Today I had booked myself on trip to Terelj National Park Mongolia. On the way the plan was to see the views over the city followed by experiencing some Eagles (and Vultures) and then viewing of the Genghis Khan statue that everyone keeps mentioning.
I left the hotel with 2 others; Annabel who is German and has been exploring, and I mean really exploring, Mongolia for the last 3 weeks. She experienced the Naadam, stayed in a Ger with a family that spoke pretty much no English or German, she even killed a Goat! The other passenger was José who has lived and studied in Beijing for the last year and is on his route back home to Portugal via Mongolia and Russia. I picked his brains for all the information I could about Beijing, because in less than 48 hours I will be there.
The first stop looked out over the city which had many amazing views (Click the image to see image gallery). The experience was added to by having person with and eagle and well as somebody playing a traditional Mongolian instrument called a Morin Khuur also known as Horsehead fiddle.
Next it was on to look at some Eagles and Vultures. You could pay to hold one and have you photo taken with it. I had mix feeling about this. I felt the birds should be free, but I also want to marvel at them. So I decided not to pay to have my photo taken with them. I still took photos of them though.
Then it was on to the Statue of Genghis Khan. I heard it was big but not this big, I was also expecting it to be made out of stone and not sheet metal. I was amazed at its size and visual impact and then I noticed something moving near the horses ear. It was at this point I realised you go inside and climb up to look over the surrounding area. A truly amazing place and experience.
Next was the Terelj National Park Mongolia which was so beautiful and breathtaking I took enough photos to try and demonstrate how fantastic it was. We even stop in a Ger to have a local dish called Buuz. I, of course, had the non-meat version which had grated carrot, cabbage and potatoe in it.
From the meal we went to a monastery set in the hills. take a look at the photos the views are amazing.
Tomorrow I am back on the Trans-Mongolian train to Beijing. It will take 26 hours and I will start blogging again when I get there.
