Mongolia Freedom – Mongol Rally

September 6, 2011 5 Comments »

western mongolia

At 11AM a border guard walks across the parking lot carrying passports and some forms, looking official with a stern look on his face. All of the teams perk up, and eyes follow the official’s every move; each wondering who will get the ticket to freedom. The official doesn’t say a word, scans the license […]

Lost in the Mongol Rally

September 5, 2011 10 Comments »

We are traveling in Mongolia with a map that is five years old.  This normally wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but in a country where roads are only dirt, and they change every season as new tracks are made, this IS a big deal.  Every day, we start off confident in our direction.  […]

Border Bonding – Mongol Rally

September 2, 2011 6 Comments »

mongol rally teams

I had been looking forward to the Mongolia portion of the trip not only because it was the most adventurous and uncertain but because I expected it to be the most social. Prior to this, rally teams were spread out all over Europe and Central Asia, and about 75% of them would funnel through this […]

How To Wait at a Border – Mongol Rally

September 1, 2011 11 Comments »

Mongolia Border

They say patience is a virtue.  I’ve learned to develop my patience through traveling, but the border crossings on the Mongol Rally kick it up to a whole new level of patience that is required.  For our last border crossing, “Wait” is the word of the day…and night. This was it, our last border crossing […]

Mongol Rally Odds

June 7, 2011 4 Comments »

budget las vegas

The odds are stacked against us. I asked one of the founders a series of questions about our odds of making it to Ulanbatar and Rob, one of the Mongol Rally Founders, provided the following historical information: “We’re expecting about 350 teams will start the Mongol Rally this year, and, if the last two years […]

Paperwork Around the World

February 24, 2011 7 Comments »

cars traffic

While in Jordan I saw all of the main tourist sites, but I also had an opportunity to get off the beaten path with my local host family. I had the opportunity to see a place few foreigners have seen; In fact, I am willing to bet that no foreigner besides expats have been there […]

What I’d like for my Birthday

February 10, 2011 5 Comments »

Mongolia nomad Children

Yup – that’s right…this is crass…I’m telling all of you it’s my birthday and I want presents…lots and lots of presents.  I’m totally serious about this. It’s my birthday this week – February 12th – and I will be 41 years old. Since 2006, I haven’t had a big birthday party …which is a bit […]

Mongolian Food: It’s Not What You Think

September 15, 2009 18 Comments »

Mongolian food

Who doesn’t love Mongolian BBQ? I loved those restaurants in the US cities and suburbs where you pile your plate high of uncooked veggies, meat, and noodles, douse it in a variety of sauces, and then hand it to a guy to stir fry on a big stove. This was one of the reasons I […]

Cultural Travel in Mongolia

August 16, 2009 29 Comments »

Things to do in Mongolia

It was a dream of mine to travel to Mongolia. However, I didn’t want to do it like everyone else did; I wasn’t looking for the standard tour. As I looked at the Ger-to-Ger handbook, I realized I had found my answer. As I paged through the manual, I became a bit nervous about my […]