July 17, 2014
We woke up
early, had breakfast, and prepared to experience our first day in Mongolia. A
flat tire was the first thing I noticed when I finished loading my bike. I got
a little anxious then: This is just the beginning of Mongolia; can my tires
withstand the rough routes in Mongolia?
The road was
smooth, the air fresh, and the scenery beautiful, but not for long. Gradually,
the greenery gave way to arid land, and the sun turned into a scorching fire
ball. With no trees in sight, we kept looking for some shade to make lunch in. To
our surprise, we found a roofed bench with a make-shift table on the side of
the road—why was it there? No clue. That was
our dining/kitchen table, like manna from heaven. After an hour of rest, we left, but the road turned
into sand, and controlling the bike became a constant challenge. After going
through deep sands, we were pleased to have met asphalt again—so rewarding, but it was the end of our day anyway.
At about 6 pm,
we arrived in a small town where we bought some water and groceries. And when I
say “town”, don’t expect even a small village. Town in
Mongolia means a group of houses sporadically placed in an area. But according
to our map, it IS a town. We rode our
bikes for another five km where we found a perfect spot for camping: by the
river, under old trees, beside a tall cliff with an eagle nest on top.
We pitched up
our tents, bathed in the river, washed our clothes, and relaxed for a while. It
had been a rough day. After dinner, when I wanted to write my journal, I
realized that my iPad was not in its place in the bag! In disbelief, I checked the
bag again and again and again. No iPad! I had left it 100 km of hot sand back,
in the hotel room!
I shared the
news with Fausto. Then, I kept thinking what to do. I thought I would go to the
last town, which was 5 km back, and get a Jeep to Bulgan. Fausto could go
ahead, and I would catch up with him on the road or in the next town. The idea
came to me rather late, so I couldn't wake Fausto up to tell him. With this
thought in mind, and with a lot of hope, I went to sleep.
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| Camp for the Night |
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| Our Dinning/Kitchen Table |
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