Road construction in Mongolia (as in many developing countries) is well underway. Many of the routes we ride on are hardened gravel tracks awaiting the final layer of asphalt. Since leaving the Gobi they have provided a relatively easy ride, but can get quite boring and take away from the raw beauty of the surrounding countryside.

We left the ‘comfort’ of these gravel roads in the village of Tariat and rode through a beautiful valley to Jargaland. Countless hair-pin bends over rocky and muddy terrain led to an area inhabited by local nomadic mongols, tending to hundreds of goats, sheep and horses. Eagles soard high above. The setting was truly breathtaking!!

We again pitched our tent next to some gers and were invited to share a meal of dried cheese and delicious sweet yogurt. As with most of our encounters, communication is limited. They don’t speak any English and we don’t know any more in Mongolian other than ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’. Speaking Russian does help at times, especially with the older generation that were forced to learn the language during the Soviet era.

In Mongolia, privacy is a foreign concept. The nomadic lifestyle and the fact that all land is public property, means that Mongolians are used to simply making themselves at home anywhere, even in what would be considered ‘your personal space’. Anything within their sight is considered accessible. Climbing on the motorbike, trying on the helmets, opening our tool set and flicking through our maps is all done without asking permission. It takes getting used to, but it’s something we have come to accept and now find amusing, almost child-like…

During this particular ger visit we had a posse of kids watching our every move. Curious, they took part in all we did. They even helped us put on our boots…

Having passed Tosontsengel, the scenery has become more desolate (Gobi-like) and monotonous. The roads are straight dirt tracks often interrupted by a scattering of large rocks and annoying corrugations.

Sometimes they simply end…

There are also some river crossings with large rocks hidden beneath the surface and impossible not to hit with the underside of the motorbike. It’s one of these nasty ’speed humps’ that dents our bash plate and creates a hairline crack in our engine casing. A small oil leak has developed, thankfully not serious enough to halt our progress. For now we just keep re-filling the oil, but it’s something we’ll need to fix in Olgiy (300km away).

Most of Mongolia’s towns and ‘aimag’ (provincial) capitals look very similar. There is usually a suburb of gers surrounding one main street with a petrol station, auto-repair shop, some cheap restaurants and grocery stores. Unfortunately all these stores sell the same things, hence our diet is limited to rice, pasta, ketchup and crumbling bread with canned fish. We long for a KFC or Burger King burger…

We are currently in the west Mongolian town of Ulaangom. Our US$15 per night hotel only has hot water from 8-9pm and includes a window that can only be closed using nails and a hammer. We can see why all the guide books recommend camping.
Yesterday we tried to buy some beer but were told that there is a ban on the sale of alcohol every 25th of each month!! We are unable to understand the exact reason, so we argued that we are tourists and these rules should not apply. They finally sold us the beer…