AUG 19, 15 .. PART 1 .. TRAVELING A MONGOLIAN HIGHWAY .. NORTH ULAANBAATAR TO SUKHBAATAR ..

I recently published a post on my dot.net website about riding a train on the Mongolian railway system from Ulaanbaatar North to Sukhbaatar.

http://babakaps.net/?p=14742

This is a post about the same itinerary going from Ulaanbaatar North to Sukhbaatar but traveling by private automobile on the Mongolian highway / road system. We drove up on a Friday afternoon .. stayed two nights in Sukhbaatar .. and returned on Sunday. 

When I am able to do so on my dot.net website I can't understand why I am unable to upload a Google Map onto this my GOOGLE WEBSITE.

Go figure .. I certainly can't. The map I show you in the below photo is the best I can do. The heavy prominent red line running across the top of the map from left to right is the International border between Russia (above the line) and Mongolia (below the line).

If you really squint .. at the top of the map .. to the left of center just below the International border .. in red is Sukhbaatar. 

Much easier to see .. near the bottom of the map above .. in the YELLOW AREA (can you see that Patti?) is Ulaanbaatar.

Below are two close-up photos of what you had to squint at to see above ..

Sukhbaatar in the North ..

Ulaanbaatar in the South ..

Let's all go on a motor trip here in Mongolia. 

PINCH ME!!  SURELY I MUST BE DREAMING ALL OF THIS!!

There is no possible way that I can do what I am doing here in Mongolia without the support of friends.

I am pleased to introduce you to Deegi (DAYghee) ..

And to Deegi's husband Saina and daughter Cindy ..

You sweet thing! .. OK .. Here is another photo of you ..

We filled-up-the-tank before we began our approximately 380-Kilometer or 235-Mile road trip North. Gasoline is approximately US $ 3.20 per gallon (1,660 Tug per liter).

We took-our-time so the trip up was about 6 Hours.  Hard driving with no stops en route will cut-the-time to 4+ Hours. On the road we would be traveling about 60 mph. 

How fun .. HOW NIFTY 'ZILLA .. is this? We had to stop and wait for a passenger train to pass as it was en route into Ulaanbaatar.

Knowing what I now know .. This train is the same local Mongolian train that I rode when I returned on the railway from Sukhbaatar.

Skipping the photos that I snapped of the traffic we encountered leaving Ulaanbaatar .. Below are photos of the Mongolian countryside as viewed from an automobile.

"What's that you ask me 'Zilla!"

"You want at least one photo of Ulaanbaatar traffic so you from Los Angeles California will feel oh-so-comfortable if you ever come here." 

"Anything for you my Ol' Buddy and my Ol' Friend of some (count them) Forty Years .. 1975 to 2015."

"All the way over here in Mongolia 'Zilla .. Halfway around the world from you .. I could hear your sigh-of-satisfaction and I could hear your sigh-of-comfort at seeing the above photo!"

"Just like here at home Cap."  /SIGNED/ .. 'Zilla ..

Where was I? 

Got it! Photos of the Mongolian countryside as viewed from an automobile.

Do all of you see a few Mongolian Gers out in the countryside?

Yes! 

Yes Indeed! 

I am here to show you that Mongolian highways have really nice roadside rest stops and rest areas.

Like in the U.S. .. Mongolia has large over-the-road tour buses. 

In the background of the below photo you can see the scenery that I have shown previously.

Mongolia is quite similar to Alaska. Here .. As in Alaska .. You do NOT want to experience automobile problems while traveling out on the open road.

On The Road Again .. After our rest stop ..

In the first photo below is a Mongolian 'Good Luck' monument.

There are a lot of free-range grazing cattle here in Mongolia.

They 'cared-less' about us ..

Take just a second and study the below photo ..

In the vein of the Mongolian educational philosophy I will repeat what I wrote previously .. 

Here in Mongolia when you are out-on-the-open-road .. You do NOT want to experience problems with your vehicle.

Someone will stop .. But then what do either of you actually DO?

We have come to the third largest city in all of Mongolia ..

DARKHAN ..

From Wikipedia .. to whom I happily contribute financially .. I give you the below very interesting information ..

Darkhan (Mongolian: Дархан, blacksmith) is the third-largest city in Mongolia and the capital of Darkhan-Uul Aimag (Darkhan-Uul Province). It had a population of 74,738 in 2010.

Please notice above .. the first two words are .. Darkhan (Mongolian:

It is the third word I want you to study .. the word Darkhan spelled in Mongolian .. An odd letter that looks like an unusual letter A followed by apxaH .. do you see it?

Дархан

Darkhan (Mongolian: Дархан .. )

Armed with the above lesson .. below you see DARKHAN on the road sign .. 

At the top right .. A0402 Дархан 30 KM .. This tells us that Darkhan is 30 Kilometers up the road .. 

What an intersection this is! Below is the other side of the above sign. At the top left we see Sukhbaatar is 59 KM up the road.

So you can verify that the word above on the left is Sukhbaatar (the word that begins Cyx...) I have slipped in the below photo. 

Oh my what an intersection this is.

"Yes indeed you ARE so beautiful .. I wish I knew what you are sitting majestically out here in the great unknown."

"You are silly! Telling me to just read what you are!"

Our automobile is shown below in front of the convenience store out .. In The Middle Of Nowhere ..

Above is the sign I showed up-close previously. 

OK on we go to Darkhan Mongolia ..

As we enter the city limits .. the city limit sign for DARKHAN (Дархан ) is simply magnificent and majestic and oh so very beautiful ..

Personally I found the below information from Wikipedia to be extremely interesting.

On October 17, 1961, the city of Darkhan was built with extensive economic assistance from the Soviet Union. As its name implies, the city was originally conceived to be a manufacturing site for Mongolia's northern territory. The city remains a mostly industrial region and is the home of some 82% of Darkhan-Uul Province's population. As with most urban Mongols, some 86% of the city's population live in residential apartments, with the remaining population living in yurts (gers) on the outskirts of the city. The city is relatively close to Russia and retains a fairly small percentage of native Russians.

Yes it is a squint but you can do it .. In the map below .. about 3/4 of the way up to Sukhbaatar there is a small yellow area with a red colored city name. That is Darkhan ..

HELLO DARKHAN MONGOLIA ..

"Look Miss Mongolia .. I can only show what I see in front of me." .. 

"I know Miss Mongolia I wish the outskirts of Дархан were a tad more 'dressy' but they are what they are Miss Mongolia."

"Are we still friends Miss Mongolia?" 

"I'm thinking about it Kanbaatar!" /signed/ MISS MONGOLIA

Leaving Darkhan (Дархан) we continue to head North for Sukhbaatar.

Below we came into a very interesting tree-lined section of the road.

I've said it previously and I will say it again ..There will be little assistance out here if you break-down.

We have arrived .. We are there .. Sukhbaatar ..

Welcoming visitors to Sukhbaatar is a beautiful Monument.

In the photos above and below note the golden colored figures on their green backgrounds on the legs of the monument. 

Below are close-up photos of the above mentioned golden colored figures. The love of Mongolians for their horses goes back centuries to Chinggis Khaan and his armies.

For simplicity .. I am not going to take you on into Sukhbaatar at this time. I will publish a post showing you the city of Sukhbaatar later.

In Part 2 following this post you will see that I have taken you for a ride on the highway back South from Sukhbaatar to Ulaanbaatar. These two posts will contain all of the highway photos of this part of Northern Mongolia. 

But before we do so .. I want to share with you something that I found absolutely hilarious. All the way up from Ulaanbaatar my host and driver Deegi's husband Saina was playing the greatest music .. 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led Zeplin and 'The Wall' with Pink Floyd and The Beattles and The Stones .. to name but a few.

Later I found out why! Saina is a musician!

Oh Come On My Friends! .. You don't really think that we drove all the way up to Sukhbaatar just for the drive do you?

No! We came to see some Mongolian Gers .. You know .. Like up-close-and-personal ..

Some came to participate in 'athletic' competitions ..

We all came to have fun and to socialize ..

Oh NO .. We have a party-crasher on our hands .. What to do?

Only in Mongolia? What fun!

We even had a real Mongolian Dragon join in the fun!

What would a grand party be without some food ?

We had some real .. honest-to-goodness true authentic traditional Mongolian food ..

Soup for lunch. I don't know how to describe the soup but some of the 'stuff' in the soup tasted a 'tad odd'. I did not care for the 'texture' of some of its contents .. The bread was great ..

AFTER .. the active word here is .. AFTER .. 

AFTER I ate the soup I found out what was in-the-soup!! 

Oh-My .. Had I known BEFORE I ate the soup .. I would NOT have eaten the soup. It had .. blood .. veins .. kidneys .. livers .. hearts .. and probably more things because the Mongols of Chinggis Khaan's armies ate everything! 

"Ah-h-h Chinggis Sir .. I am not sure I can ride in your Army Sir."

"Oh Good Grief Man .. What Are You .. A Wimp .."
/SIGNED/ THE MAN HIMSELF .. CHINGGIS KHAAN ..

I had time to recover from the lunch soup-experience so when it came time for dinner I was older-and-wiser.

BEFORE I got into the below feast I checked and was assured that everything was 'safe' for me to eat.

"What are they?" ..

"The black objects are rocks that are heated to cook the meat." 

Of course .. It goes without saying .. Chinggis and his army did not carry around utensils .. God Gave You Fingers Baba Kanbaatar .. My years in India have prepared me well for this reality .. Eating with one's fingers is very natural .. 

Lord God Of Abraham In Heaven Above .. THAT was far and away past and beyond outstanding ..

After THAT feast it was time-for-a-nap .. And NOT just for me!

"Well hello young inscrutable lad." .. He no doubt was looking at my 'odd eyes' .. 

"So nice to see you! .. Are you having fun?" .. That broke-the-ice! Look at the smile ..

Now for the Sunday trip back South and home to Ulaanbaatar. 

For The Rest Of The Story .. scroll down to Part 2 in the following Post ..

With Much Joy .. Cap ..

Post Script .. After Patti and I proof-read this post I got to thinking the following:

What on earth do they do to keep this main road North to the Russian border open during the winter. Sports fans .. it snows and the wind really blows here in Mongolia!!