The heat struck me as I stepped out of the Chinggis Khaan airport.
A year ago I flew into Mongolia with a friend and my brother Eric, spending the majority of our two months crossing the Gobi desert with kites and three wheeled buggies. As we made our way across the barren landscape, several locals we met pointed out on our map Lake Khovsgol, telling us it was a must see. The lake was so pristine, apparently, you could see the bottom even in it's deepest sections. As we rationed our water consumption in the 35C degree heat, we dreamt of lakes and rivers, more specifically Lake Khovsgol.
So this time Eric and I return, with Ulysse and Elsa, to Mongolia for a second time, shifting our interest from the desert to waterways of Northern Mongolia and Siberia.
Once I dropped my bags off at our apartment, Ulysse and I went for a walk around Ulaanbaatar. The capital city, home to a million people, is nestled between four sacred mountains. The downtown, littered with white Soviet style buildings contrasts with the ger (Mongolian yurt) suburbia's that stretch out as far as the eye can see.
We arrived at the main street, were I stood for a moment wondering how we would ever cross. Two lanes of traffic zoomed back and forth. The cars here do not slow down for pedestrians, on the contrary they speed up! Earlier I was reassured that the speeding drivers weren't actually trying to hit you, it's there way to warn you to look out. I didn't quite believe or understand that logic. All I knew was this was by far the most dangerous part of the entire journey. But a refreshing beer awaited us on the other side of the road, so I took a deep breath and dashed across.
We sat on the patio watching the world cup soccer match. It was nice to be back in Mongolia.
By Sarah McNair-Landry
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