The Mongolia Diaries: Day Eleven

We were up fairly early and had a simple breakfast before heading off to Orkhon Valley in Central Mongolia. I'm not sure how many kilometres we traveled, but it was another solid day of driving. The last hour was tough, I was more than ready to get out of that van.

The red dot shows where we stayed for the night

The scenery along the way changed dramatically and the frustrating part was that there were so many places I would've loved to have stopped at to take photos, but I was the only one in my group interested in photography ... and in my surroundings, it seemed! On top of that, it would've taken twice as long to get anywhere. So, a lot of the beauty of Mongolia will have to remain with me in my mind!

We stopped at a gorgeous canyon on the way and spent about twenty minutes there. We then drove a bit further up the road and stopped along the Orkhon River where there was a very small waterfall. We would be having lunch there. I took off to wander the area while my group set up a table and played cards. Sigh. I was quite far from the van when I heard and saw a massive storm heading in our direction. The wind started to pick up and so did my pace as I trekked it back to the van. I did not want to get caught in the downpour.

I made it back moments before the rain started pouring down. We threw our bags under the van as our guide was making lunch out of the back of the van. Lunch was simple. It consisted of veggies, goat's meat and noodles which we ate inside the van.

After lunch, we packed up and continued on our way. The driving became more treacherous and we had to pass through two or three rivers in the car. It was a neat drive! We ended up in the most spectacular place ever! While I was recording my daily journal later that day, there was an eagle right beside me and I broke down into tears at the awesomeness of my surroundings. No joke!

Our ger for the night with a lovely river in the backyard

As per usual, upon arrival we were invited into the family ger where we were served fermented yak's milk. This family had the milk hanging in the leather of an animal right inside the ger. The family had five children ranging in age from about thirteen to a baby that couldn't have been more than eight months old. They owned horses, yaks and goats.

We put our stuff in our ger and got ready to go on a horseback ride. They were going to take us to a waterfall in the area called Ulaan Tsutgalan. It is the largest waterfall in Mongolia. It was about a thirty minute ride to get there and it was quite cold along the way. It was raining slightly here and there as well.

When we got to the waterfall, we looked at it and then it seemed it was time to move on. The two kids who brought us there took us on a small trail to the bottom of the waterfall. We were only there a few minutes before I noticed my group leaving and making their way back up the trail. Sigh.

On my recorded journal, I again commented how we weren't really allowed much time for anything on the tour. I bet we were at that waterfall for twenty minutes, not even. The rain did let up and it would've been lovely to sit down and enjoy the area for a bit. Perhaps if I was with a group who did want to take more time to enjoy the sights, the majority would've ruled and maybe we would've gotten more time? Hard to say.

Anyway, when we got back from horseback riding, my guide said she was going to prepare some hot water for tea or coffee. I was planning on having a hot tea as I was a bit cold but there was a river near our gers and I found myself making my way down the steep hill to the river. My group opted to stay in front of the ger and drink coffee and play cards.

I was stunned that this river was the backyard of the place I was staying at. I could've spent my whole two weeks in Mongolia at this place. It was so amazing that I stayed down there until the sun was starting to set. I only went up as I figured dinner would soon be served and sure enough I arrived back just as dinner plates were being brought to the table.

When the sun disappeared, it got very cold. We ate dinner and went into our ger for the night. We played cards and drank some beer. The gers there had wood burning heaters. There was a pipe that went up out of the top of the ger to let the smoke out. To me, this place here was 'true' Mongolia. This is exactly what I had envisioned Mongolia to be like before my arrival.

The ger was very warm throughout the night. I didn't need a blanket. The sounds of the crackling fire were lovely and soothing.

On my recorded journal, I noted that we saw a bunch of eagles that day along with what I believed to be squirrels. The squirrels were along the dirt roads and I am pretty sure we flattened more than a few. And one of the best things was that we saw yaks! The yaks weren't on the family property that evening but I had set my alarm for 6:00AM to go out in search of them. I was going to trek up the river in the early morning as we were scheduled to leave at 8:30AM for the next destination. Sigh.