Mongolia

Day 27 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 53.7 km

Day 28 of the expedition

Distance traveled: 23.2 km

Position: N45° 30 E107 ° 36

Top picture: Local herders

Bottom picture: Buddhist prayer wheels

I still remember the night, about a year and a half ago when Curtis, Eric and I sat around flipping through an atlas, looking for new exciting spots to kite. We came across Mongolia and decided to try to attempt to cross the Gobi by kite buggy.

I knew nothing about Mongolia, and over the last year as we've researched and planned our trip, I started to read up about this fascinating country. A country that during the days of Chinggis Khaan, his army conquered and expanded the nation from Korea to Hungary and from India to Russia. They even moved their capital to the present day Beijing. They were merciless warriors, but with every rise, there is also a decline. After Chinggis Khaan's death, tension between his sons resulted in civil war, and the great empire slowly crumbled.

Much later in 1578 Buddhism was introduced and men were sent to monasteries instead of the army. Buddhism flourish till communism took over. In 1937 the new communist government destroyed over 700 monasteries and killed over 30'000 monks in Mongolia. It's wasn't till recently in 1990, that religious freedom was regained and in 1996 that the fist non-communist government was elected.

Half of Mongolians live in ger's (felted tents we know as yurts) and live stock herding is the main economy. With a population of only 2.6 million people, there are around 34 million heads of live stock. The country is also known for it's cashmere exports, and new mines are starting to open up showing promising sings of a better economy.

It is the wild west. A country with no fences and wide open spaces. Where the living conditions are harsh, yet the people are friendly. A country where you can still find dinosaur eggs laying around in the desert. I have only started to understand their history and culture and fill lucky to have spent the last month and a half traveling through this amazing landscape.

As the end grows nearer, I wish we could travel longer and farther. We have 6 days left to reach our end point, before we must start our way back to the city to catch our flight home.

Sarah