Why Mongolia Should Be Next On Your Bucket List

We had the best 8 days of our lives in the stunning Gobi Desert of Mongolia. We spent our nights camping in the wilderness under a blanket of a million stars, sleeping together with the nomadic family in their yurt, drinking fresh goat/horse milk, camel riding and having our meals in the midst of nature with nobody else around. Words aren’t adequate to express the overwhelming emotions that we felt as we stood in the middle of the vast land of glistening golden sand. It was beyond amazing, a truly incredible experience of a lifetime.

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Sunset at the Gobi Desert

One of the most beautiful sunsets that we’ve ever witnessed in our travels so far.

The awesome team :)

Because, “no road is long with good company”.

Beautiful starry night

Chilling beneath the myriad of glittery stars in the beautiful night sky. Every night as we gaze into the sky, we would be mesmerised by the countless of shooting stars and often too amazed to make a wish in time.

Trekking the sand dunes of Gobi Desert

Most beautiful and challenging trek ever! Trekked for about an hour to get to the other end of the dunes.

Lunch by the river at Khustai National Park in Mongolia

It was an amazing experience having our meals in the middle of a National Park with nobody else in sight, with only some wild horses roaming around by the river.

Our beloved russian jeep

This hardy vehicle ferried us around for our entire 8 days at the Gobi Desert. We had an average of 4-5 hours drive in the jeep every day! Thank goodness it was so comfortable and that made the journey much more bearable.

Traditional Mongolian “hot pot”

A must try if you ever visit the Gobi Desert! The method of cooking this dish was so interesting! They heat up stones and cooked the meat using the hot stones.

A traditional ovoo at the Gobi Desert

The Mongolians believe that when you encounter an ovoo which is this man made heap of rocks, you have to stop and walk around the ovoo 3 times in a clockwise direction. This ovoo is mainly used for religious purposes and worship of the mountain and sky. The blue cloth represents the sky and the rocks represent the mountain.

Inside a ger

Notice the white bowl that we were holding? We were all happily sipping hot goat milk! In Mongolia, they usually add salt to the milk and brew it with tea leaves. It took awhile for us to acquire its taste, but it was definitely a soothing drink in such cold weather!

Sunrise at the sand dunes

It was a race against time. We started our journey at 6am and gave ourselves an hour to make it to the top to catch the sunrise. It definitely looked easier from the bottom, but as soon as we started, we panic as it seemed almost impossible to reach the top before the sun rises! It was so tough to trek uphill on sand, every step we took, our foot slid back by half a step. But thank god, we made it just in time to witness the glorious sun rise above the horizon :)

Cute Mongolian boy

Mongolian children are really the cutest ever! It’s a tradition for boys to not have their hair cut till they’re 3 years old. Often we’ll be confused if the young child is a boy or girl.

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