Traveling in a Confused World
My wife and I have lived most of our lives 6,000 kilometers away from each other. Our meeting, unlikely as it was, has led to a close friendship which turned into a marriage. We are what you may call an interracial couple – I’m Ashkenazi Jewish and Oxanna is Buryat-Mongolian. But while many interracial couples have to cope with cultural differences, for us it isn’t the case. Continue reading “Why Marrying a Non-Jewish Woman Is The Best Thing That Happened To Me”
Day 10
After breakfast, while waiting for a minivan to come and take us back to Tsetserleg, we went to sunbath at the river. Continue reading “Last Day in Paradise – Leaving the Steppes”
Day 9
After a wonderfully warm and comfortable night in the ger, the morning brought with it a delicious breakfast of pancakes and tea. While others were packing, me and Oxanna went to say goodbye to the family. A Mongolian custom suggests that guests bring presents to their hosts, and so a small package of tea I brought from home served as our parting gift. Continue reading “Into the Uncharted Steppes”
Day 8
The night in the tent was long and cold. Without a mat to put under the sleeping bag (I intended to rent one at the hostel in Tsetserleg, but they ran out of mates), lying on the cold ground, with rain streams making their way through tent’s zipper cracks, I couldn’t fall asleep, waiting for the sunrise to come and rescue me. Continue reading “Mongolian Summer is a Harsh Mistress”
Day 7
At 09:00 we were picked up by our driver, and headed north-east to the White Lake. A 185km drive turned out to be a seven hours affair. Our Russian minivan broke up twice, which didn’t upset the driver – stopping for half an hour in every passing village for a quick fix seemed to be a part of the routine. Continue reading “So You Thought You Might Like to Go to a Lake”
Day 6
Catching an early bus from Ulaanbaator, I was glad to leave the city behind. Starting a week-long tour to central Mongolia, I was anxious to get out from the noisy and crowded capital and get a taste of the great Mongolian emptiness. After a few hours of driving, the asphalt road turned to a grassland trope. Continue reading “The Nicest Town in Mongolia”
I’m back. After two and a half months of deserts and skyscrapers, camels and Russian minivans, ice-cold lakes and kettle-boiled hot-water showers, but mainly bad roads, warm people and surprisingly competent digestion, I’m back home. Continue reading “Culinary Trip Summary”
After the night’s rain, UB’s streets became a mess. No wonders Mongolians with means buy SUV’s, the most popular being Toyota’s Land Cruiser. Continue reading “Swimming through UB streets”
Day 2
We started the day by visiting the Gandan Khiid – the largest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, and the first one I ever visited. The monks were friendly, when not praying or talking on a mobile phone, they were gladly giving directions or posing for a photo. In one of the temples, while the older monks were praying, a couple of young boys were cleaning the floors. They did this with such mindfulness and concentration, that it looked as a part of a religious ritual. Continue reading “Ulaanbaator Immersion”
Day 1
Most airports would look unimpressive after Seoul’s Incheon airport, and the small and lacking in comfort Genghis Khan airport of Mongolia’s capital is not an exception. In a taxi on my way to the city I had an euphoric feeling that I gonna love this country. Even though the road from the airport to the city was appallingly bad and the driver reckless, the sunrise revealed shaky, lonely buildings on one side of the road, and wild, green hillside stretching to the horizon on the other. This place was uniquely different. Continue reading “Arriving in Ulaanbaator”
Day 0
After a 10-hour flight from Tel-Aviv to Seoul, I arrived at the Incheon airport at 17:00 local time. Korean airlines were pleasant – they had cushions and blankets in the economy class, good meals and a perception of fast service – they brought meals in many quick rounds, every time bringing a little dish, instead of moving slowly through the rows with a huge cart. The flight to Mongolia was delayed due to bad weather, so I had more than enough time to explore the airport, which turned to be an attraction in it’s own right. Continue reading “Seoul Airport”
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. Continue reading “Mongolia – 2 Days To Go”
