Mongolia – 2 Days To Go

Sitting amidst half-filled luggage, with my desk covered with passport photocopies and ticket printouts, it’s two days till my departure to Mongolia, and the excitement starts to sneak in on me.

The last couple of weeks were busy with preparations and goodbyes. Finding a flight to Ulaan-Baator in July turned out to be an non-trivial task, since tourists flock there to the traditional Naadam festival held every year. But eventually the tickets were secured, some shady hostel booked, and I could turn my attention to putting together my equipment.

Having virtually nothing from what a backpacker needs when traveling in distant lands, travelers outlet Lemetayel became my hangout place. Getting everything,  from a tent to a pocket compass, I accumulated enough gear to fill a room. Literally.

Now the challenge is to sort the gear between the backpack (hand luggage) and the suitcase, taking into consideration 3 factors: 1) suitcase can get lost on its way to Mongolia, so it shouldn’t contain anything that is expensive to replace; 2) backpack  shouldn’t contain anything sharp or liquid; 3) some stuff, like document photocopies and medicaments should be divided between the two.

After solving this puzzle, all I’ll be left to do is wait for my Saturday night 10-hours flight to Seoul, with 3 more hours to reach Ulaan Baator.

I plan to keep a travel log as I go, but since Wi-Fi is not widely available throughout Mongolian steppes, my updates will be scarce. Stay tuned.

Next stop: Seoul airport