Welcome

"Over the years I have found that the true measure of a journey is not just the distance traveled around the world but also the distance traveled within myself."

- Christopher Phynn

Vacationing is easy. Traveling is hard. You have to trust strangers, lose sight of all that is familiar and comfortable, and become unbalanced. You only have the earth below your feet, the air around you, the skies above your head, and your dreams. This is the path of a nomad. As you have probably read my other blogs you will notice a common theme here. I’m constantly in search of new adventures and in search of new classrooms. Trying to free myself from the shackles of what western society defines as civilized life. This definition has gone beyond crazy and is no longer bound by any sort of truths, logic, or reason. It was time for me to follow the path of a nomad. This journey would not have been possible prior to 2009 due to communism, but Mongolia has since become a democracy and tourism has been growing. I would travel from the northern point of Mongolia in the Siberian forest down to the southern point in the Gobi desert. My journey would be from the comfort of a 4-wheel drive Lexus LX470 as opposed to horseback, but the idea was the same. And so it was time to create the energy of the next chapter of this life. [Begin the Mongolian journey]

Home
Whistler

Previous Destinations
Australia
Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam)
The Alaskan Wilderness
Peru
Africa (Tanzania, Zanzibar, Kenya, South Africa)
Northwest Asia (Bhutan, Myanmar)
Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, South Korea)
Africa (Namibia, Uganda, Botswana)
Ayahuasca in the Amazon (Peru)
Mayan Cosmology (Belize, Guatemala)
Philippines
Jordan
San Pedro in the Sacred Valley (Peru)

Next Destinations
Indonesia

- phynntravels@comcast.net

Reflections

Born on a play ground, feel the dreams
We grow our flowers in the streets
From the backyards to the schoolyards
We run, we run

We were rebels, wild and brave
On a blank canvas, we escape
Never knowing where we're going
We run, we run

Kids these days die way too young
Their souls dry out from the burning sun
But we will never grow up
We'll never grow up, up, up, up

- Frenship

Mongolia would prove to be another great classroom. So often we are caught up in who we are, we forget that there are others out there, others that represent what we need. We become too comfortable and stop learning, thinking that our way is the only way. If you are stuck in this pattern, then seek out these others. They are there to help. Feel uncomfortable, feel unbalanced, it’s the only way to grow. And if that does not work, then drink some milk tea and spend a few days banging your head on a Ger. It’s a great way to reboot.

"Free yourself and see the world"
-phynntravels@comcast.net

The Long Journey Home

The long journey home would begin with another early morning fight with the traffic of Ulaanbaatar to get to the airport.

There was not a Korean Air flight out on this day which meant two things. One, I would have to fly Mongolian Airlines to Seoul. And two, for the first time ever I would not have a crazy tight connection in Seoul care of Korean Air. I would finally get a chance to check out the airport and lounge in Seoul. However, this would be at the sacrifice of a lesser business product, but still acceptable.

We did get a pre-flight glass of champagne and some nuts.

Once we got to Seoul I walked around the airport to both check it out as well as get in my Fitbit steps. Pretty cool airport, in fact way better then anything you will find in the states. Clean, courteous employees, and technologically superior.

I was excited to check out the Korean Air lounge as this was their hub. It was a nice lounge but nothing compared to the Emirates lounge in Dubai. As I could not shower I checked out the buffet, which was quite nice.





Average seating.

And the bar was mostly self service.

After about three hours in the lounge I headed to my gate. I'm not sure what this was all about but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Trump administration. By the way I never found Trump's birth certificate in Moron, Mongolia. So you guys might want to check Idiotville, Oregon for it.

I boarded the plane and found my suite.



I then kicked back and relaxed before we took off for our ten hour flight back to Seattle.

Oh yeah, the slippers were still a bit snug, as were the pajamas, as I drifted off to sleep.

I would wake up in Seattle, marking the end of this adventure, the end of this chapter. I would once again breeze through immigration and customs with my Global Entry. Which only took 10 years to get after a small Cuban cigar misunderstanding when I had my place in Whistler, BC. But that's a different chapter of this story I call my life.

Flying Back to Ulaanbaatar

Today we would head back to Ulaanbaatar. This time with a short two hour flight instead of a few days drive across the countryside on dirt "roads". The airport was around two hours away so we started out early.



Another flight on Hunnu Air.

Back in Ulaanbaatar we passed the main source of power, nuclear.

We then got to fight traffic again to get back to the Shangri-La. Really, Kentucky Fried Chicken. I'm losing all hope in humanity.



The last time I was able to shave was at the HS Khann. Not because I had an electric razor with a dead battery, but because most of the Ger camps I stayed in did not have a mirror for me to see what I was doing. So this is the closest you will ever see me with a beard. I'm not a hairy guy so I think this is pretty good growth all things considered, plus I think the hat adds a little something.

In Search of the Snow Leopard at Yol Valley National Park

Today I was going in search of the Snow Leopard. I've been very fortunate in always finding the things I've gone in search of in the past. But this was going to be a very, very long shot. We headed to the Yol Valley National Park, but by the looks of it we really could have been heading anywhere in Mongolia.

The park was beautiful and so was the weather.







And then we had a sighting, the Ibex, and main prey of the Snow Leopard.



I had plenty of batteries and more then enough room on my memory cards. I was totally prepared for a Snow Leopard to come running and take out an Ibex for dinner. So I waited....

And waited....

Today I would have to go home empty handed. But that's all part of traveling, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. But at least I was out here trying, experiencing, living. Or maybe I really was cursed for entering that shaman's class room back at Lake Hovsgol.



Back at Three Camel Lodge with my batteries drained and my memory cards full of nothing more then slow grazing Ibex, we enjoyed happy hour up on the ridge above the lodge.





There were some familiar faces who entertained us.

The sunset was breathtaking.



I would be leaving early in the morning so I had to settle up my bill. The good news is that they take visa. However, if you want to pay with a visa card then you also have to provide a car and driver so you can drive to the top of the mountain in order to get a signal for the credit card machine. Fortunately I had both, so we headed out in to the darkness.

Success, we were high enough and it was a clear night.

What a perfect way to end things. I was so far out that the only way to pay my bill was to drive to the top of a mountain in hopes of finding a signal. Yeah, this was my kind of adventure, my kind of story.

The Nadaam Festival and Licking Dinosaur Fossils

After sweating through my sheets and multiple runs to the bathroom last night I was starting to feel like I was over the worst of it when I woke up this morning. Today, we would be going to a Nadaam Festival. Nadaam means festival so I guess we are going to the Festival Festival. These are actually pretty common and are held at various villages almost weekly as it is their most common form of entertainment. The only problem was it was raining this morning. However, in Mongolia you just have to wait a few hours as the weather is constantly changing.

Yeah, no shit.

I hung out in the lounge around the fire while waiting for the skies to clear.

With the skies clear they started with wrestling. They are way in to wrestling and many of the dining areas in the various Ger Camps had photographs of the current champion on the walls. It's not so much wrestling as it is tripping and throwing, kind of like Sumo wrestling without the jock straps and the circle on the ground. Basically the first one to touch the ground with anything other then their feet losses.





They have an interesting story behind their wrestling attire. Legend speaks of a wrestler who dominated the country to become the champion of all of Mongolia. It would turn out that this champion was a woman. That did not sit well with the other competitors so they now require everyone to wear the same outfit when wrestling. One that is open chested, making it impossible to hide any boobies.



There is a kind of referee but he never called any kind of illegal moves. He was really just there to place the cap on the winner.





Today's champion.

Next up was archery. They were fully clothed so I figured women were allowed to compete in this event as well.



It only took like 400 photos but I finally caught a few pictures right as they released the arrow.





They have a lot of confidence in their competitors as they stand dangerously close to the target. Hitting the red mark is three points and hitting the brown mark(s) is one point. If you hit your opponent then I guess you win. You should have seen them run when I picked up the bow and arrow.

Today's champion.

I wasn't kidding when I said everyone ran when I picked up the bow. They did allow a few of us to try it after the tournament and I think this picture best sums up my effort.

They quickly started to disassemble their bows for everyone's safety.

They also had a baby camel.

Got milk?

For dinner today we would be heading to the flaming cliffs. Not only are they very beautiful at sunset but you can still find dinosaur fossils here.





They also contain a few petroglyphs, although you may have to squint like when looking at those crazy computer 3D images in order to see it.

I'm still not sure if I was being setup or not but they say, and include a long scientific reason as to why, that if you lick a fossil it will stick to your tongue. So I walked around looking for something white to place on my tongue.

Found one! Or maybe bird shit sticks to your tongue too? My guide did say it was a fossil without laughing so I felt pretty good about my find. However, you are not allowed to bring them out of the country.

It was happy hour and there was not a better place to have it. Three Camel Lodge setup a special dinner for us tonight out here. I had a few beers while mingling with the other guests before sitting down for dinner and a show.

Three Camel Lodge supports the local school of arts and tonight they would entertain us, starting with some traditional dance.



Followed by some music on a Morin Khuur, a two string traditional instrument, also know as a Horsehead Fiddle.

The kid on the left was also a very talented "throat" singer.

The finale was this kid with an amazing voice. I had no idea what he was singing about but it sounded good.



It was yet another amazing day, another amazing experience, another amazing chapter. Sadly, this story was soon coming to an end as I only had one day left before I would begin the long journey back home.