Saturday, May 18, 2013

Ulaanbaatar

Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Counter: 25 kms


'his/her character is like spring sky' say Mongols about inconstant and moody people, who change constantly their mind.

Or 'Mongolia may offer you the four sesaons in a day' (for free ;))

I couldn't believe it until my first day here in Ulaanbatar. Landing in the morning at the fifth try because of storm and wind. I then rode to the city under a big, warm sun. That was just before I found myself fighting in a snowy/rainy storm when I was looking for a guest house to sleep in the center. The evening was nice and quite, leaving us a nice setting sun, like those I love in Bavarian fall.

To cut a long story short: it promises to be exciting for my ride here in the country.

The center of Mongolia


A few facts, maybe, to visualize the country:
~ 1 500 000 km2 (about three times the area of France.)
~ 3 millions inhabitants, with half of it in Ulaanbaatar.
It means something like an average of 1 people/km2 in the countryside! They all say to me that I will go crazy, because I will be quite a lot of time alone with nature ;) Meditative I said!

Chingghis Khaans


Ulaanbaatar is a safe, dusty and multifaceted capital. In the center, mode is like in Europe this year: high (hiiigh) heals and mini-shorts for women, they are all walking like cats on stilts. Men are wearing suit coat and cravat. Smartphones and big four wheel drive everywhere. On its other side, the city is surrounded with hundreds of thousands of gers (the typical Mongolian habitation) and small multicolor houses made of wood.  People there are really poor.
The contrast is impressive.

Somewhere in the city


The traffic is a bit crazy and jammy. There is no respect for pedestrians, not so much for traffic lights, and not a bit for ears: blocked in traffic jam, they hoot all the time, quite a nihilistic behavior.
I was quite happy to use my parisian riding skills. Very important: catch the eyes of the conductor, and go for it ;) One is definitely quicker with bicycle. There is a big business opportunity here for the first who will introduce bicycle here, as it is an unknown engine.

It's now time to let you and get prepare for the ride. I will leave tomorrow morning. Unfortunately with a prognosis of one week of head-wind, the worst enemy of cyclists. But my will is soooo big, I'm prepared for this.
Mongols are proud horse rider and tough people

8 comments:

  1. Hi Maxime,
    ich freue mich, dass du gut in UB angekommen bist und wünsche dir eine gute Reise und wenig Wind!
    Hast du schon Buss gegessen?

    Liebe Grüße
    Tanja

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Tanja,
      Danke für die gute Wünsche ;)
      Buss, Mantuu, Bin... Alles toll für meinen jetzigen riesen Appetit
      Liebe Grüße nach Hamburg!

      Delete
  2. Klingt sehr spannend! Viel Erfolg in der mongolischen Steppe, alles Gute auf dem Weg nach Zentralasien, in unsere Nähe! ;-)

    Bises aus Islamabad
    Philipp

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Selamat Philou ;)
      Merci pour tes bons voeux. Est-ce qu'on se voit quelques part sur la route?
      Bises à vous deux

      Delete
  3. Keep them coming my friend! May your tires and camera never fail you. Bon courage and beste Grüße from Sicily! Stefan T

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stefan,
      Die Kamera hält bis jetzt, danke Dir. Ich habe aber vergessen, wie man schöne Foto macht. Ich lasse in automatik Modus, und werde langsam aber sicher lernen!
      Flat=1 ;)
      Schöne liebe Grüße an Deiner Familie!

      Delete
  4. Hi Maxime,

    die Dana und ich wünschen dir viel Spaß auf deiner Tour, genieße es und pass auf dich auf.

    Liebe Grüße
    Bene

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merci Euch zwei!
      Ich hoffe, dass Du die bayerische Felsen ganz schön besuchst... Ich vermisse Klettern mit Dir, schöne Freitagnachmittag in der Sonne ;)
      Liebe Grüße

      Delete