"If you're afraid - don't do it, - if you're doing it - don't be afraid!"
- Chinggis Khan (a.k.a Genghis Khan)
Last year I got to go on a trip with my dad that was a long time coming. I had originally planned and booked this trip back in February 2020 when Covid was just a whisper and toilet paper was still in abundance. Who would've thought that only a couple of months later, not only would I be cancelling a trip to the other side of the world but in a twisted turn of events I would not even be allowed to leave my local suburb. Oh what a wild ride the pandemic turned out to be.
It was an idea that was sparked from a previous trip to China back in 2018 when my friend rang me up one day and said "Hey, wanna come to China?" and I was like "Hey, why the hell not, also... can I bring dad?" She was not long into starting her business over there and was about to do her first hospitality trade show in Beijing.
Fast forward a few months and a couple of airports later my dad of 66 years who grew up in the small western QLD town of Charleville had found himself with his youngest daughter and her friend in a convention centre in a country with the second highest population in the world, selling Australian honey.
At some point during the 3 days of the trade show a man from the University in Ulaanbaatar came up to our stall and got chatting to dad, a few photos on his phone later and the idea to visit this beautiful country with endless blue skies and evergreen steppes had been planted.
6 years and one quadruple bypass later (the old boy, not me) we finally got there and the rest is history.
A country filled with not only stunning scenery but a rich
history.
The first thing we noticed as we came into land at Chinggis Khan international airport was the endless rolling green hills, the undisturbed scenery of the steppes and the lack of any real development until you see the airport. It truly was incredible and a sight I will always remember.
The other thing we noticed was how the Mongolian people are very proud of their history and ties with Genghis Khan. In the western world, we generally associate this ruler as a tyrant with a history full of bloodshed and atrocities, all of which definitely have their reasons for being mentioned, but throughout the 3 weeks we spent travelling this beautiful country we learnt so much more about his origins and how he not only shaped and united Mongolia as a country but how he also implemented a lot of systems that changed how the world worked and were the start of many we use today. If you ever get the chance to visit Ulaanbaatar, I highly recommend taking a few hours to check out the Chinggis Khan National Museum.
The land of the eternal blue sky
Mongolia is known as the land of the eternal blue sky and it doesn't take long to see why, with not many cities and mostly small towns along the way, it's a pretty decent uninterrupted view almost everywhere you go.
From the rolling green hills of the steppes to the fiery colours of rocky cliffs, the endless sand dunes of the Gobi desert and the crystal clear lakes of the central highlands it truly is a stunning country.
free as a mongol horse..
Many farmers in Mongolia are nomadic, and so it is very common to see animals roaming free alongside and sometimes sleeping on the road. The animals and the family Gers all pack up and move with the seasons, so the saying free as a mongol horse couldn't be truer.
a house that moves with the seasons
We stayed in a range of different accommodation throughout the trip, from modern hostels in Ulaanbaatar, to traditional Gers with very accommodating and hard working nomadic families, to more modern tourist Gers in places like the Gobi desert and towards the end the very comfortable Fairfield guesthouse in Arkhangai (of which were the ones that helped organise a lot of our trip).
From running water and electricity to off grid and more simple amenities each accommodation had its quirks but all were more than comfortable.
Bayarlalaa!
(Thankyou in mongolian)
Mongolia is a place that needs to be visited at least once in a lifetime and I hope it wont be my last as I feel we only scratched the surface of what this beautiful country has to offer.
