carla’s travel blog

One evening of quiet nomad life and then back to the city the next day.  Ulan Bator is the capital and about 1 million people so roughly the size of Seattle.  I am at an actual homestay here (but still have my own room) which is really nice and comfortable.  Its in a apartment building in the southern part of the city and there is lots of hustle and bustle.  People playing basketball, children on the playground in front of the building and babies crying.  Apparently a third of the population is under 14 and you can really tell – kids everywhere!

Anyway no solid plans, but just two days to wander – happy to find this internet cafe so I can update you all.  Stay tuned for more pictures and more stories.  Tomorrow onto Beijing!

After another day and night on the train (this seemed easy after the last ride). I arrived in Mongolia bright and early in the morning and was promptly wisked off to the national park outside of Ulan Bator for my night with the nomads.

When we arrived we were taken int the yurt of a middle aged couple and served green tea with fresh cow milk yum yum and were able to talk to them a bit through the translator.  After that we were taken up to a group of yerts further up the valley where travelers stayed.  It was kind of like a yurt hotel : )  Again as a lone traveler I had a whole yert to myself.  Guess it pays to travel early in the season….

The rest of the day was spent wandering around the hills by foot and also on horseback.  I got to see lots of herds up close and enjoy the quiet a bit as well.

The train ride to Irkutsk was the longest one planned for my trip 4 nights straight.  I got on the train and found that, lucky me I had a two bed car all to myself!  Not what I was expecting, but it was great to have a little privacy after staying in hostels for the last week.  The ride was beautiful, lots of small wooden villages and birch forests and the four days went by very quickly.

When I reached Irkutsk there was a ride waiting for me out to the lake.  As we go nearer I asked about homestay that was arranged and they said it wasn’t a home, but that I would be staying in the chalet.  Chalet?! well that sounds fine with me and sure enough a little ways up one of the valleys off of the main street of the lakeside town there was a beautiful wooden building.  Again my own room and a balcony too this time ; )

I spent two days here walking the town and doing several small hikes up the hills surround the lake.  The views were spectacular and on the second day I met a group of American students who I hiked with.  Some of them wanted to get in the lake so even though it was a little early I joined them for a dip.  The water was freezing, but felt really good and clean enough to drink…. very tasty.

After two days it was time to get back on the train to Mongolia!