will try again today.  We didn't see everything we wanted to see or accomplish everything we wanted to accomplish so we are staying another night.  Today we still need to get SIM cards for the phones and we want to take a short 50 km ride east to see a huge statue of Genghis Khan.  It is the opposite way we will be heading to cross Mongolia, so it will be good to make the trip separately from our departure so as not to add 100 km to the first days ride.

Not a ton was accomplished yesterday, but I did get a load of laundry done, Mark changed the oil and modified a few bits on his bike and Ken and Mark both got haircuts.  I also picked up a couple of pairs of sunglasses since I had broken my last pair on Tuesday.  Everything is pretty cheap in Mongolia and the currency is like Monopoly money.  The exchange rate is about 1880 tugrik to the US dollar.  So to be a millionaire in Mongolia you only need about $530 US.

The food is great at the Oasis - it was founded about 8 years ago by a German - Austrian couple and the menu has an international flair to it.  You can get everything from a cheeseburger and fries to German sausages and Austrian pastries and sweets.  And there are salads with actual greens!  All through Russia I could not get a salad with actual lettuce.  I had some really tasty what Russians call salads - but none contained any lettuce.  The whole kitchen is set-up on a help yourself system where you write on your kitchen passport what you order from the kitchen window or take from the cooler in the way of beverages and desserts.  Then you just settle up the bill at checkout.  The ticks next to beer on my account are growing fast.  My beer bill may end up exceeding the rate for the Ger.

We have met so many fantastic people from all over the world here at the Oasis. So far I have met travelers from the USA, England, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Israel, Australia, Italy and Holland.  There are only 6 gers but several travelers sleep in their camp equipped off road vehicles in the lot for a reduced rate.  I think we probably had around 30 or so people staying last night.  Several are leaving today, so we may be quite a bit less tonight unless there are some additional arrivals.  Most are traveling in from the west so we were able to get more great information on the roads, tracks and good places to see and stay.  

We expect it to take 7-10 days to get across to the western international boarder back into Russia.  The going will be tough so we were told to expect only about 200 km per day of progress.  I am both excited and nervous about crossing Mongolia.  It will be some of the most interesting scenery and culture to experience - but also the most challenging riding of the trip.  The conditions will be very weather dependent and if we get rain, things will get much more difficult in a hurry.  Ken and I are on big bikes which are not ideal in loose sand or mud.  Ken is an experienced rider so will be fine, but here in Mongolia is where I wish I were on a smaller bike.  Although there are a few bigger bikes here that made it through, most are on smaller more dirt oriented bikes.  I will just need to be confident, take it slow and try hard not to dump the bike - but I'm guessing it will happen at some point so a better goal will be to just not break the bike or get injured when it happens. Time now for some breakfast and off to meet Genghis Khan.

Narantuul Black Market - Closed!

The cagers.

Inside our ger.

Cool iron fence art in front of the motorcycle shop - it's a GS!

Road to Ulaanbaatar...

We arrived at the boarder crossing a little past 10 to a line of a few trucks and cars. Strangely they all waved us to the front of the line where we entered the first of many gates and booths. I think there were 5 different stations where we showed our papers, got things stamped and answered questions - all this just to exit the Russian side. The final station was a puddle of muddy water that we had to run the bikes through and pay 30 Rubles for the privilege. It was supposed to be some kind of decontamination thing - but seemed mostly a money collection scheme. The Russian side process was all pretty efficient, but took some time to get through all the different stations.

Once we got to the Mongolian side the efficiency part disappeared. We were sent from station to station - and then back to stations we had already visited to get the various stamps needed to bring the bikes and ourselves into Mongolia. The good part was that it was all free - except the mandatory liability insurance you must buy to drive a vehicle in the country. The insurance was about $12 USD so no big deal - much cheaper than the Russian insurance. Three hours after we arrived at the boarder we were riding into Mongolia.

After a quick lunch in the boarder town (I had the Mongolian Beef - delicious!) we started the 350 km ride to Ulaanbaatar - the capital and largest city (about 3 million) in Mongolia. The ride was pretty sweet with massive sweeping grassy mountain and valley views of the countryside. Mongolia is vast and wide open with very few trees. A couple of the higher passes had a few tree stands, but in most areas there are no trees at all - only endless grassy dessert like prairies called the Steppe. We encountered only a few bad sections of road - the first was a long construction zone where they just diverted the traffic out into the Steppe where tracks crisscrossed everywhere and cars in both directions just picked a track and went for it. You would be riding along in a track and a car or truck would be coming at you from the other direction in the same track. You would just take a different track in the next crossover and keep going. There was no left/right traffic at all. It was actually pretty funny to watch all the chaos - until you suddenly realized you were a part of it and had to pay attention to picking your next line. The second section of bad road was a minefield of potholes about 50 clicks or so outside Ulaanbaatar.  Again watching the cars take any lane from any direction was hilarious - but you were also a part of it so had to be on your toes. Also many of the potholes were huge and hitting the wrong one could result in suspension damage to the bike or a possible crash.

As luck would have it, we once again entered a major city at the rush hour. Traffic was very heavy and the drivers are very aggressive changing lanes constantly to better their position in the endless lines - even if you are already in the lane with nowhere to go they will just force you over until you find yourself in no lane at all but between lanes. Then you just shoot forward and take a slot from someone else. It wasn't much fun and of course the place we were heading was on the farthest end of town from where we entered the city. It took a couple of hours but we finally made it to The Oasis about 8:00pm.

The Oasis is a guest house compound on the edge of the city where many foreign travelers stay when passing through Ulaanbaatar.  When we pulled into the gates there were around 8 motorbikes and several all-terrain vehicles parked in the lot. We were greeted immediately and given the tour. There are 6 gers, a small tented outdoor pavilion, an indoor bar/restaurant, bathrooms, showers, laundry - everything a dirt-bag traveler would need for only $23 USD per night. The Oasis is most definitely a fitting name. The host/owner is very friendly and accommodating so we knew this was going to be a good stay. We went sure if we would stay in Ulaanbaatar one or two nights - but after the tour we decided absolutely it was going to be two!  The three of us are sharing a Ger with 4 beds - so one for each of us and one to pile gear.  We all agreed that the beds were the most comfortable we have experienced so far.  Today we plan to hit the Black Market, explore a bit of the city and pick up some Mongolia SIM cards.

Mongolian welcome committee.

One of the thousands of gers we passed along the route.

A small village we passed.

Huge grassy mountains in every direction.

Our ger at the Oasis - the one on the right.

Talking shop with the other bikers staying at the Oasis.

Illegal pic waiting at the Russian side of the boarder crossing.

Road to the Mongolia Boarder...

We stayed last night in Kyachta on the Russia/Mongolia boarder. Typical guest house style hotel for about $25 each. This place also had its own bathroom and shower, a bed for each of us and secure garage for the bikes. Basically the Four Seasons of motorcycle travel. We had dinner at a pizzeria - somewhat familiar and strange at the same time. No mozzarella cheese or tomato sauce, but a cheese sauce to take the place of both.  Anyway, the beer was cold so we were happy.  The owner of the guest house also drove us to and from the restaurant so we didn't have to ride the bikes and could enjoy a few beers.  If we were riding to the restaurant it would have been sodas only.  She wouldn't take any money for being our personal taxi - again great hospitality here in Russia!

Today we will cross the boarder to Mongolia. All the info says it will take some time to get through - anywhere from several hours to half a day to all day, depending on the report. We plan to get in the que by about 9:00am. From the boarder we will have about 350 km to Ulaan-baatar where we plan to stay at least a night or more at The Oasis - a travelers camp just outside the city. There we hope to get beta on which roads (or lack there of) to use to cross Mongolia. We have received mixed reports from travelers we have encountered so far - according to everyone all the roads are difficult and shity over any route we choose. Hopefully we will get some useful info from travelers that have just come across from the west.

Yesterday was a fairly easy ride - except the last 200 km was pretty bumpy and potholed.  There were actually signs warning you about the dangerous roads ahead - in English which has been rare up to this point.  If there is a road sign saying danger in Russia - you pay attention!  Usually there is just this small sign with a bumpy road graphic - and then you get to the section and find no road and gravel the size of golf balls a foot deep.  At least in Mongolia we we'll be expecting the roads to be tough, so no surprises - maybe...

Ken and Mark's hammocks yesterday morning at the lake.

Ken practicing safe riding technique snapping photos on the fly.

Passing by Ulan-Ude one more time.

Morning pic of the lake.  It looks very different today with no waves.

Danger Will Robinson!

Lake Baikal...

Today we made it to Lake Baikal after spending Saturday laying over in Ulan-Ude. I really needed the day off the bike after the long tough day on Friday. We took advantage of the day off and did bathtub laundry. You really get to see how dirty the clothes get doing laundry by hand. It was pretty disgusting actually. The laundry water turned to mud instantly. We strung up cam straps and turned the secure parking area of the guest house into a gypsy camp. Not sure if the owner cared - he didn't say anything but we got some interesting looks from the staff. We also went to a cash and carry superstore just down the street to load up on supplies for Mongolia. It was kind of a cross between a Costco and a Walmart - with much less variety. We all got our usual mix of freeze dried items to boil up at camp.

The ride to the lake was excellent - beautiful sunny cool day and a perfect mountain road with little traffic. We chose to go to a more remote area of the lake - most travelers we read about hit the more mainstream spot further west. I'm glad we chose the eastern part. The beach area is quite nice and the lake is beautiful. We all went for a swim in the cool clear water. The surf was pretty big and the lake bottom was very rocky so getting out there was a bit of a challenge. Once out there a ways you could relax and enjoy the rolling waves. There were still quite a few locals around as it was Sunday afternoon - but many were already packing up and heading out so we grabbed a great camp right at the beach line. We even had a campfire while enjoying the stunning sunset.

It is a full moon tonight - Ken and Mark have gone to bed but I am still by the glowing embers listening to Steely Dan waiting for the moon to come up over the hillside. It's a bit after 11pm and I really want to sleep so hopefully it will come up soon. It is a clear night and the stars are just starting to come out - it didn't really get dark until about 10:45pm.

Tomorrow we will ride the 400 km to the Mongolia boarder and spend the night. We want get to the boarder crossing on Tuesday morning - it could take half a day or more to go through the process. I'm looking forward to seeing Mongolia but am a bit nervous about the riding. It will be the most challenging section of the trip as most of the riding will be off-road. My body and back was pretty beat up from the Russian paved roads on Friday - if you can even call them that.  Tonight will be cold and I have all the gear out - including my ski cap to sleep in.  The full moon is out and it is a magnificent sight lighting up the lake and beach.

Beautiful sunset.

Just arrived at the lake - It's a beautiful day!

First campfire of the trip.  It got cool in a hurry at sunset.

Clothes get very dirty when you spend 90% of your time outside.

NOT a vacation.  Ok, maybe today feels like vacation...