The whole reason behind our route from South-east Asia through to Central Asia and on to Europe was to take one of the most famous train lines in the world. You’ve probably heard of the Trans-Siberian, the longest single-service railway line in the world spanning almost 9300 kilometers and connecting Moscow with the far-east Russian […]
Top #5 Travel Tips for Mongolia
Mongolia took us by surprise. We knew there were amazing things to do there, but we had no idea just how many. Every part of the country has something special to offer and it is huge. If we can impart once piece of general advice for travel to this country, it would be to give […]
A Case of the Pyrenees
Hai had been eager to go fishing since we got here. Each body of water we stopped at during our four-day horse riding journey around Mongolia’s Eight Lakes evoked a grimace. We could only bring a small bag for the pack horses to carry and his fishing rod wasn’t in it. And, yes, even though […]
Racing Home
I was determined not to let the horse riding experience from the day before overwhelm me. I had to take control of this horse. And it would need to start with me. Yesterday he had made me nervous and he felt that, I’m sure of it. Today I had to be stronger and, like how […]
Control Your Horse
After surviving an unexpected early morning meeting with a yak, it was time to head out on our second day of horse riding in Central Mongolia. Everything started out the same as the day before – the landscape was flat and the pace moderately slow. Just as I started easing in to the day’s ride, […]
The Showdown
It’s a startling realization that an animal of any decent size or threat is watching you, let alone close enough to make a move. I was a few steps out of the tent when this moment came. At 4am, it was already light as day outside, yet the air had the mistiness and the grass […]
Lack of Survival Skills
There’s something slightly petrifying about being handed a horse and being asked to ride it for days across the Mongolian countryside. Half-wild and uncastrated, these stallions had instincts that could only be somewhat tamed, and given the right set of circumstances, well, any human instruction is unlikely to have any sway. Standing around the horses, […]
The Case of the Curd Turd
Having left later than scheduled from camp, and with a long day of driving ahead, the driver didn’t waste any time easing into the bumpy conditions. This was to the almost unfortunate fate of a horse who, despite repeated beeping, was spared after some emergency braking brought the van to a stop within a hair […]
Semi-Gobi, Full Camel
Apart from the few hours of plains we viewed from the Trans-Mongolian, this was our first look at the countryside of Mongolia. Swerving around livestock and potholes, it was a quick introduction into the types of conditions we’d be experiencing over the next nine days. Wide and vast and with tracks not for the weak […]