Well not having done an adventure for 5 years and many of us being couped up for close to 3 during that so called pandemic event, it was little surprise that another hair brained idea emerged from a fireside chat with a G&T in hand. Exploring ‘The Orient’ had always been a distant idea, but local politics and age-old wars had always stifled any major plans of exploring this wayward and distant part of the world. Having done some research on the famous Peking to Paris Rally, it was Mongolia that came up trumps for the most remote and wildest country to traverse.
At more than 1,5 million square kilometres in expanse and just over 3 million people, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country on planet earth. There are just 2 tar roads that effectively link this huge expanse from East to West. So, with all this in mind, a route was traced from Ulaangom on the far North-western edge close to the Russian border.
It starts in the high Altai Mountains at over 3000 metres, heading south along gravel tracks to the Kazakh orientated Ulgi Town. In this region we will experience some of the local culture, meet some of the mysterious eagle hunters, and have a chance to track a snow leopard in the Jagalan Range. From here on we use a little bit of tar road as we head into the great open steppes of Central Asia, but most of it turns to gravel tracks as we approach the edge of the Gobi Desert and beyond.
There are almost no formal towns, communication or hotels and so private Ger tented camps are being erected for nightly bedding and meals.
The weather conditions, although it’s coming up for summer, are at best erratic, and exposure on these open plains might lead to some extreme challenges and wild encounters with nomadic people and the odd double humped Bactrian Camel.
Closest to the central Chinese border we are the furthest from anywhere and will explore a little-known oasis as well as the dramatic features of an ancient lake system where some of the worlds most interesting dinosaurs from more than 65 million years ago have been discovered.
We continue east and slightly north, crossing the largest dune belt in the southern Gobi, making our way to the well-earned 3-day break and change over point at Three Camel Lodge.
Some familiar faces should be there to greet us, as well as a time to say fond goodbyes to some who are heading home, and hello to some new recruits, as we begin the second leg of our journey. There will be a couple more nights of wild camping in the exposed and arid steppes of the Gobi before we reach a tar road, expected relative comfort, and civilization towards the Chinese Border.
Hopefully with little interference and limited time constraints we should clear all cars and people through at Erenhort.
Its then all plain sailing on country roads to the Great Wall of China on the outskirts of Beijing.
After a ceremonial dinner on this iconic landmark our final stretch into the metropolis should be busy but easy, and a welcoming event is planned at the British Embassy.
All in all, it should be 5000 eventful kilometres on largely unchartered tracks in the remotest part of the mysterious Orient. What could possibly go wrong….!
The Bok!