Dave & Meredith’s Travel Blog

I’m very disappointed that the elevator warning sign that I posted about last year has been replaced in the meantime by one that is properly translated. While the sign outside that says “Do Not Recline For Dangerous Fall Down” is still there, the big one inside described in this post is now completely rewritten in correct English. That said, there is still plenty of fodder around. One of my favorites was before I even arrived. On the flight to UB from Korea, I saw in the airline magazine for MIAT (the state airline here), there is a interview with a Mongolian investment banker who claims that “Mongolians have a very rich endowment.” Hmm.

The other day, several of us went to the black market here in UB and my mission quickly became finding items (shirts, hats, luggage, whatever) that had botched translations on them. One of my favorites was a shirt with Snoopy and Woodstock on it. It had Snoopy saying “What am I?” followed by him reaching the conclusion, “I am a doog” [sic].

And although not incorrect, a funny ad I saw for a hotel had the tag line, “The Best Value. Superb Services. There you go.”

So there you go.

- Dave

I’ve been back in Ulaan Baatar for a couple of days and it’s been great to get full nights’ sleep in a bed followed by long, hot showers. After some shopping and dining out with new friends, it’s now time for a quick side trip up to Lake Khovsgol and I leave for the airport in 6 hours. As usual for Mongolian airlines, schedules have changed and the flight I was supposed to be on returning on Wednesday was canceled so I’m returning to UB on a Tuesday flight. Since this cuts things short and leaves me with an extra day, I’m spending that day/night at a camp in Terelj National Park which is about 80km northeast of UB. This may be a blessing in disguise since it gives me more exposure to different regions and types of landscapes within UB. Once back from Terelj, I’ll have a day here in UB to run a few errands and then get ready for the long journey home. I won’t have Internet access while away. I hope to post more on the blog when I’m back about events from the trip and also some new photo galleries. Ciao…

- Dave

I’m heading back to Mongolia tomorrow (Monday) morning and I’ll be gone until the end of the month. The itinerary is almost the same: last year we added an extension to go to the Gobi Desert. This year, after the horse trek out west, I will head north to Lake Khövsgöl which is visited more often by tourists and has a very different landscape – trees, mountains, and of course, the lake itself. If all goes well,  I will have a more complete photo portfolio from Mongolia to show for it. I’m pretty excited about the trip but a little anxious too since it’s an investment in what could be a career change so I hope things go well.

I will blog and post pictures when I can. I’ll have Internet access while I’m in the capital city of Ulaan Baatar which is a sprinkling of days here and there. I’ve added a new itinerary page with a summary here.

- Dave