MONGOL SERIES, DAY 1-3
DUBLIN – ULAANBAATAR
Mongolia Roadtrip. After just 7 weeks I felt it was time to get back to Asia and explore country number 171… Mongolia.
WELCOME TO COUNTRY NUMBER 171, MONGOLIA!
It’s a place not many of us have heard much about but has fascinated me for one reason, Chinggis Khan.
WHERE IS MONGOLIA?
Mongolia
After a nasty red eye flight I arrived at 5am and checked into none other than the Chinggis Khan hotel. After a quick nap (wasn’t that quick!) I made my way out to one of Mongolia’s most popular tourist attractions, the Chinggis Khan Statue. Although considered to be in Ulaanbaatar, it is a 1hr 30min drive. There isn’t much going on here or to see but it is worth coming for the view. The small museum is inside and you can climb a set of internal stairs to sit upon of the horses maine.
Mongolia has the nickname as the land of eternal blue sky, which means it its rarely cloudy let alone wet. You would think travelling during summer would be an especially safe move but it turns out June is their wettest month of the year!
DAILY INFO….
- HOTEL –
Chinggis Khan Hotel
Ger camp, Karakorum - RESTOS – Hungry Nomads
- ATTRACTIONS –
Chinggis Khan Statue
Narantuul Market
Karakorum
MONGOLIA HOSPITALS
I had a fairly simple op 10 days ago but the wound keeps leaking fluid which is not ideal and I have a feeling things are going to get worse. You would wonder how this is possible after it burst in the security checkpoint at Frankfurt airport. So I took a trip to the nearest hospital and got it redressed all within about 5 minutes of arriving. If hospitals at home could be this efficient I think we’d be doing well. I was even given a box of alcohol wipes and latex gloves to take with me.
FLAG….
- The Soyombo – Is the Mongolian national symbol. It is attributed to Zanabazar, the 17th century leader of Mongolian Lamaism, a great statesman, and the father of Mongolian art and script.
- RED – Symbolizes freedom, prosperity, and progress.
- BLUE – Represents the eternal blue sky.
SUKBAATAR SQUARE
The main attraction in the city centre is Sukbaatar Square, the who’s who of Mongolian legends. On one side you have Sukbaatar, the man who rescued Mongolia and formed it into a Independant state. The other of course is none other than Chinggis Khan. Although not a lot happens here it seems to be one place locals come to spend their time.
RELATED READ: A TRIP TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
FACTS ABOUT MONGOLIA:
- World’s Least Densely Populated Country: Mongolia has a vast landscape with only about 2 people per square kilometer, making it the least densely populated country in the world.
- Nomadic Culture: About 30% of Mongolia’s population still live a nomadic lifestyle, moving with their herds across the steppes, a tradition that has lasted for thousands of years.
- Home of the Gobi Desert: The Gobi Desert, which stretches across southern Mongolia, is not only one of the largest deserts in the world but also a place where important dinosaur fossils, including those of Velociraptors, have been discovered.
NOMADIC FAMILY
Our first stop was with a local family who cooked us food and made some distilled vodka, some of the best vodka I have ever had tbf. Apart from the hair I found the food wasn’t bad either…
We were then brought up the road to ride a camel, hardly a highlight but sure when in Mongolia et al. The family however were excellent!
KARAKORUM
This was something I had always wanted to visit and it didn’t disappoint. Karakorum was the old Capital of the Mongol Empire before Chinggis invaded China. There is over 800 years of history in this place and although most of it is demolished, the main area is well maintained, even to think the man himself walked these paths is incredible.
MONGOL EMPIRE
You might have begun to wonder how the world’s greatest empire become so big. At its peak, the Mongol Empire covered an area of 9.15 million square miles – more than 16% of the earth’s landmass. Between 1270 and 1309 the Empires population was a staggering 110 million, more than 25% of the world’s population, that’s the equivalent to 2 billion today.
THE WORLD’S LARGEST
As the largest contiguous empire in history, the Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of tribes under Genghis Khan achieving advancements in various technologies and ideologies during the empire. Through the years, the Mongols would take control of huge areas of land, stretching from Korea in East Asia, all the way to modern Hungary.
However, it was the Black Death in 1331 that brought the Empire into its long, slow decline that culminated with its annexation by Russia in 1783.
TODAY’S YOUTUBE VIDEOS
If you want to see today from a different perspective, and catch a few different stories from the front row, then check out today’s YouTube videos below.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Good start to the trip and locals seem super friendly here which is always a bonus.
NEXT UP
Getting out of the city and a homestay with a local Nomadic family!!! Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
171/229
This is episode one of The Mongol Series, for the entire series click here.
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
Question Time
- Would you like to visit Mongolia?
- Who is your favourite historic empire?
Let me know in the comments below . . .
