The next morning I wished Axel good luck as he headed off into Mongolia and I headed, with immense relief, to the border. I never wanted to get out of a country more. To leave it all behind.

I resolved that China was going to be a new start for me. Mongolia had become something so terrible.

My opinion was, of course, greatly influenced by the accident. The truth is Mongolia wasn't all bad. I really enjoyed the remoteness of it. I actually loved some of the unpaved bits the best, when I was struggling along on the tracks, trying to find my way, it was a real adventure. But it was kind of the case that I liked Mongolia a lot more than I liked Mongolians.

Some of them were very nice of course, a lot of them were friendly, same as anywhere. That being said I felt most of the people who stopped to talk to me were doing it more for their own entertainment than out of any genuine goodness. And then there were the stories from other travelers being robbed. And then, of course, there was the vodka alcoholism. It's a huge problem which for most of my time in Mongolia seemed simply to be a bit sad and pathetic, until it became so overwhelmingly tragic.

As I came to the border I resolved to try and forget it and leave it all behind me. All I would take from this country was the reminder that life is a valuable and precious gift that should never be taken for granted, that I should strive to live to the full.

Overall, would I recommend Mongolia as a good place to ride a bicycle? No, not really.

Heart

4

Comment

0

Link

Log in to comment or reply