Off to Mongolia

[Mercator]

Wow... I've taken some pretty good pictures. I've really only seen most of my photos in tiny format on the camera's LCD screen or as thumbnails on the computer.

Heh... I suppose I should've taken two steps forward to miss that thing on the ceiling.

Oh, and sorry I missed your birthday. I was away... I did think about you though... These are two photos especially for you:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mercatore_uno/531651049/in/set-72157600188179225/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mercatore_uno/531549946/in/set-72157600188179225/

Click on the "All sizes" button above the photo to see a bigger version... You'll see that that rock almost looks like a frog ready to leap into the lake.

And yeah, I have less hair on my head, and more facial hair (shaved off again now)... And different glasses.

[Provost Harrison]

It's a holiday in Mongolia...it's tough kid, but it's life

[Krill]

Is it true that in the Gobi desert they never turn off engines becasue the fuel freezes in teh tanks due to the intense cold?

[Mercator]

I wouldn't know. But considering there's pretty much just the Trans-Mongolian railway through Mongolia, I'm guessing the trains only pass through it anyway, so have no reason to switch off any engines.

I doubt it's gonna be that cold in the Gobi in summer. Well, I don't know. What temperature would be needed to freeze fuel?

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
It's a holiday in Mongolia...it's tough kid, but it's life

It's not tough, it's fun!

[Mercator]

Right... My trip has taken an interesting turn. I just got back today from a trip to the Khentii province (and I'm leaving Mongolia on Saturday). I met up with two Mongolian girls this evening and my bag was stolen while we were having dinner...

There was nothing essential in it, no passport or anything, but plenty of traveller's cheques (which I didn't really need anymore, but well, it's rather a lot of money I don't want to lose), my journal (damnit! all that writing for nothing... not to mention the e-mail addresses and phone numbers I had in it) and some other stuff I'd rather not have lost (my Mongolia Lonely Planet guide with notes and my designer glasses)...

So we went off to the police station, where they couldn't be bothered, and then to the post office to call American Express and my travel insurance... But the calling card only last 8 minutes, which isn't enough to get any information across...

I thought I'd head back to the guesthouse (it was around midnight by then). But I didn't have a key yet, and no-one answered the doorbell...

So now I'm spending my night in the 24-hour post office. I'll probably visit some other 24-hour Internet cafe and a 24-hour fast food cafe too... Goody.

I'll just hope I survive the night without any other hassle, because UB is supposedly risky at night, especially for foreigners.

3:00 now. 5 or 6 more hours to go...

[Mercator]

Well, I've been back home for a few days now. I didn't end up spending the night on the streets then after all.

It's been excellent. Especially the horseback ride along Khovsgol lake and the Khentii tour.

I'm thinking of going back already, so keep me posted on when you're going VetLegion.

All of my photos are online now, though I'm still pretty slow in coming up with titles and descriptions:

http://flickr.com/photos/mercatore_uno/sets/72157600188179225/

I've got a few videos online as well now. Some more will be coming, though none are much more than just some short panorama shots...

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=mercatoreuno&p=r