Imagine a land without fences. A land where the vastness of the rolling steppes and their multi coloured green patchwork stretches for miles and miles in front of you. A land where the little dot on the landscape is a man and his horse. A land where the sun sets at 10pm, in the most vivid, vibrant colours; the sky on fire in a fury of orange and red, set against the wispy cloud. Where you can reach out and touch the canopy of glorious, glowing stars. More stars than you can ever dream about. The air is fresh and pure; the water is clean and cold; and you can see for further that you've ever been able to see before. Imagine Mongolia.

Mongolia has always had a romantic and chequered history. By 1280 ad Genghis Khan had conquered every village from Moscow to Arabia; and Karakorum (the ancient Mongolian capital) to Hong Kong. When the Em­pire collapsed the invaders became the invaded. First came the Manchurians; and when they left, the Red Russians followed. The Soviets finally walked out of Mongolia, but they left their mark on the Mongolian psyche.

Mongolia may be three times the size of France, but it only has a population 2.3 million people, a third of whom are in the Capital, Ulan Baatar. Most im­portantly for the adventure traveller, in 2000 Mongolia had a little over 34,000 tourists. Mongolia's isolation means that people are reluctant to make the dif­ficult journey to the steppes and the des­ert. The result is a land of undisturbed natural beauty.

ULAAN BAATAR

Ulaan Baatar's (UB) neat little airport was renovated a couple of years ago. Once you arrive in UB you realise that the scars of the Soviet years run deep. All writing is in the Soviet Cyrillic script, imposed in 1944; and many of the buildings are ugly Soviet blocks. Perhaps the worst scars are the two huge chimneystacks that dump thick smoke around the capital. Luckily these are the only blots on what turns out to be a charming city.

You can visit most things of interest in UB in a day. By far the best things to do are visit The Winter Palace, a collection of Mongolian artefacts. The Gandantegchinlen Khilid (bet­ter known as the Gandan Monastery) sits neatly above UB; it boasts one of the tallest Buddha's in the world. For the best view of UB, go to the Zaisan Memorial. The memorial, Russian built in commemoration of fallen comrades, is now run down, but the view from the monument is magnificent, and let's you see all of UB in one swoop.

The short summer brings out the best in UB. The markets quickly fill with vegetables, and other produce. Seats are placed outside every bar and restaurant. Bizarrely, pool tables are brought out on to the streets, for budding pool sharks to bask in the sun. The more wealthy Mongolians metamorphose in to a nation of campers, and head for the countryside with their tents. We decided to head out with them.

THE COUNTRY

We hit the road, and head South West for Mongol Els, the sand dune in the middle of nowhere. Once you leave UB the vast­ness of Mongolia, the never ending landscape, swallows you up; everything is a shade of green sprinkled with little white dots that signify Ger's, the traditional Mongolian home, and in various locations our home for the next five days.

Mongol Els stretches for miles, a scar scraping across the con­stant sea of rolling green. If you are lucky you will see the jack­als and deer that make the scrubland of the dune their home. We were less lucky, but that night we saw the most amazing sunset we've ever seen; an explosion of red and yellow.

We headed on to the ancient capitol of Karakhorum. We found Erdene Zhu Khiid, the temple of a hundred treasures, which was founded in 1566, and is still a working monastery. Just beyond Karakhorum, the tarmac road runs out. From here on it's, with the small exception of a few miles either side of Tsetserleg it's a dirt track for the next fifteen hours of our journey. The ride is a slow mov­ing roller coaster. Tsetserleg is one of Mongolia major towns; it looked like a scene in western movie about the building of the railroad. We passed it by in 15 minutes. Our destination was Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur, or Great White Lake, a vast expanse of fresh water teaming with fish in the middle of nowhere.

One of the most pleasant surprises on our trip was the standard of the Ger camps. All were immaculate, and the settings could not have been more spectacular. The food was great, the people warm and friendly, and the beer cold. The ger's are extremely comfortable; they are made to keep a family, including its animals, warm through some of the most inhos­pitable conditions known to man. Once you light the fire in the centre of the tent, you understand why. Warmth radiates through the ger, and within moments you are as warm as could be. The best of the camps we stayed at was in an idyllic setting, at Great White Lake.

The camp was tucked in to the side of a hill protecting both the camp on one side, and the lake on the other. A short walk away was a path leading up the hill; on top a superb view of Great White Lake, surrounded by mountains on all sides. The biggest surprise? Seagulls squawking, thousands of miles from their natural habitat by the sea. Once you tire of the majesty of the lake you can climb the extinct volcano a mile or so away. Looking in to the crater is like looking in to the mouth of a dragon.

On our way back we again passed though Karakhorum. This time the hills were dotted with tents, and camper vans. Every room and ger in Karakhorum was full to bursting as the town hosted a Naadaam, the traditonal Mongolian festival of ar­chery, wrestling and horse racing. One visiting local explained that this Naadaam featured the best horses in Mongolia racing over distances of 20 miles or more. Stirring stuff for an amaz­ing country.

We left UB the next day, but we vowed to come back to Mon­golia, the land where your imagination runs wild like the hors­es at Naadaam.

THE BEST TIME TO VISIT

For eight months of the year Mongolia faces sub zero tem­peratures fuelled by the Siberian wind. The summer months between June and September are however pleasant and tem­perature can reach 30c+. It will however get cold at night, and remember that it can suddenly snow at any time of year.

GETTING THERE

Both MIAT, the Mongolian State Airline, and China Air fly from Beijing to UB. The daily flight takes 90 minutes and costs a rather hefty US$250 one way. The other way to travel is to get the train from Beijing to UB. Frequency, type of train, and prices vary depending on the time of year. The journey takes around 24 hours.

USEFUL STUFF

The Mongolian currency is the Togrog (referred to as "T's"). One thousand Togrog is worth US$1.10 Dollars and Togrog are exchanged in equal measure, and dollars are readily ac­ceptable almost everywhere.

If you are only visiting Mongolia for a short time, you will need a good travel agent to help you plan your trip. There are many agents, but essentially you get what you pay for. We used Karakorum Expeditions. Contact Graham at Tel/fax: 00 976 11 315 655, or e mail at: info@gomongolia.com You can get more information at their web site:- www.gomongolia.com

Karakorum expeditions will tailor a trip to suit your budget and time in Mongolia.

- Douglas Barrett