As
the UK’s leading tour operator to Mongolia (no
other travel company has more clients to Mongolia than
us – a fact confirmed by the Mongolian Consulate
in London, who can count the visas to verify this!)
we’ve visited Mongolia extensively over many years...
but it still surprises each time we go.
A Buddhist kingdom? Well yes... but
with wild nightclubs in Ulaanbaatar that are anything
but pious... alongside still-flourishing shamanism too.
A growing modern country of Asia? Yes, that too... but
nearly half the population still live the life nomadic
herders that Genghis Khan would immediately recognise.
The land of the Gobi Desert? Well yes... but the Gobi
is mostly green, it’s a scrub desert... although
that doesn’t make it any less deadly for the unprepared.
A flat land of the rolling Steppes?
Well yes... but then there are the Altai Mountains,
Hovsgol Lake, the Flaming Cliffs, the Sand Dunes...
A country of deep traditions? Well yes... but then Peace
Avenue in Ulaanbaatar is lined with Internet Cafes,
New-Age Cafes... you can pick-up a fresh pain-au-chocolat
on your way to the Gandan Monastery.
The scorching desert? Well yes...
but it’s -25C in winter in the snow-covered Gobi.
Grab some cash at the ATM in the Central Dept Store,
put your pics in for one-hour developing... on the way
out you find a nomad tethering his horse outside, and
meet a monk in red robes and fake Gucci sunglasses.
Whatever you thought Mongolia was – it isn’t.
Leave your pre-conceptions at home with your pot-noodles,
and head for the world’s most intriguing and surprising
country. |