Monthly Archives: July 2010

Mongolia

Gobi in the pimp wagon

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Before we left China we contacted a guesthouse in Ulaanbaatar (UB) because cheap but good accommodation can be hard to find around this time of the year. The travel season in Mongolia generally lasts from June to September when the temperatures are bearable, roads are passable and local families open their gers to the relatively few tourists that visit Mongolia. From November to February many Mongolians move to the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar because the conditions in the countryside are very harsh during winter time. Spring can also be very hard, especially for nomad families as some of their livestock may have died after a long, incredibly cold winter. So it’s best to stick to the main travel season when it’s also easier to buddy up with other travellers to share the costs of transportation and to make things a bit easier for the people here. Continue reading Gobi in the pimp wagon →

China, Japan, Mongolia

Kobe to Ulaanbaatar – 10 days, 3 cultures and hours travelling (or waiting)

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Our trip with the ferry from Kobe to the Chinese port of Tianjin turned out to be a very relaxing ride and the 50 hours in the boat didn’t even feel that long. It was nothing like the ferry we took from Qiandao, China, to Incheon, South Korea three years ago where we got stuck with a lot of drunken Chinese businessmen who were very keen to do business with us or were trying to get us pissed. The ferry was only half full and it was really quiet at night. We spent the two days reading, listing to music or watching the Sopranos (we hadn’t seen the show before and are totally addicted to it now – ‘what can you do!?’…). When not relaxing we walked up and down the ship or in circles on deck to stretch our legs. On the first day we travelled closely along the Japanese coast which was pretty stunning. By the afternoon of the second day all there was to see was the wide open sea and nothing else until we arrived a the industrial port of Tianjin where we met heaps of oil tankers and a very hazy sky awaited us. Yes, you’ll be shocked to learn it’s true the pollution in big Chinese cities is pretty bad. Continue reading Kobe to Ulaanbaatar – 10 days, 3 cultures and hours travelling (or waiting) →

Japan

17 days in Japan

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There we were in Tokyo – a vibrant city of massive scale, millions of people, bright lights, narrow streets and small spaces. What a difference to Australia! We had already been to Tokyo before and done a lot of sightseeing. So we decided to only stay for a day to get acclimatised and spent the day walking around the area of Ueno and Asakusa where we were staying. Continue reading 17 days in Japan →