Genghis Khan, here we are!

After a beautiful time in Russia and the Altai (really woth a short trip on its own!), we entered Mongolia with snowstorms and lots of wind. The Russia side of the border took us quite a while (1h) but the Mongolian side was super easy (15mins) and off we go to check out Genghis's place.

I was quite worried for Mongolia as we saw so many nice things on the road over the last 2 months, that I felt Mongolia couldn't impress me anymore and was sad about this...but I was so wrong, it is clearly the highlight of the trip!

The first impression was, where are the damm good Russian roads?! No roads, but sandy/rocky tracks and offroad is the word here. The second impression is the lack of vegetation. On the Russian side there were trees, here in Mongolia, very little vegetation.

So off we thought to our first camping in Mongolia...close to Tsagaannuur...but the wind was so icy (3 impression, it is damm cold here!) that we decided to find a warm home for us. We found a family in Tsagaannuur that was willing to let us sleep with them in their room. It was a great experience and the family was lovely. The next morning the wind was still there but we had another surprise, -7.5 degrees. After a few snowstorms (they come within mins) the sun came back and we decided to give it a try and go to Uureg Nuur. The landscape was breathtaking with a gorgeous valley, an immense plateau (where we got lost several times even with GPS), beautiful mountains and the best sun ever...but with lots of wind. When we finally arrived at the last pass (2,400m) after several hours of being lost in the valley below, we had an unforgetable sight on Uureg Nuur (mountain lake). After a few hours to finally reach the destination (offroad or small tracks, so you can't drive more than 50-60km/h) we found a nomad that offered us to sleep with his family in his ger (Mongolian yurt) which we happily accepted as it was icy again.

After a good night sleep we headed for Ulaangom but using a small valley were the driving was mostly offroad. We made good progress until we arrived at a very large river with so many big pebbles (the size of a football) on the ground, snowcovered water, icy water, etc... and after me falling at least 6 times in the river bed, we decided to find another route to go around it.

The driving here is a pleasure as the sights are unbelievable wild and beautiful. Yesterday we encountered 2 other vehicle in 1 day. Today 4 or so and this on the main road to Ulaangom, so the rest of the time, you just ride, watch the scenery and enjoy this country whilst feeling your the only one in the world.

For the bikers amongst you envisaging a similar trip. Don't do the same mistake as me. I am a short (1.70m) and light (65kg) guy and whilst I LOVE the 1200GSA, it is too heavy and too high for me. On tarmac, you're the king. On tracks and offroad I learnt a lot and am getting good at it but when it comes to pebbles (river beds) and very rough offroad when you can only drive slowly, it is a nightmare and once down it takes 2 to put it back upright...take something lighter and lower. A big thanks to Cyril who helps me once the GSA is on ground.

For some reasons, I can't attach pictures to the blog but have a look at the Russian and Mongolian photo albums, we've added pictures.