To the Gobi We Go

An early morning flight on Hunna Air(think really small commuter airline with planes we retired years ago) we found ourselves in the Gobi Desert.  This desolated area makes up about 1/3 of Mongolia and is the 4th largest desert in the world.  Most of it is made up of grasslands with only a small sliver of it containing actual sand dunes, which was our destination for the evening.

We split our small group into 6 Toyota Landcruisers for our drive.  We soon appreciated the beefed up suspension and four-wheel drive capabilities since the dirt roads in this part of the country are rough with frequent dips when you least expected them.  Our drivers didn’t speak English but seemed to know the roads well, zigzagging across the flat, barren landscape.  Often there were several lanes crisscrossing which helped us avoid the dust from the car in front of us.  Occasionally they would leave the road entirely to avoid a particularly big dip.

We stopped for a late breakfast at Three Camel Lodge which we would return to after our night by the dunes.  We had a couple of hour drive to the dunes basically seeing nothing but nomadic herders and their herds of cattle, goats, sheep and their prized horses.  I'm sure this dirt road system is written down somewhere, but if you flew in from the USA and were expecting road signs you are out of luck.

At the camp, we were assigned our gers and had a little time to settle in before getting back in our cars for the short drive to our next mode of transportation: camels.  Mongolia has the two humped variety better known as Bactrian.  They appear to be a little shorter and stouter than the Dromedary and also furrier.  Once they knelt down we were assigned our camel, mounted up and started out for the sand dunes in the distance.  Groups of 4 or 5 camels were lead by a guide that walked in front of us. The trek took about an hour and I think we were all ready to leave our slightly uncomfortable transport behind.

The Singing Dunes are named because of the noise they make when winds pass over their ridges.  We were just as happy we didn't get an opportunity to attend a performance since blowing sand would not have been kind on our equipment.  One of the camel drivers took several of the camels up and down over the ridges so we could take pictures.  After several passes he also poised for a portrait.  He put on his traditional clothing to make it look more authentic although the others were wearing western style clothing.  It was a fun and very different experience.

Our drivers picked us back up and took us to our camp.  Our ger was equipped with a bed that was covered with a very thin mattress and two very small pillows.  The facilities were located up by the dining hall and reminded me of college dormitory bathrooms with communal showers.  Beggars can't be choosers, so we all slipped on our shower shoes and walked up the hill.  It was fortunate that we were all very tired because even sleeping on boards couldn't keep us awake.

Tomorrow: Back to Three Camel Lodge