Toilet Shelter on the Mongolian Steppes It was a make-shift construction of rough planks around a hole that wasn’t half deep enough … but it was welcome! (Phone6)
It is hard to know what to say about a day on which one of the high points is a rough-hewn three-sided toilet shelter. For most of our bumpy drive across the Mongolian steppes, we made do with rocks to squat behind. Cross-country travel in Mongolia is not for the faint-hearted – or for those who are weak of bladder!
Truth be told, that toilet shelter wasn’t all it was cracked up to be: the open side faced the road, and the pit within it really was not deep enough… But, I love the picture it presents against the sweeping plains.
It was my second day of bumping across the vast Mongolian landscape in a Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel-drive vehicle organised by Within the Frame and local guides G and Segi. According to Google Maps, the day’s drive from Kharkhorin to Tariat is about 280 kilometres; that they estimate a travel time of four and a half hours gives you some indication of the state of the roads!
Add to that, the fact that Air China still had no idea where my bag might be and I was wearing bits of borrowed clothing, and you get some of the bedraggled picture. Lets just say, I arrived at the end of the day like James Bond’s martini: well shaken.
Sheep on the Roadway UAZs may be well suited to navigating Mongolia’s roads, but they don’t afford the passengers much of an outlook on the surrounds. I amused myself on the long drives by trying to capture small snatches of views through the front windscreen as we rattled and bumped along. (iPhone6)
Steppes and Highway The first part of our day was on paved ‘highway’. The plains and the skies go on forever… (iPhone6)
Eurasian Black Vulture (Aegypius Monachus) Huge vultures were thick on the ground at our first stop. They didn’t let me get very close before flying off – this photo is heavily cropped.
Mongolian Ibex Canyon Statue I had to make do with a statue of a male Mongolian Ibex – we never saw a real one.
Tsetserleg We were travelling with our own cook, which meant our meal-stops were anywhere we pitched the meal-tent. This was a mixed blessing: it meant we had great meals, but we didn’t stop in most of the towns we passed along our way, and only saw them from the UAZ windows as we skirted by.
A Nomad’s Ger in the Steppes We made an afternoon stop at a nomad’s camp …
Inside the Ger … and were invited in for dried yogurt.
Dried Yogurt Tasting a bit like hardened tofu, the dried yogurt pieces were strung up around the inside of the ger.
Nomadic Mongolian Patriarch
Pouring Out Homemade Vodka Inside the richly decorated ger, we sample fermented mare’s milk, and buy a litre of homemade vodka poured into a water bottle. That plastic bottle got misplaced in one of the UAZs. Days later, one of our group took a large swig, thinking it was her water. Her choking gasp could be heard for miles!
Milk and the Foal Back outside on the windy steppes, the nomad couple go back to their chores of milking the mares and moving their young.
Young Foal The young horses are tied to a ground rope where they can feed.
Vultures on the Steppes Once again, we come across cinereous vultures; once again they fly off as anyone nears them.
Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius Monachus)
View from the Truck Into the Larch Forest Too soon, we are back in our four-wheel drives. (iPhone6)
Chuluut River Gorge Our next stop was at the beautiful Chuluut Gorge, …
Chuluut River Gorge … about 50 kilometres short of our day’s destination.
UAZs in Chuluut Gorge The autumn-yellow of the larch trees provides a colourful backdrop for our UAZs.
Autumn Larch Trees Larch trees are the dominant species in Mongolia’s remaining boreal forest.
Larch Tree Trunk
Autumn Larch Cones Although they are conifers, …
Wind in the Larch Trees … larches are deciduous: in autumn their needles yellow, then fall off.
Chuluut River Gorge
View from the Truck – Rain Our break at the Gorge over, we drove out of the forest and into the rain… (iPhone6)
When vultures and outhouses are the high-points of your day, you know it has been challenging.
But, our cook Yagaanaa produced another terrific meal – including tiramisu for desert!
That, and a glass of scotch, and I was ready for the next day –
Mongolia is on my short list of places to visit, and fish. Taimen, Amur trout and lenok fly fishing is supposed to be incredible. Plus, wonderful scenery to capture with a camera. Too bad you didn’t get a chance to visit with the locals in their villages. Learned a new word – cinereous. The vultures look huge, but what sustains them? The whole landscape looks sparse in terms of scavenging opportunities. I would love to have a hi-res copy of your Chuluut River Gorge photo (the first one) for my desktop.ReplyCancel
Hi Selim – so nice to hear from you! A copy of the file you asked for is winging its way to your mailbox as we speak; I hope its the one you wanted.
The vultures seem to travel in packs: I suspect there is plenty of food from the herds of sheep and cashmere goats, as well as indigenous herbivores. The birds seemed very healthy!!
[…] the long hours in the vehicle from Kharkhorin (see: From Kharkhorin to Tariat), I was happy to explore the soggy lake foreshore upon our arrival late in the afternoon, and again […]ReplyCancel
[…] said it before: Cross-country travel in Mongolia is not for the faint-hearted – or for those who are&nbs… The Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel-drive vehicles that […]ReplyCancel
[…] About 30% of Mongolians are nomadic or semi-nomadic, spending at least their summers in their portable ger housing close to their animals’ grazing lands, and living much as they have for hundreds of years. The herds live off the land, and the nomads live off the milk, meat and skins of their livestock. Fermented mare’s milk – airag – is popular, and milking the horses is one of the many daily activities (see: From Kharkhorin To Tariat). […]ReplyCancel
Lucerne’s Octagonal Water Tower Halfway across the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) – originally built over the Reuss River in Lucerne in 1333 – you’ll see the 13th century Water Tower(Wasserturm). Together, that is some ancient wood and brick!
Lucerne has history.
Of course, every place has a history.
But – as is the case across Europe – so much of Lucerne’s history is still present in the wood, the stones, and the brickwork of the Old City.
Lucerne also has scenery: sitting on Lake Lucerne where the Reuss runs into it, and surrounded by mountains – including Rigi and Pilatus – Lucerne is in a picture-postcard location.
The area has been dominated by Germanic people since the fall of the Roman Empire early in the 6th century; the Benedictine Monastery of St. Leodegar was founded there around 750, and the rest of the community grew alongside it, gaining independence as a city around 1178.
Today, as the biggest town in Central Switzerland, Lucerne is the urban centre for economics, transportation, culture, and media in the region, as well as a popular destination for tourists.
Walking through the medieval laneways of the Old City, it is easy to see why!
Luzern-Interlaken Express We stopped in Lucerne twice – once from Interlaken to the southeast, and once from Rapperswil-Jona, further northwest. Both times, the Swiss trains were clean and efficient – and afforded us magnificent views.
Lucerne Railway Station On our first visit, we were simply changing trains. We had enough time to admire this archway – all that is left of the of the old station, which was built in 1896, but burned down in 1971.
Old Lucerne The medieval Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke) crosses the Reuss where it meets Lake Lucerne.
Swan on Lake Lucerne Mute swans (cygnus olor) are a common sight on the lake and river.
Mute Swan (Cygnus Olor)
Medieval Architecture on the Reuss The Old City of Lucerne straddles the Reuss, and many of the buildings either side of the river dates back to the Middle Ages.
Kapellbrücke Several bridges cross the Reuss to link the two sides of Lucerne. The 204 m (669 ft) long Chapel Bridge is the most famous of them.
Kapellbrücke Originally built in 1333, the Chapel Bridge is the oldest covered bridge in Europe.
Petunias on the Kapellbrücke Much of the bridge is actually new, however, having been reconstructed after a fire in 1993.
Kapellbrücke – Chapel Bridge
A Small Price for Music The Rathausquai on the north bank of the Reuss is lined with shops …
Lunch with a View … and restaurants with outdoor seating and views across the river to the Jesuitenkirche(Jesuit Church). This beautiful old baroque building was started in 1667 and consecrated in 1677 – although the onion domes were not added until 1893.
Rathaussteg and the Jesuitenkirche The relatively modern (1961) Rathaussteg (Town Hall Bridge) is a bicycle and pedestrian river crossing.
City Tourist Train on the Rathaussteg
Altstadt Luzern Wandering around the Altstadt (Old City) is a delight; …
Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern Kornmarkt … old half-timber buildings with intricate and colourful murals …
Man in an Altstadt Window … have been retrofitted to house restaurants, shops, apartments, …
Hotel des Balances Weinmarkt … and even up-market hotels.
Altes Luzerner Rathaus – Old Lucerne City Hall
Views from the Rathaussteg
Lucerne’s Octagonal Wasserturm The Rathaussteg allows views to the old 111-foot (34 metres) tall Water Tower and the mountains behind.
Double-Headed Eagle
Van Laack Gesellschaft mit Beschränkter Haftung Tourists admire the old buildings …
Onto the Kapellbrücke … and cross the meandering Chapel Bridge.
On the Kapellbrücke
Historical Scenes In the seventeenth century, the Kapellbrücke was decorated with paintings depicting events in local history.
On the Steps of St. Leodegar Known as “Hofkirche”, the late Renaissance-style St. Leodegar Church (1633) was named for the city’s patron saint.
Movement Just as old buildings intermingle with new, bicycles, pedestrians, and vehicles share the roadways.
Löwendenkmal – The Lion Monument To anyone who has read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, this lion is reminiscent of Aslan, but the Lucerne lion predates considerably C. S. Lewis’ invention.
Löwendenkmal – The Lion Monument Designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and carved from the rock-face in 1820–21, the dying lion commemorates the hundreds of Swiss Guards who were killed in Paris in 1792 during the French Revolution.
In A Tramp Abroad (1880), American author Mark Twain called the Lion Monument “the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world”.
On that mournful note, we walked back across the Old City and crossed the Reuss back to the train station, and rode the Swiss rails out of town…
The Kunene River The dry heat shimmers and the winter colours vibrate on the Kunene River between Angola and Namibia.
It is hot in the northern reaches of Namibia.
Very hot.
Even in August, in the middle of the dry, winter season, when night temperatures can drop below 10°C (which is pretty cool when you are camping!), the sun rises early and bakes the arid landscape. By mid-morning, the daily highs of 30°C+ have already been reached.
I was tenting at Omarunga Camp, within earshot of the magnificent Epupa Falls on the Kunene River (see: Landscapes of the Kunene). Our trip-organiser, photographer Ben McRae had a shoot planned for the late afternoon, and it was tempting to sit out the heat of the day in the shade, watching the birds on the Kunene riverbank.
But, Omarunga offers an afternoon guided walk upstream along the Kunene River in search of crocodiles. After too many miles bumping across Namibia’s rough roads, a leisurely walk was just what the doctor ordered!
Crocodile on the Kunene River Another tourist with binoculars pointed out the crocodile sitting, almost invisible with its mouth open on the rocks in the middle of the river; truth is, I thought it was a fake, until it closed its maw and slithered out of sight!
Angola across the River The Omarunga Camp common area, attached to the restaurant and bar, is a delightful place to sit on the banks of the Kunene River…
Mourning Collared Dove (Streptopelia Decipiens) … and watch the native birds …
Finches, Blue Waxbills, and Laughing Doves … who take advantage of the seed and water left out for them.
Golden Weaver (Ploceus Xanthops)
Golden Weavers (Ploceus Xanthops) I could have watched the various birds for hours!
The Yard Outside the tourist campsites and cabins, the homesteads are modest.
Donkeys Dainty donkeys scrabble around for food in the dry ground.
Young Himba Men Bathing This is Himba territory; as we round a bend, we come across a group of young men with their distinctive hairstyles.
Local Guide Our guide stops regularly to point out plants that have medicinal or aromatic uses.
Crocodile Tail He also spots a crocodile – who declines to show us anything but its back end.
Petroglyphs Rock carvings dot the sandstone all along the Kunene River – probably made by stone-age hunter-gatherers around 6000 years ago.
Mountains in the Distance The water is so quiet here …
Rock in the Kunene River … that the reflections shimmer in the heat.
The Kunene River The calm is so different from the noise of the falls just a few miles downstream!
Kunene Scrub The 1,050 kilometre-long river is one of the few perennial rivers in Namibia, …
Succulent … and the plants on the riverbank are clearly adapted to the arid climate.
Tourists on the River
Crocodile Finally! Just before we have to turn around and head back to camp, we spot the front end of a large crocodile.
Top of the Falls I got back to the campsite and followed the waters to the top of the falls, …
Epupa Falls … where the nature of the river changes completely, as it races roaring through a primordial landscape of baobabs and into a deep ravine.
In Search of a Location To round out a day on the river, we are headed further downstream in search of a location to make portraits of two traditionally-dressed young Himba men (see: Himba Model Shoot).
The landscapes in the different regions of Namibia all have real and discrete personalities.
The Kunene River is no exception, with each section distinctive from the next.
Bicycle Rickshaw Driver The pedicab drivers know where the resort shuttle buses will drop their customers off, and are ready and waiting.
I had a map and a plan.
Turns out, I needn’t have bothered!
We were headed into Đà Nẵng for a February afternoon, and I had done my homework. But, as soon as my husband and I alighted from our resort shuttle bus, we were greeted by a smiling pedicab driver who cheerfully persuaded us we could not possibly walk to the places we wanted to visit. He offered – for a small fee – the services of himself and his friend for a few hours.
And so we set off: two foreign tourists feeling like royalty perched in our individual rickshaws while our drivers cycled madly through the broad, tree-lined streets of Central Vietnam’s largest city. Lonely Planet says Danang“has few conventional sightseeing spots”, but we found plenty of places to keep us occupied and interested.
Join me for a tour of Vietnam’s third largest city.
Đà Nẵng Street Scenes Although Danang is the busiest city on Vietnam’s central coast – a major port and the commercial and educational center of the region – the streets still feel quiet and safe as we are cycled through them.
High-Wire Repairs Like many other places in Asia, the telephone and electrical wires mass in a tangle overhead. Workers regularly take their lives into their own hands!
Trung Hưng Bửu Tòa Our first stop was at the Cao Daist Missionary Church. A monotheistic religion built on the fundamental doctrines of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, Cao Đàioriginated in South Vietnam around 1919.
Inside Danang’s Cao Daist Missionary Church The religion has between three- and eight-million adherents in Vietnam, with and estimated 30,000 in the Vietnamese diaspora. This temple in Danang serves about 50,000 followers.
All-Seeing Cao Daist Eye The symbol of the faith is the Left Eye of God. In Danang, this all-seeing eye is painted on a large globe: symbolising the universe and source of all life.
Courtyard: Bảo Tàng Đà Nẵng The Museum of Danang was built between 2005 and 2011.
Trung Tâm Hành Chính Đà Nẵng The Danang City Administration Center – across the road from the Museum – seems to symbolise the city’s desire to move away from it’s reputation as a provincial backwater. Finished in 2014, the 34-story building is an eye-catching, if impractical, addition to the waterfront.
Specimens We were underwhelmed by the exhibits in the Museum of Danang. The first (of three) floors is devoted to Natural and Social History.
Tượng Phật A Di Đà (XVII-XIX) The museum contains historical relics, like this one of Amitābha, a celestial Buddha important in Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Fish Praying Dioramas in dark corners illustrate traditional central-coastal community practices – like this one depicting the annual Cau Ngu Festival where people pray for a good fish harvest.
Danang Skyline There are nice views over the city from the Museum of Danang stairwells.
Commemorating the War and the US Presence The second floor of the museum is devoted to Danang’s long struggle with war. In recent history, France attacked the city in 1858. The Americans landed in 1965, and set up a large military complex nearby. The last American ground combat operations departed in 1972, after which the city was taken by the North Vietnamese in 1975.
Opera Masks The museum’s third floor houses ethnic and cultural artefacts.
Đà Nẵng Cathedral Sacred Heart Cathedral in Danang was built in 1923 for the city’s French residents. It is known as the Con Ga Church(Rooster Church) because of the tiny French rooster high on the steeple.
Đà Nẵng Cathedral Grounds The church now serves a Catholic community of over 4000.
Danang Diocese Bishops House The Sacred Heart Cathedral is home to the Roman Catholic diocese of Đà Nẵng, under the Province of Hue.
Museum of Cham Sculpture Danang’s origins date back to the ancient kingdom of Champa, which governed Southern Vietnam from 192 A.D to 1697.
Cham Sculpture The Cham were an Indic civilisation: some say indigenous to Vietnam; others believe the were originally colonists from the Indonesian islands.
Cham Sculpture After a thousand years of skirmishes – and trade – with the people of Java, the Khmer of Angkor in Cambodia, and the Đại Việt of northern Vietnam, the Champa civilisation finally lost its independence to the Đại Việt. The museum houses painstakingly recovered sandstone and terracotta artworks dating from the 7th to the 15th centuries.
Golden Buddha Our next stop, at Phap Lam Pagoda, was a complete contrast.
Lady Buddha, the Bodhisattva of Mercy Phap Lam Pagoda seemed to be a popular place for Buddhist worship, …
Students Posing … although the young people there were happy to cluster together to have their pictures made.
Prayers in the Shrine I lost count of how many different shrines were housed around the Phap Lam Temple.
Another Shrine – Chùa Pháp Lâm
The Con Market After settling up with our pedicab drivers, we made our way into the colourful Con Market.
Saleswoman in the Con Market The sales people were all very welcoming, …
“Wake up the Ideas” … and were especially happy when we actually made purchases.
We bought enough rich Vietnamese coffee to share with our neighbours, and made our way back into the street in time to collect the shuttle back to our resort.
Somehow, our negotiations with our rickshaw bicycle drivers got lost in translation, and we ended up paying more than we thought we had agreed to.
Still, it was well worth it, and our head-driver was right: we would have never have seen as many sights if we’d tried to visit them on foot.
Roos on the Flats Kangaroos love open grasslands – like those found near the campground at Geehi Flats in Australia’s Snowy Mountain region. (02January2016)
The New Year’s period is a time when we can look back over the recent past and start to make plans for the coming 12 months.
As regular visitors to these pages know, I usually escape to the mountains during this time, preferring some quiet contemplation over the noisy drunken revelry that is more common in the city – not that we don’t partake of a glass (or more) of champagne to commemorate the passing of another year!
The change-over from 2015 to 2016 was no exception.
My husband and I tucked ourselves into our tiny space in Jindabyne, on the outskirts of Kosciuszko National Park. Usually we plan at least one ambitious alpine walk (e.g.: Bookends on 2013,Alpine Bookends 2014,Illawong Lodge, Guthega, orSummer Walks in the High Country), but last summer we took it a bit easier. I was still recuperating from a broken knee and still hadn’t recovered my stamina and range of movement.
And, it rained … and rained, and rained some more.
As a consequence, we stayed indoors. A lot. When we did get out on foot or on bicycle, it was around Jindabyne and its lake, close to the Kosciuszko roadways after a drive, or on walks around the village of Thredbo, rather than more strenuous hikes further afield.
These meanderings still yielded some lovely sights – and plenty of time to dream big for the year to come.
Lake Jindabyne There is a well-maintained shared path for walkers and cyclists along the foreshore of Lake Jindabyne. We make regular use of it. (01January2016 – iPhone6)
Charlotte Pass At the first opportunity, we always drive up to Charlotte Pass – … (01January2016 – iPhone6)
Wet Snow Gum (Eucalyptus Pauciflora) … – no matter what the weather – … (01January2016 – iPhone6)
Silver Snow Daisies (Celmisia longifolia) … to check out the state of the alpine flora. (01January2016 – iPhone6)
Roos on the Road With a forecasted break in the clouds, we drove to the Geehi FlatsCampground – starting point for the 5.5 km walk around the Old Geehi Huts. (02January2016)
Geehi Hut Nankervis Hut, more commonly known as Geehi Hut, was originally built in 1952 as a outpost for graziers. (02January2016)
River Stones and Concrete The five historic huts along the Old Geehi Hut bushwalking track were built out of the round river stones readily available from the Swampy Plain River. (02January2016)
Inside – Outside (Geehi Hut – 02January2016)
The Swimming Hole Outside Geehi Hut, the abundant river rocks have been sculpted to make a safe – though cold – swimming area in the Swampy Plain River. (02January2016)
“Our Country – Our Heritage” Many of the sites here have cultural significance to Australia’s First Peoples. (02January2016)
Roos on the Flats Plenty of eastern grey kangaroos (macropus giganteus) hang around the grassy flat plains. (02January2016)
Whispy Blossoms Clouds of cream blossoms wave over our heads, and the hot summer air is delicately scented with the smells of the Australian bush. (02January2016)
Cricket on the Lawn Across the river and up the track, families are playing holiday cricket outside Keebles Hut. (02January2016)
Inside Keeble’s Hut Built in 1942 as a fishing lodge, Keeble’s Hut is quite cozy inside. (02January2016)
Crossing the Swampy Plains River Keebles Hut is a popular campsite, accessible by four wheel drive. (02January2016)
Rider on the Golf Course Loop The day after our walk around Geehi Flats, the rains returned. It was almost a week before we had clear enough weather to drive up the mountains to Thredbo, where we walked around the golf course. (08January2016)
Grass Trigger Plant (Stylidium Graminifolium) An easy 4km loop leads through alpine forest …
Orange Everlasting (Bracteantha Subundulata) … where the delicate alpine wildflowers are in bloom. (08January2016)
Thredbo River The loop then follows the very pretty Thredbo River back to Thredbo Village. (08January2016)
Dead Horse Gap Walk A week later we returned to the Snowy Mountains for the annual Thredbo Blues Festival (“Let’s Dance the Blues”) and a trek down the 10km Dead Horse Gap Walk. (16January2016)
Gum Trees on the Path Finally! There were a few sunny days around Lake Jindabyne, … (19January2016 – iPhone6)
Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki … where the Polish explorer Strzelecki pointed us back to Mount Kosciuszko, which he climbed and named in 1840. (18January2016 – iPhone6)
And what a year 2016 has been!
For much of the year, I have been feeling a sense of loss and shock. I can’t wait to get back to the mountains to recover.
- Performing the Ganga Aarti from Dasaswamedh Ghat, Varanasi
- Buddha Head from Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar
- Harry Clarke Window from Dingle, Ireland
- Novice Monk Shwe Yan Pyay Monastery, Myanmar
Packets of 10 for $AU50.
Or - pick any photo from my Flickr or Wanders blog photos.
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But, our cook Yagaanaa produced another terrific meal – including tiramisu for desert!
Mongolia is on my short list of places to visit, and fish. Taimen, Amur trout and lenok fly fishing is supposed to be incredible. Plus, wonderful scenery to capture with a camera. Too bad you didn’t get a chance to visit with the locals in their villages. Learned a new word – cinereous. The vultures look huge, but what sustains them? The whole landscape looks sparse in terms of scavenging opportunities. I would love to have a hi-res copy of your Chuluut River Gorge photo (the first one) for my desktop.
Hi Selim – so nice to hear from you! A copy of the file you asked for is winging its way to your mailbox as we speak; I hope its the one you wanted.
The vultures seem to travel in packs: I suspect there is plenty of food from the herds of sheep and cashmere goats, as well as indigenous herbivores. The birds seemed very healthy!!
All the best, Ursula
[…] the long hours in the vehicle from Kharkhorin (see: From Kharkhorin to Tariat), I was happy to explore the soggy lake foreshore upon our arrival late in the afternoon, and again […]
[…] said it before: Cross-country travel in Mongolia is not for the faint-hearted – or for those who are&nbs… The Russian UAZ (Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod) four-wheel-drive vehicles that […]
[…] About 30% of Mongolians are nomadic or semi-nomadic, spending at least their summers in their portable ger housing close to their animals’ grazing lands, and living much as they have for hundreds of years. The herds live off the land, and the nomads live off the milk, meat and skins of their livestock. Fermented mare’s milk – airag – is popular, and milking the horses is one of the many daily activities (see: From Kharkhorin To Tariat). […]