My Mongolian Picture Bonanza

It's almost November, which means it's high time I finally posted about my summer vacation... Mongolia!

Armed with nothing but a train ticket and the phone number of a random family in a small town near Lake Khövsgöl, I set out for Mongolia on my own via the Trans-Mongolian train, which goes from Beijing to the capital city. It was definitely one of the crazier things I've ever done during my two years in Asia. Two weeks with a family in the Khövsgöl region and ten days in the Gobi Desert, mixed in with a few full days of travel and a few days spent in what could vaguely be considered urban sprawl, the capital city Ulaanbatar, made for a very interesting month in the wild, untamed land that is Mongolia.

Culturally, I was a quick study. Always accept tea with your right hand, or both if you're feeling fancy. Present the tea with your right hand, left hand supporting your right elbow underneath. Hold your cup at the bottom. Always accept tea. And food. And always finish whatever you're given, no matter how disgusting. Walk around the ger (a traditional Mongolian tent-house) clockwise. Do not walk between the central bars. Trash goes outside, not in the fire. When you're alone in the middle of nowhere, you acclimate pretty quickly.

Traveling alone is always tough for me, but rewarding in the end. I spend more time out of my comfort zone, more time alert, more time meeting new (often local) people and engaging in things I may normally be too shy to do in front of friends. But my biggest regret is not making someone tag along with me to take some damn pictures. So many of my pictures are people-less, and while pictures of landscapes are quite lovely, they can also be quite repetitive and boring.

But despite this, the pictures--even the repetitive ones--really speak for themselves. Any specifics you'd like to know, post them down in the comment section!

Family farm livin':

The middle daughter of the host family

Stuffing a sheep's intestine with blood. It was ew. 

The farmhand lighting candles at a shrine to his uncle

Apparently horse brandings happen once every few years,
so my being there is either really good, or really bad timing.

After a horse is branded, it's splashed with cow's milk

Touring the lake:

Lake Khövsgöl

The lake was so clear

Oh yea, and I traveled around the lake by horse

Ten days in the Gobi:

Our driver thought that our car breaking down on a hill
was a good time to brush his teeth 

Year-round ice!
(promptly dropped my camera into a pool of melted ice after this photo...
thank goodness for rice)

A traditional Mongolion ger

My gymnastics buddy

This adorable dog followed us all the way up the Singing Sand dunes!

My tour guide and me

Hello puppy!

Travel mates in the ger

Sunset before a hailstorm

On the train

Where the train goes when the wheels change... creepy!

I literally have thousands of pictures from Mongolia, there are so many that didn't make the cut, including any photo I took with my phone. Eek! It's just a testament to how Mongolia is the most freakin' photogenic country ever!