Scouting Tour Mongolia

On the first day of our trip it was time to start off with our welcome briefing. As always this takes us trough some information about traffic rules, road safety, group riding and other stuff. Some of those rules may be slightly different here as you can imagine. It starts off with traffic rules being a Lott less relevant in the capital of Ulaanbaatar, as your usually not moving very fast... We however were moving fast trough our briefing and made sure we got trough all the important information. After the official stuff, our local assistance told us a little bit about their team that will be accompanying us, as well as the routes and landscapes we will be encountering on the next few days. After the briefing we walked to our dinner (as this is den fitly faster than driving) and went up to the 16th floor where we had a wonderful room to ourselves with a great view over most of the city. There was more than enough food, so we have definitely stocked up enough before we leave the luxury of our hotel in the city and take off into the vast wilderness tomorrow. For now it's time to get some well needed rest and start our true adventures tomorrow.

Today it was time to get our adventure truly started. Because of the traffic in town, we took a taxi to the garage, where the bikes were already waiting for us. We did some last paperwork here and made sure all our bikes were ready to go. A small briefing, some warm-up exercises, and we were also ready to go. Because we were still on the outskirts of town, the first part of our journey took us through the busy streets of UB. It was a little bit of chaos, but luckily no big problems, and before we knew it, we were leaving town and making our way along the road heading southwest towards our destination for today, the mini-Gobi. In the morning, we had a little bit of rain, and the sky was very overcast. During the day, it kept clearing up, and we could enjoy the stunning views more and more. The lunch stop was a nice surprise for our guests. The crew was already waiting for us there and had set up a tent to hide from the drizzle, and the food was ready and smelling great. This was helped by the fact that we were in a massive field that smelled like thyme. Before we got to eating, we all had to take pictures of the surroundings, and there were even two drones in the air. After lunch, we couldn’t resist the urge to explore the surrounding hills, and we had a little group ride, getting our first taste of some of the off-road Mongolia has to offer. When we were done playing, it was time to head on towards our Ger-Camp for today. It was only a short ride along the main road and then a little bit of sandy road to get to the camp itself. Here we had the choice to stay in the camp and relax or head on to the mini-Gobi and play around in the sand dunes on our bikes. Most of us went on towards the desert. Because of the rainfall today, there were lots of puddles on the sandy road there, so we had to go around those. Or not… The road took us past some beautiful sights and through herds of sheep and horses, so a great way to experience the animals a little closer. The little river we had to cross to get to the sand dunes was a little bit bigger than we expected due to the rain today. This meant we all had to just go for it and try to make it to the other side. Luckily, we all did without much trouble. The award for the biggest splash goes to Rudolf—met up to his nose with the bikes, as you can see in the attached picture. Then we played around in the sand, got a little bit stuck, got out, and played around some more. All in all, it was an amazing day, and we will now finish it off by having a wonderful dinner, some cold beers, and reflecting back on the great day we had.

Little did we know this morning just how great our day would be... It started with breakfast in the main ‘building’ in our ger camp. Some good food to get us started on our day. We did a little warm-up and then headed back on the little off-road bit we came in on yesterday. We got some really great drone shots here, so keep an eye out for those in the future! Our first stop was at one of the older Buddhist temples, where we had a chance to look around and take some nice group pictures. The whole day the sun was shining, and we had some stunning views of the landscape. Even though it was mostly steppes, the sights kept changing, and there was something new behind every hill. Everything is extremely green, and it’s just stunning. We made a stop at the ancient city of Karakorum, where Chingis Khan settles his capital. We walked around a Buddhist temple, looked at some turtles and took in the stunning scenery here Lunch was prepared for us at another beautiful place on the steppes with lush green hills around us. The chef made us his specialty, a sort of lamb stew with rice and a side salad. It instantly got quiet because everybody was just enjoying the food so much. After lunch, we once again could not resist the urge to go explore the surrounding hills. Once we came across the first hill, the view was almost endless—just lush green hills with horses, cows, and goats in the distance. We chose the biggest hill we could find and made our way to the top to enjoy the view. On our way down, we were accompanied by some big birds flying alongside us and even got a chance to ride close to some horses and enjoy the picturesque Mongolian view of wild horses on the steppe. We were all as happy as children riding along together on this landscape, absolutely unforgettable. After we got back and picked up the rest, we got back on the road and made our way further down towards our destination. We extended the off-road part of our tour a little bit, so we could all enjoy it a little more. We even had a few water crossings and had some competitors for the new biggest splash. After one of the big hills, we came upon a big lake in the middle of nowhere. We had to stop here for some pictures and took the drones out once more to take some video of people riding up the big hill and celebrating on the top, feeling like the king of the world. Riding like this is something none of us have ever experienced anywhere else and is probably very hard to find. We did have two flat tires, which resulted in some bruises, but even that can't take away how great this day was. Our destination for today is a wonderful log cabin on the rise of a hill with some trees around it. We even have a private hot spring in our resort, so it’s a great way to enjoy our evening. As an extra surprise, Chef is already working on the food, and we have a personal cocktail bartender making us all some well-deserved drinks after an amazing day. Cheers to an amazing day!!

Last night, we had a wonderful dinner cooked by our chef using traditional methods. The first main course was a pot of cooked lamb with potatoes and vegetables, prepared with hot stones. This is an ancient Mongolian tradition where you heat up river stones until they glow red, and then place them within the food to cook the meat and everything else. This imparts some of the minerals from the stones, making the food taste even better. The second main course was fried rice. This was absolutely inhaled by everybody because it was just amazing. Dinner was accompanied by a well-stocked cocktail bar and music, so we all had our G&T’s and other drinks. As is tradition here, we had to have a shot of vodka after the first course to help with digestion. Since Mongolia's special number is 3, a pour of vodka goes in 1, 2, 3. This resulted in singing and dancing on the terrace and having a great time together. By the time Tina Turner started stuttering, it was a sign that it was time to end the night and go up to our rooms. We may have had a little nightcap and a lovely chat to end what was an absolutely spectacular day. Then on to this morning. We got up and met for breakfast in the main building. We were served fresh omelets and chicken sandwiches, so we were well prepared for the longest day of our trip. We rode about 380 km today. The first meters were already a great way to wake up, as we had to get through the little river in front of our encampment. From here, we had to do about 45 minutes of off-roading and cruised along the landscape the same way we came in yesterday. Once we got to the main road, we had a little break and then started our way towards the lake and eventually the hot springs. Our first big stop was on a high plateau, at about 2,100 meters. This was surrounded by hills that were very inviting, as they had been the last few days. We just had to go about and climb some of the hills to see what’s on the other side. Surprisingly, there were more stunning views and rolling hills on the other side—who would have thought? The next stop before lunch was at a big canyon. The landscape had already been gradually changing during the day, due to the elevation and also just because we were coming to an area with different vegetation and a few more trees. Even though the landscape changed, the canyon still came more or less out of nowhere. We crossed a small bridge where a river was flowing slightly more fiercely than the rest of the streams we had seen, but only a few kilometers later, it turned into this rugged and deep canyon with a river down below. We had some time to sit around here, take plenty of pictures, and rest for a while before we had to go again. The support/snack car showed up just in time, so we could have some snacks and discuss what they reminded us of. The ones that are a mix between an Oreo and a rice waffle seem to have won. Lunch was not too far after this and was introduced by us coming up to the lake. It loomed up on our right side, and we drove alongside it for a while, giving yet another stunning view of the landscape here in Mongolia. My highlight was the fact that a group of yaks was just casually standing in the water next to the road and having a great time. Lunch was already set up when we got there, the tents were ready, and the kitchen team was working up something amazing once again. We had dumplings with meat and vegetables on the side. The staff keeps outdoing themselves every time. From lunch, it was on towards our camp. We made some more stops along the way to make sure we were all in good shape to get to where we needed to be and were not getting too sore on the bikes. Some of the roads were gravel, and these were actually very dusty and kind of bumpy at times. This made it a bit tougher to get through, but we all managed just fine. The last 20-ish kilometers to our home for the night were on a gravel road as well. This was by far the worst one we have had, and it was very bumpy. Luckily, there is always the option in Mongolia to sort of just create a new road if needed, so we could follow along the car tracks next to this ‘main’ road and have a very smooth ride to the camp. Our camp was another hot spring, so once we all dropped the luggage in the cabins we were staying in, we met up at the hot springs, sat down together, and had a lovely cold beer while sitting in the hot water. The sun was going down behind the rugged mountains in the background, great people alongside us, and another great day to look back on.

Waking up in our resort meant we were waking up to a wonderful mountain view alongside our camp. Breakfast was served at the main building in the center of the camp, where they served us free eggs, some vegetables, meat, and even some milk rice, where the milk was from the local yaks. Taking off meant we had to go back the same way we came in. The main road was very bumpy and not nice to ride. The parallel roads, like the one we took yesterday, were actually very nice to ride and gave us a much smoother ride back to the main road. We had a little bit of rain in the middle of the night, so at least it was a lot less bumpy, and traction was better. The original route was going to be about 180 km, but we decided to extend the ride for today and, with that, shorten the ride for tomorrow as we have our first wild camping tonight. This means we actually set up camp wherever we want. We were riding along a beautiful river where we just had to take a picture. At what we thought was the best spot, we just turned left off the road and rode towards the river. We did a little river crossing to get to the big river and lined the bikes up. We had a little struggle with the drone that didn’t want to fly because we were too close to the airport. But at least we could connect two selfie sticks together, put the 360 camera on top, and it probably worked out well. The next stop was in the town that is actually the coldest inhabited place in Mongolia. They recorded -56 degrees here before. Today we did not really notice any difference, and it was just as warm as everywhere else. We did a little shopping here for drinks and other necessities, and had a little coffee at a local café. Continuing on from our café stop, we made our way to one of the lakes, where we just had to get up close. Some sand riding on the beach got us to the waterfront, where we could go back and forth a bit, just riding through the water and splashing around. The sand turned out to be a bit tricky, and we had a little tumble, but everyone was alright, so nothing happened. When we dug ourselves out of the sand and got back on the main road, we continued on until we felt like we needed a little break. We sat down in the shade of our support vehicle to recover from the riding, and had a chat and reflection on the trip so far. We even had two bicycles and one hiker come by our little break spot, and we were all very glad we did not have to trade places. A few more asphalt kilometers and we turned off to the right, into the off-road again, with another lake in sight in the background. We made our way up the hill where a temple was sitting so we could enjoy the stunning view from the top. Between the hill and the lake was supposed to be our camp, but we could not find it yet. After looking around with this view for a little bit, we saw the two trucks drive up with all the camping and cooking gear, so we made our way down and prepared for camp. This meant that we played around on the little beach for a while and then sat down for a cold beer with one of the best views you could ever wish for. We now have a private camp with only animals as neighbors. We all have our private tents, and we have some more tents to sit around when it cools off, and one where the chef and his team prepare our food. It’s now about time that they serve dinner, so we are all very eager to see what we get today. The fact that they served some vodka, bourbon, beer, and whiskey before definitely helps feed our appetite. After dinner, the fire was started, and we had some drinks while looking at the view and the slowly fading sunlight. To our surprise, the chef even came out with a traditional instrument and started playing music for us, later being assisted by one of the other staff who had a very nice singing voice and sang a few traditional songs for us. Since the Mongolians were so kind to sing songs for us, we had to return the favor. Some classics like ‘I Am from Austria,’ ‘Born in the USA,’ and ‘Country Roads’ had to be sung by the fire. At some point, we even had the Austrians and Eric from Utah dancing a waltz to ‘An der schönen blauen Donau.’ A wonderful night of camping! If you are interested in a short preview of the videos from what we have been doing, follow this link: https://youtu.be/E2_B4r24jGc

After a night in our tents by the lake, we had a very relaxed morning. Breakfast was served at 9, so we could really wake up slowly, have a coffee, enjoy the view, and generally start our day very relaxed. Well deserved after the riding and everything we had done so far. (The fact that we were singing and drinking by a fire the night before may also have contributed to it being extra nice to sleep in a bit, although everybody was up early and feeling well.) This also meant that Buck had time to do an oil change on some of the bikes. They were brand new, so they needed a change of oil after the 1000+ km we have done so far. Today was going to be about 230 kilometers, but it would feel a little longer than that. Starting off, it was still very lush and green, but gradually it would turn more barren, and there would be less vegetation. During our first stop, we were on a flat bit, and the only hills were a bit further away. Still, Team Santa (Klaus and Rudolf) couldn’t resist going up, so they made their way there to have a look, while the rest of us stayed behind and relaxed a bit. Continuing on, the landscape would still get more barren and was starting to look like a desert. It would also become flatter with fewer mountains around, so you could see for many miles ahead, and the roads were basically dead straight. This contributed to the fact that even though it was still very beautiful, it felt a lot longer than the other days. We made another stop before we got to our final destination to make sure we were all alert and could stretch our legs a little bit. The lake was already on our side and was a stunning blue color that really stood out in the sandy and rocky surroundings. Another 30 kilometers to the lodging where we are staying tonight. After some puzzling, we got some extra rooms to use, so we could split up a bit more to make sure we can catch up on some extra sleep without a snoring concert. We had lunch at the stop, another wonderful meal by our chef, this time a nice Italian pasta. After lunch, we had an optional ride of about 30 kilometers, doing some off-roading close to the lake. We actually only had Victor joining us, so he is the true diehard and couldn’t get enough. The ride turned out to be very sandy, and we even had a lot of fun driving over, or more through, the beach, where we almost got stuck but made our way out. We took some pictures from the top of a nearby hill and then made our way back to the lodging for a relaxed evening. After dinner, we will have a chance to enjoy a wonderful sunset over the lake, which would be a wonderful end to our day.

Yesterday evening for dinner, we really got a special treat. The chef brought out a cooked sheep’s head served with potatoes, vegetables, and some dough on the side. Really contributed to the full Mongolian experience. We even got to eat some of the brain, so I’m sure we’re all much smarter now. This morning started off once again with a wonderful breakfast. There was a little confusion about the time because we are in a different timezone than UB here, but not every device adapted. We all managed to be there on time, so no actual issues. We took off towards our destination, which was going to be about 130 km on road and about 60 km off-road. During our stop, we once again had a little time to explore and look around. There was a construction in the background that we couldn’t really figure out. It turned out to be a sort of grandstand for the horse racing they do in that area. It was very interesting to see this structure in the middle of nowhere. We found out that some of the bikes were missing a bolt from the crash bars, and one bike was even missing bolts on both sides that hold the engine in place. This meant we made an extra stop near a coffee place in town so Bro-Bro and Buck could run around town and try to find it. When they got back, we made a team effort to fix it. The brackets for the crash bars were a bit bent, so Wolfgang got his blacksmithing skills out and hammered it straight again. From there, Buck could get it all aligned again with a jack under the engine and a ratchet strap to pull it all to the right place. During the tinkering, a bunch of kids from the city showed up, so tomorrow got out his follow drone and was showing the kids how to use it. They were running around with the drone and having a great time. When Hannes bought them some snacks, they were, of course, even more excited. With everything screwed back together, it was time to move on to lunch. The spot was at the edge of the plains/steppe. Here we were actually only 30 km from the Russian border. Behind our lunch spot, the mountains were looming, so a great view. The chef made us soup for a starter and some dumplings as a main course. The hawks outside also enjoyed our leftovers, so we got a great show of the birds flying about. After lunch, we headed into the mountains, and from here it got very dusty. This made for some stunning views of bikes with dust clouds behind them, driving through the mountains. It kept changing from rolling hills to a narrow mountain passage with rocky roads. After winding down this road for a while, it cleared up all of a sudden, and we got an amazing view of the lake in the background. There was a sign here, so we had to take loads of pictures around it. It was a great spot for a group picture. The lodging is directly next to the lake, and it is literally the only thing in sight. There is no other structure to be seen all around the lake. It is such a privilege to enjoy this landscape with the mountains in the background and be here basically alone. The way we came in is the main road, and it’s very hard to call it that. Tomorrow we continue on for about 200 km on the same type of gravel road, but it will take us more up and down, so another great day is coming up!

Last night, Klaus helped the chef in the kitchen to prepare our food. We were excited because we got some really nice food once again, and Klaus was happy because he got to help and learn some things about traditional cooking from different areas. After dinner, we sat down by the lake to enjoy the sunset and a fire. The place was absolutely stunning, and our chef even did a juggling show with Mongolian BBQ swords. The only downside was that the mosquitoes had also figured out this was a very nice spot, and they were bugging us. We all wrapped ourselves up to our heads in blankets, but most of us still called it a night a little earlier to get away from it. This morning, we woke up to the same beautiful sight we left behind when we went to sleep. Obviously not surprising, but nonetheless still magnificent to wake up to. A stunning view of the lake, and not a soul around except for us and the people from the resort. There was a little boy at the resort who apparently was there visiting his grandma for the summer holidays. He kept sneaking around, telling people off for taking a beer from the fridge, and making jokes with the people in our group. He seemed to be a big fan of Klaus. (If you ask me, that's because they both really like to joke around.) After we said goodbye to the kid and the rest of the family there, we made our way on our 180 km journey over the main road from there to Ölgii. This meant that we were eating dust all day. The road started off as a gravel road running parallel to the lake, but soon this turned into a more mountainous road, taking us up quite high in a very short time. Because this was all rocky, it meant it was quite technical to make our way up, especially because the rain had made some trenches in the roads. Of course, you always meet the one regular car here on this road, with five people in it, and you just wonder how the heck they make it down a road like this. Our first stop of the day was basically at the top of the mountain pass we were going over. There was a big pile of stones here as a tribute to nature, where we made three circles and placed some stones to thank nature for its beauty. From up there, we could see into Russia in the distance, about 30-odd kilometers as the unladen swallow flies, regardless of whether it's an African or European one. (If you know, you know ;) ) The road continued on to be quite technical, and it was hard work to make our way over the pass. It did reward us with some stunning views, so a double win. A little more for some than for others. Once we had passed the rough terrain, we had a lot more kilometers of gravel road. Some of it went over beautiful greenish hills, with yaks by the river, some of it went through what looked like a dry river bed, and was basically just stones. We found a beautiful place by a little river, lush green riverbank, some plants around, and animals to look at. Looked like the perfect place for lunch. Of course, the family of mosquitoes from last night had taken a more direct route and had already beat us to the spot. We went on a few more kilometers from here and found an even better spot in a small forest by a river. Here we could sit in the shade and enjoy the once-again amazing food that the chef prepared for us before we took off in the morning. The water in the river was a milky color. This is because of the chalky stones in parts of the Altai mountains that paint the river this color. A local farmer came by on his horse to see what was going on. He had a little drink with us and some snacks and then was on his way again. A little while later, we followed his lead and continued our way on the dust highway. The scenery kept changing along the route, so there was always something nice to look at through the dust cloud. Almost all of us are covered in a layer of dust now that we got to our resort. This is a mark of our achievement today of conquering this magnificent 180 km of off-road through the Mongolian mountains. Bro-bro, our local guide, is the only one who is not really covered in dust. This means A, that he did not have the same conditions as we had, and B, that it's about time we find some dust to roll him around in. Tonight we are having dinner in our camp, and will have a look in a Ger museum while we wait for it to be prepared.

Our second-to-last riding day started off with a wonderful breakfast, including grilled cheese toast and French fries. The ride was going to be only about 70 kilometers, but there would be a lot of surprises along the way. Our local Kazakh guide picked us up from the gas station and led the way to the stops for today. Our first stop was at a place where they had a traditional Kazakh family and a Mongolian family that welcomed us into their homes and were so nice that they gave us some fermented horse milk, yak cheese, and other things to try. One of the daughters even sang a song for us. It was wonderful that they were so welcoming and showing us around. From here, we continued on toward the place where we would spend the night. At the town sign before we got to town, we had a welcoming committee waiting for us. They handed us some horse milk, and the eagle hunter showed us his eagle and even let some of us hold it. They then led the way from the edge of town to the place where we would stay. This is a spot between their holy mountain and the river, on a beautiful green bank. They have set up two traditional Gers here for us. Once we got settled into our camp, the kids got a chance to sit on the bikes and take some pictures, and we got a chance to hold the eagle and see it up close. Really a special experience. After the picture time, the kids showed us some traditional dances, sang songs, and played a traditional wind flute instrument. They even had a puzzle game that takes a minimum of 81 moves to solve. One of the guys showed us how it’s done, and later Steve managed to figure it out (with a bit of help). We played two more games with our hosts. One of the games we kind of understood, the other is a mystery to me, and I think to all of us, but it was great to see them play. After they were done showing the tourists how it works, they played a round themselves, and we had some little prizes for the winner. This was truly a special welcome from the people here, a wonderful experience for our last night on the road. After the welcoming shows ended Klaus decided to try and ride up the river next to our camp. It was a good effort, but the lean angle was bit more than was planned. Tomorrow we make our way back to Ölgii and fly back to UB the day after. *other pictures will be aded later

Already the last riding day of our trip. Last night by the fire, we properly celebrated how awesome this trip has been. After the local people showed us their dances and sang their songs, we had to return the favor, so we sang lots of different songs and did our dancing—Austrian, American, and Dutch—all mixed and with varying tones. Since we made it a little later, we decided to move breakfast back a bit. During the night, we had a little bit of rain, which meant it was a little cooler and damp when we woke up in the shade of the mountain. As a side note, I can confirm that Mongolian rainwater washes your boots well, if you put them in the wrong part of the tent. The day would be about 70 km off-road and 30 on-road. Plus, we would have lots of water crossings that were a lot deeper because of the rain. We made a stop at a family’s GER that had multiple champion racehorses, so we got to have a look there too. One of the river crossings was very deep and slippery, and it resulted in one of the bikes deciding to take a dip in the water. This meant we had to clear the water out of the air filter and the combustion chamber, so we had to tilt the bike all the way up to get the water out and tinker with it some more to make it run again. In the end, everything was sorted out, and we could continue our trip. Lunch was served near a lake before we got to town, and it was one more time to experience the amazing food from our chef and the team. After thanking them for all they did for us, we drove the last few kilometers to the town of Ölgii, where we are actually staying in a hotel. We walked around town, got some nice souvenirs like hats and winter boots, and are now preparing for our flight back to UB tomorrow. After the trip, videos will follow, but they will take some time to edit. Make sure to keep an eye on YouTube for the video to be posted. (Or ask the person you know from the trip to let you know when it’s up.) https://www.youtube.com/@Dutch-Moto-Venture

Yesterday, it was time to fly back to UB. We got up in the morning and were driven to the airport by our guide from the Altai area. This was already an adventure, as we were four people in the back seat. Checking in went very smoothly. It was a small airport. Once we were through security, we were in a waiting area with a doorway directly onto the airfield outside. This meant we could just stroll out and take pictures of our airplane coming in. The plane ride was only about 1.5 hours, much shorter than the taxi ride to the hotel. It felt like we weren’t moving at all. The first group left about 10 minutes before Bro-Bro, Era, Steve, and I did. And we still managed to beat them to the hotel by about 10 minutes. (By far the slowest race we have ever won.) It’s the little things in life… After that, it was time to go and visit the Gobi Cashmere store. All Mongolian made, beautiful quality. Very nice to see the luxurious side in comparison to what we have seen the last few days. We then went on to our restaurant. We had a very fancy VIP room in a hot pot restaurant. This meant we all got a soup on a hot plate that was in the table, and then the ingredients were revolving around the table, so you could put in what you wanted, cook it, and enjoy it. This gave us a great opportunity to reflect on all we have experienced on this trip. We obviously had some amazing rides, ate amazing food, saw lots of beautiful animals, got to meet local families in their homes, swam in the river (Claus a bit more voluntarily than Eric), and met some amazing people in our group, the staff, and along the way. All in all, it was one hell of an experience, one to never forget. Thank you for following along, and see you next time!! Now go and book your Mongolian tour with Edelweiss—I promise you won’t regret it!!