35W Bridge Project

Some pictures of the sweet new 35W Bridge. It was Ellie's idea. We couldn't find any pictures of it on the net so we thought we should take some action. Definitely deserves some recognition.

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Made in China

I spent 12 days in Beijing China while in transition to and from Mongolia. I think I managed to experience and see a good majority of the cool stuff. Some of the touristy things I saw was the Great Wall of course, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and a few of the Olympic Stadiums. Its a pretty amazing city. There's all sorts of construction going on new skyscrapers, buildings to accommodate the Olympics, hotels and much more. I mainly used the bus and subway system to navigate through the city, which was surprisingly easy to figure out even for a foreigner. Some of my best experiences were the simple things, like biking around and exploring the diminishing alleyways of the hutong villages scattered throughout the city and the street life of Beijing which comes alive every everyday. I made friends with some of chess players that would gather at the corner near the place I was staying. They gave me a few lessons on how to play. The game is quite different from our game and my lessons were in Chinese so I didn't fully understand how to play. It didn't really matter though I still played quite a few games.

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Trekking Across the Gobi

We arrived in Hovd Friday Morning at 2am after and epic journey across the Gobi Desert. We got lucky and were able to hitch a ride with some people in a Mitsubishi Pajero. So we weren't as cramped as we would have been in the Porgon. We made the 920 mile trip in 32 hours. The unpaved roads were violently rough making it nearly impossible to sleep. The scenery was amazing. Free roaming camels, sheep, horses and gers scattered all over.

We stopped and ate luch at a ger. I also got to take part in the Mongolian send off tradition. One of the drivers had some friends in a town about 10 hours away from Hovd so we stopped and got something to eat then drove to the top of the hill in to town and passed the vodka around.

Its been an amazing experience so far. This place is so different from any place I have ever been. Not being able to communicate with them is a little challenging. I'm always wondering what they are talking about. Its pretty amazing to see Matt communicate with them in Mongolian. Its been a lot of fun meeting Matts friends and Students in Hovd. We've been hitting up the Disco Clubs and Karokee. Little different style then back home.

Mongolia

June 17, 2008
Mongolia's sweet. Met Davis at the train station on Sunday. The train ride was nice, the scenery out the window changed from skyscrapers and smog to desolation and blue skies. We've been staying in a guest house in Ulaan Baatar the capital city which is much bigger and busier then I expected. We toured around on Monday and saw all the sights then went out to his friends summer home in the country. Went for a hike up some mountains. The view from top was amazing. Rolling landscape with sheep, horses and cattle scattered all over and a few gers.

Tomorrow we are going to try and get on a van to Hovd. Its a 40hr trip on the other side of Mongolia. Out there we plan on hiking up some mountains, sleeping in gers, ride some wild horses, heard some cattle and live the Nomadic Mongolian lifestyle.

In Beijing

Well I made it to Beijing. There were a few flight complications on the way and I had to spend a night in Seattle but I made it. I got here a day later then I expected so I had to reschedule my train ticket to Saturday which is fine because that will give me time to tour around the Beijing area. I'm staying at a Chinese school that teaches all grades along with English classes. Its a very nice place and they were able to set me up with people to travel around the Beijing area.

Yesterday I went went to the Great Wall. It was incredible and stretched as far as you could see in both ways. Driving through the city was amazing. There are so many buildings being constructed right now. A lot of it is for the Olympics but also for the growing economy. The streets were crowded with cars, buses, and people on their electric bikes. On the way back from the wall we stopped by the Olympic stadium and village. It was massive. There was still a lot of construction in the area as they trying to finish for the Olympics which are in less then 2 months. The city is amazing and nothing like I expected.

The people I've met so far have been very nice. On the way from Minneapolis I met a girl flying back to Hong Kong after spending a semester at Eau Claire. It was interesting to talk to her about China and learn some things. We both had a 5 hour layover in Tokyo so we ate some excellent Japanese food, walked through the mall in the airport and she showed me a bunch of pictures of here life in China.

I have 2 more days in Beijing. Today I'm going to see the Forbidden City. On Saturday I leave early to board the train for Mongolia.

China & Mongolia

In 10 days I'll be on a plane to Beijing China, with a final destination of Hovd, Mongolia. I'm going out there to see my good friend Matt Davis who has been living out there for the past 3 years teaching English. My tentative plans as of now are to arrive in Beijing, China on June 9 at 9:35pm. I plan on spending a few days there getting familiar with the city and maybe seeing a few of many sights. On the 12^th I will take a 36 hr train ride to the Ulaanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia. There I will meet Matt. We plan to be there for a few days then take a 2 day van ride out to Hovd, the city he has been living in. I'll be there for a few weeks. Then I will take the long van and train ride back to Beijing. I plan on spending about a week in Beijing seeing as much as I can. I found some cheap hostels that rent out bikes. On July 21^st I depart Beijing to return back to Minnesota.

I'm looking forward to the extremes of going from the most populated country to the most sparsely populated county. I've been reading as much as I can about China and Mongolia. The history and things to see. Some of the things I hope to see are the Forbidden City, Summer Place, Great Wall, and some of the Stadiums built for the Olympics. I most look forward to just experiencing the culture of another country and the many people I'll meet on my travels.

I'll make sure to take some sweet pictures and post an occasional note if I have access to Internet while I'm over there.

Almost to Delhi

I just woke up from a good night sleep. Should be in Delhi soon. I walked back the open train door for some fresh air and to see what the scenery was like. There was a thick fog outside. Visibility of maybe 50 ft. That could explain why the train seems to be traveling at a slower speed. The overall ride has been good and seemed to go by pretty fast and I never really got bored, we met a few nice indians. Shared out berth with a banker for a while. He was a little hard to understand but a nice guy. We made firends with the meal guy and he hooked us up with a few extra chippotties for supper. For the last part a man that works for the indain rail has joined us. He likes to talk a lot and is also hard to understand. They have all been very nice though and are always excited to talk to Americans and see what life is like.