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Week 10 Blog

The Mongolian border town of Altanbulag is never going to win any tidy town awards yet it here that I spent a sleepless night in a cheap hotel, which smelt like boiled mutton, waiting for the Compass Expeditions group to pass into Mongolia from Russia. It was the 3rd August 2014 and the beginning of my Mongolian experience. I had long exhausted all the sights of the aforementioned town when Mick rode through the border gates in the early afternoon.

The entire group quickly joined him. Brian was the most pleased to meet me given I had brought with me from Ulaanbaatar a WR250. His BMW R1200 GSA had been left in Istanbul. Jane was also kindly disposed towards me as I presented her with medications, creams and most importantly Vegemite. After introductions we turned south travelling beyond Sukhbaatar to our first camp west of Darkhan.

The rain cleared the next morning but the conditions had made the dirt track to the Amarbayasgalant Monastry slippery so we continued south camping 20kms west of Bulag. It was a spectacular night. The rain cleared and an amazing double rainbow appeared over the hills. Our camp location could not have been better, nestled at the base of surrounding green hills. The WR250 provided great entertainment as some of the guys rode it atop the slopes Steve McQueen style!

Unfortunately Geoff had come down the previous day and had suffered a broken leg. After checking on his condition back in the hotel in Bulag the group continued on riding some challenging tracks amid stunning scenery. The camp that night was alongside a meandering creek, which served to chill the beers, and we were visited by a number of locals who enjoyed taking Bayne’s BMWF800 for joy rides.

An early morning storm and strong winds shook our tents but the morning dawned clear. During the night a friendly local who had imbibed much of the local vodka had sought shelter in the ladies toilet tent. Ray ensured he was woken and moved on before the ladies used the facilities.