It's snowing!!! Well, at least it was the other day. You would think that coming to the coldest capital in the world, where the temperature can fall to -40 degrees in the winter, that I wouldn't be surprised by snow in September, yet I am! The other day it was warm enough to walk around in a t-shirt and now I have to put on layers to keep warm! Crazy fall weather here in Ulaan Baatar! I guess winter is coming!!

Ulaan Baator or UB is a fascinating place and not just the weather. It is a mix of new and old, traditional and modern, fashionable and rustic. Honestly, it is not a very pretty city and just like any other large city it has lots of traffic congestion, high-end malls, and young, stylish people walking around in the newest fashions, however if you really pay attention you can see the traditional underside of the city. You can catch glimpses of it, such as when you see some of the older population still walking around in the traditional Mongolian dress, or on the outskirts of town, where there are hundreds of Gers set up.

However, UB is not a very good example of what Mongolia is. Outside of UB, Mongolia is completely different. Mongolia is a huge country and is one of least densely populated country in the world and yet half of the population lives in UB! The rest of the country is wide open spaces of vast grasslands or steppes, glistening lakes and rivers, large, snow-capped mountains and the vast and seemingly endless Gobi Desert. The people are traditionally nomadic, living off of the land and moving their herds of goats, sheep, cows, camels and/or horses two to four times a year. And many people still follow this traditional life. Modern life has somewhat caught up to Mongolians, which can be easily seen in UB, but also in the countryside, with the use of trucks to move Ger tents instead of horses or camels and with satellite dishes attached to many a Ger.

I arrived in UB and was planning on joining a tour to get out into the countryside. I don't usually do multi-day tours, as I tend to plan things on my own, but Mongolia does not have a lot infrastructure outside of UB, so independent travel can be very difficult. There are buses or minibuses to the capital cities of each province or aimag, but they can take a very long time and are not very comfortable. I met another traveler, who told me a story about riding in one of the minibuses. He told me that they stopped to take a bathroom break. As soon as they stopped, he couldn't see the toilet anywhere, so he asked where it was. He was told anywhere, and that's when he realized what all the other passengers were doing. They were justing fanning out from the minibus and finding their own spots to relieve themselves! And in fact, I would witness the same thing on my own bus trip to the town of Karakorum. That's just the way of life in Mongolia.

So, I was planning on joining a tour, because it makes it easier to see the main sites around the country and sharing the costs with others made it much cheaper, however, I hit a snag. It was getting to the end of the tourist season and so a lot of tour companies were not doing many tours anymore, and there were just not many groups to join up with. I searched for a few days and got a few leads at different guesthouses, but nothing substantial turned up. I was getting really frustrated, not only at the lack of help I was getting from any guesthouse or tour company, but also at my own lack of planning. Luckily, as I was touring a beautiful Buddhist monastery museum in UB, I ran into a Swedish girl named Amanda, that I had briefly met in Irkutsk. She was planning a three day trip, through her hostel, and invited me to come along. Unfortunately, the trip that was planned fell through, so instead we decided to go to Terelj National Park, which was only three hour bus ride away.

The next day, I joined Amanda and a few others and we all got on the bus to Terelj. After boarding the bus and seeing some absolutely amazing scenery along the way to the park, we had to find ourselves a place to sleep. We all wanted to stay in a Ger, so we found ourselves a Ger camp and negotiated the price for two Gers. It was really cheap, about $6 a person, and they even served us some Mongolian food for dinner. And if you don't know what a Ger is, well it is a traditional Mongolian nomadic home, that is like a large, round tent. They are actually quite comfortable, with a stove in the middle to keep it warm and the beds around the outside of the tent. Some nomadic families might have as many as 4 generations living in one Ger! And some might have TV's and the aforementioned satellite dishes!

First, we did a little hiking around the area and then it was time to eat. We were served either tsuivan, which is noodles with some vegetables and mutton, or fish with rice and potatoes. I had the tsuivan and it was tasty. After eating, we all decided that it was time to have a little fun, so we went to the supermarket to buy some snacks and some vodka. Which is how I found myself playing drinking games in a Mongolian Ger in the middle of nowhere with a German guy named Hans, two Canadians named Caroline and Justin, a French couple, Oliver and Selena, the Swedish girl, Amanda, and of course a little puppy that was following us around all day, that we named "Stefan"!

Of course, we didn't give the dog any alcohol, but he was such a cute little guy and the girls had managed to get him into their Ger, so he was chilling with us. The vodka, however, was terrible, and was quickly dubbed as "turpentine", however we did finish the bottle. Luckily, we had also bought some Mongolian beer and some chasers to soften the blow of the "turpentine." Eventually, we ran out of beer and so the guys decided to walk around the village a little to see if there was anything going on. "Stefan", of course, joined us. We found a Mongolian wedding, but unfortunately, we were told that we couldn't join in on the festivities. There wasn't a lot more going on in this rustic little village, so eventually we went back to our Ger. All in all, the night turned out to be really good time!

Going to sleep that night, however, was a different story. It was very cold in the Ger and I had about 4 layers of clothes on to keep warm! We had a fire started, but it eventually went out and the cold seeped in. I woke up at one point and put on another layer of clothes. I survived the cold night, and the next day turned out to be a beautiful day, so we went horseback riding.

Horses are huge part of the Mongolian culture. Kids learn to ride horses almost from infancy and horses are used in almost all aspects of daily life from transportation to food. So, if one is to come to Mongolia, you have to do some horseback riding. Now, I have ridden a horse a couple of times in my life, but I am in no way experienced with them, so I wasn't really sure how I would do. We rode for about two hours and I have to say that it was not the most comfortable ride. It was fun, but it is just not something I could do for any length of time. Mongolian horses are small horses, so I couldn't really straighten my legs fully, so it hurt my knees. Eventually, I got used to the bouncing, but my legs would get tired fast. Also, to be fair, they didn't give any direction at all on how to actually ride them! Anyway, I did alright riding the horse, however, Justin wasn't as lucky. We were crossing a small river, when his horse just went crazy and started running all over the place. It started bucking some and he actually stayed on for a good length of time, but eventually he lost his grip and fell off into the water! He was alright, just soaked from head to toe! We finished our ride and Justin had to change into some spare clothes, so that his could dry. Unfortunately, he didn't have any spare socks and his shoes were still wet, so on the walk out of the park, he had to use plastic bags. I told him he was just starting a new trend!

Justin, Selena and Oliver were staying one more night, while the rest of us were taking the bus back to UB. So we all hiked to Turtle Rock, where the bus was picking us up, and we said our goodbyes. The trip to the park was a really enjoyable experience. I met some wonderful people and we had a good time together. The scenery at the park was amazing and even the horseback riding was fun, despite the slight discomfort. And it is also interesting to note that I would actually end up seeing most of my travel companions again before leaving UB. Selena and Oliver stayed at the same hostel as me and so we ran into each other again and had dinner one night. Amanda and I would end up going to the "black" market together in UB the next day, and I would run into Justin again on the bus ride back from Karakorum a few days later! So, again, any of you that was afraid that I would be all alone on my solo trip, well here is to show you that I am never really alone and there is always new people to meet! And sometimes I even run into the same people over and over again!