Gobi bound, don't wait up

Ahh, what a difference some good sleep makes. I'm tired as a write this, but the good kind of tired that comes with a long day of accomplishment.

First, I haven't forgotten about Bangkok. Stuff has moved so quickly that I haven't had time to write it up. I'm going to save those stories for later, when my photos are uploaded and commented, since I pretty much captured the entire trip with pics. They'll be up in a bit, but it might take a while because:

I'm headed out of civilization for a while. The team I was talking to yesterday and I have reached an agreement for a 4wd trip to the countryside. Isabella, Elin, Jennifer, Ken, Gail and I have booked a 10 day tour into the Gobi desert. We have a native driver who will take us about, spending most nights with local families in their ger (yurt) camps. The situation is very above board, the arrangements are made through Bobby, who runs the guesthouse with her husband Kim. They organize several of these trips each week and have their own trusted staff of drivers on contract. In addition, they have scouted out the families and locations in which we'll be staying and can vouch for our safety and customary comfort.

Most trips end back here in Ulaan Baatar, but we've opted to end the trip in an area called the Great White Lake, several hundred kilometers west of here. Most of the other travellers on the trip are independent minded like me and didn't want to just "ride around in a car for 16 days," so we've decided to split up at White Lake, thus getting a trip through the Gobi and transportation to a good remote staging area. For me, Bobby told me about a fellow named Хишгээ (Khishgee) who runs a horse tour company out at White Lake. Apparently he and his staff speak excellent English and it should be possible for me to spend some time with him learning about the art of horsemanship, from riding the animals properly to taking care of them. Like Airlie Beach and sailing, this sounds like a unique opportunity to take advantage of the local scenery and expertise.

Of course, I've never ridden a horse for more than a day before, I might find that I don't have an appetite for it after all. No problem, there's lots of hiking and other things to be done out there. When I'm all done, I can get a ride back to UB without too much trouble.

So, here's where it gets interesting. There's internet out there, but it's unreliable and sporadic. White Lakes probably doesn't have any and I might stay there for over a week. The town near it, Tsetserleg has internet and phone service, so I should be able to provide an update in about 10 days when we arrive there. I'll hopefully know more about my plans at White Lakes by then, too. If I do decide to stay for a while in White Lakes, a periodic trip back to Tsestserleg should be possible, but I'm not sure yet.

The short of it is that I'm going to be out of contact for a while. Please don't worry about me, there's nothing dangerous out there and I'll have a good driver and friends along for the next 10 day stint. It's possible that I'll make it to Tsetserleg and White Lakes and stay a while longer and still be unable to send a message home, so don't be suprised if I don't update in 10 days. If there is an emergency, I can best be contacted through the UB Guesthouse in Ulaan Baatar. Their website has their phone number: www.ubguest.com.

So that's it. I'm heading out. I can't wait to see the night sky away from the city. I'll post again as soon as possible, maybe I can send a postcard via carrier yak.