Mongolia (Terelj National Park)

October 3, 2010: On the way to Terelj National Park, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, I got to have my picture taken with an eagle on my arm. A truly magnificent specimen, no question.

When I arrived at the camp, I moved into my own ger (yurt), took a good look around and, since the season was over, enjoyed being the only tourist there. The only catch was that the showers had been shut off too, to keep them from freezing…

In the evening it got frighteningly cold out here. That’s exactly what the cute little stove in the ger was for. In reality, though, it was a monster. Once I had loaded it up nicely with wood and lit it, the thing heated up until it was glowing red. Unfortunately there was no way whatsoever to regulate the stove, so all of a sudden I had my own private sauna at over 50°C. It was probably even hotter, but my thermometer didn’t go any higher. My trusty candle wasn’t too happy about it either - it simply melted away…

So I spent the time until it had cooled down enough under a clear, starry sky. In the middle of nowhere, without a single light for miles around, at 1,600 metres and with no moon, I was treated to an indescribably breathtaking night sky. Sadly, it’s impossible to capture that many stars in a photo. I lay back counting shooting stars and documented my ember-spitting ger from hell…

The next day a really nice couple from England arrived at the camp. Both had given up their absolute dream jobs at Google (best working atmosphere, great pay for short hours, drinks and snacks everywhere) to go travelling. Together we visited nomads and explored the area on wild horses.

No, that’s not a nomad looking out of a ger…

On my last day I went on a slightly longer hike and climb to reach the highest viewpoint I could. After two hours heading east, I was there. A magnificent view opened up in front of me.

So far everything on my trip had gone pretty smoothly. On this hike, though, I had my first nerve-racking experience. As I was climbing the last rock to take in the view, I badly twisted my left ankle (in the photo above you can see my slightly bent leg). Two hours from the nearest camp, I first enjoyed the view and the silence and then examined my foot. I had two hours left before dark to get back - with a twisted ankle. I had everything with me: a warm spare sweater, pepper spray, water, food… except my headlamp, which I’d forgotten… And without a moon it gets pitch-dark out here at night. An interesting challenge, I thought. Hopping and limping, I hurried down the mountains towards the sunset.

…and made it back to the camp just as night fell, completely out of breath. There I met two really nice Swiss guys, who gave me some tips on how to heal faster. After a few vodkas together that evening, we all drove back to Ulaanbaatar the next day.