Vietnamese tourists go to see autumn in Mongolia: Severe motion sickness during the day, and firewood burning at night

The 14-day journey to explore Mongolian autumn was the most strenuous trip that Do An Ninh (32 years old, Hanoi) had ever experienced. However, the male tourist felt it was worth it when he got to admire the overwhelming scenery.

An Ninh has just spent 14 days wandering across the Mongolian steppe, traveling more than 2,000km by car through various terrains. There were times when he and his 11 friends in the group were exhausted and carsick from sitting for hours on violently shaking dirt roads. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, when it was 0 degrees Celsius, they still had to take turns timing, shivering out of the tent to add firewood to the fireplace.

"Although this was the most difficult journey we had ever experienced, everyone felt it was worth it. Every time we saw the endless grasslands, the golden pine forests, the fairy-tale-like reindeer village... all our fatigue seemed to disappear. We were excited, running and screaming with joy," said Mr. Ninh.

Darkhad valley view

Fascinated by the fairy-tale beauty

Anh Ninh shared that Mongolian autumn often has sudden showers. After the rain, the sun shines brightly on the steppe, half lush green, half burnt yellow.

The golden pine forests stretched straight up to the blue sky. Anh Ninh always remembered the image of horses leisurely grazing on the grassland, a beautiful and peaceful scene that seemed unreal.

Golden autumn, wild and poetic beauty in Mongolia

"The further we went, the more we were immersed in the wonderful natural pictures. The immense Darkhad Valley with its steppes, pine forests and snow-capped mountains, the green Khovsgol Lake, reflecting autumn on the lake bed.

And perhaps the most special is the reindeer village of the Tsaatan tribe - the last reindeer nomadic tribe in Mongolia. Here, we ate, slept and lived among the reindeer herd, as if we had stepped into some fairy tale world ," the male tourist shared.

Lake Khovsgol, located in Khovsgol province, is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia, holding up to 70% of Mongolia's freshwater reserves.

It took Anh Ninh about half a year to prepare for his trip to Mongolia, from planning his desired itinerary, finding a local tour operator with suitable prices and services, to hunting for plane tickets,...

In addition, Vietnamese tourists also need to prepare their health and a "spirit of steel". Mr. Ninh said the cost for this trip is 50 million VND/person.

Vietnamese male tourist excited when encountering reindeer

The journey is not easy

To find true beauty among thousands of miles of grassland, the group of Vietnamese tourists had to leave the smooth asphalt roads and turn onto bumpy, rocky roads with consecutive potholes.

There are days when they sit in a car for up to 7 hours to reach their destination, exhausted and nauseous from motion sickness. According to Ninh’s experience, tourists should prepare motion sickness medicine from home because it is very difficult to find it in Mongolia.

"Don't expect a leisurely, relaxing trip, because Mongolia is not a resort destination," Ninh shared.

Dusty dirt roads with many potholes

Instead of staying in clean, well-equipped hotels, tourists will stay in Ger tents - traditional tents of the indigenous people. Autumn is the low season for tourism , so many tents specializing in serving tourists are closed. Many days, groups of tourists sleep in simple nomadic tents, with beds made of self-spreading tarps and blankets made of self-brought sleeping bags.

"Most of the tents are heated by firewood, so at night, we take turns waking up to add firewood to the stove. The temperature at night is only 5 degrees Celsius, sometimes 0 degrees Celsius. Without a heater, we would be freezing," said Mr. Ninh.

A local people's tent area, located next to Terkhiin Lake where Ninh stayed. There is no electricity or internet.

Mr. Ninh added that not all areas have clean toilets for bathing. In many places, the toilet area is usually a hole. There were days when the male tourist was bathing when the whole town had no electricity and water.

In the group, in addition to the driver, there is also a chef who cooks for the tourists. Meals are usually quick and not very varied. "If you love lamb, Mongolia is truly heaven. However, my group does not like lamb very much. Luckily, the chef who accompanied the group cooks quite well, to suit Vietnamese taste," said Mr. Ninh.

There is also not much food or souvenirs for tourists to buy in Mongolia. In addition, internet is a "luxury" because many places do not have signal.

"There was a day when we got back to our accommodation and lost phone signal, so we had to climb up the nearby hill to try to find some internet to finish our work," said Ninh.

No electricity, no internet, but tourists can admire "never-before-seen" scenes

Although this journey was arduous and full of challenges, the male tourist had no regrets. Enjoying the wild and liberal Mongolian autumn will certainly be an unforgettable memory in Mr. Ninh's life.

Mongolia's unreal steppes, golden pine forests, small streams and beautiful hills

Photo: OntheMars

Early retirement, Hanoi woman travels to 80 countries, tells 'most troublesome' story In early October, Ms. Nguyen Bich Ngoc (Hanoi) traveled to Turkey - the 80th country she set foot in.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/khach-viet-di-ngam-thu-o-mong-co-ngay-say-xe-du-doi-dem-canh-cui-dot-lo-2458782.html