Recently returned from a trip to Mongolia. Went for a week, during which we drove from Ulaanbaatar (capital of Mongolia) to a couple of locations in the south of the country, close to the Chinese border. Details as follows:
Itinerary
Left Ulaanbaatar at 6 AM, on Monday 19th January, 2015, for Gobi Gurvan Saikhan, in the Gobi desert.
On our way, we stopped at Dund Govi province, Khuld soum, in the Middle Gobi province.
Spent some time there, visiting a site, and then continued our travel towards the east, to Small Gobi B.
Spent the night at this coal mining town called Tsogt-tsetsii, Ukhaa Khudag Coal Mining town.
The next morning, we left Tsogt-tsetsii for Govi-Sumber, Choir, to visit another site. By the time we reached here, it was probably around 8 PM. Spent maybe an hour or so here, and then returned to Ulaanbaatar.
The desert was freezing during the nights (temperatures crossed -35 degrees centigrade), whereas in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, temperatures were relatively favourable, around -22 to -25 degrees centigrade.
Vehicle: Toyota Land Cruiser, VX Limited Edition. 2006 model. 4700 cc Petrol.
Mongolia is a landlocked country in east-central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and also the largest city, is home to about 45% of the population.
Area
- Total 1,564,115.75 km2 (19th)
603,909 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.43[3]
Population
- 2015.01.28 estimate 3,000,0004
- Density 1.88 [5]/km2 (239th)
4.8 [5]/sq mi
Interestingly, 1 Pakistani Rupee is equivalent to 19 Mongolian Tugrik!