Author: Traveling Rockhopper

“You don’t go to Mongolia because of food” – that’s what I read before visiting Mongolia. I don’t remember where I saw this sentence, but I remember the moment when I understood the meaning of it… 😉

To be fair – maybe, I’m not the best person for talking about food; I’m a bit picky… And I don’t eat meat – that’s something extra weird for many Mongolians.

In general, Mongolian diet is based on animal products. We can distinguish “white” and “red” food.
-“White” food consists of dairy products (often made of fermented milk) and it’s eaten in summer.
-“Red” food means simply meat, and it’s the main source of energy in winter.

Just one warning; if you visit a nomadic family, it’s very likely you’ll get some diary products made of fermented milk. They are healthy, but if you’re not use to them, your stomach may get upset…

Traditional Mongolian clothes are very nice, unfortunately mostly older people wear them.
As you can see in today’s picture – the older man is wearing beautiful clothes (Deel) with an interesting belt; a young one is wearing just jeans and a T-shirt.

Each ethnic group in Mongolia has their own traditional clothes. There are different clothes for men and women, some special ones for summer or winter, etc. I heard that the most unique are traditional Mongolians head wear; apparently they have hundreds kinds of hats!

If you want to see different traditional Mongolian clothes – visit Mongolia during one of the bigger festivals, e.g., Naadam festival (later, I’ll tell you more about this event).

Mongolia is an empty country, well, almost empty. 😉
There are about 3 million people living in Mongolia, and 40% of the total population lives in the capital!

Typical Mongolian family is quite big. Usually, Mongolians have at least four children.
When I was in Mongolia, I saw many young pregnant women, as well as women with small children.

The majority of Mongolian people belong to Khalkha Mongols and Kazakhs.
However, there are many ethnic groups living in Mongolia, often having a nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyle.
If you have a chance, talk with Mongolians or spend some time with nomads – it can be a very interesting experience!

In the 16th century, the Yellow Hat Buddhism came to Mongolia from Tibet. These days, Mongolians are mostly Buddhists, however Mongolian Buddhism is different from Tibetan one.

Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia.
Russian is known by many.

What about English?
I guess, Mongolians learn English; but in general, don’t expect that a random person can understand English. Even your “English-speaking” guide may not understand you so well; he may speak English and be able to explain you a lot in English, but he often uses sentences learnt by heart.

Mongolia has a continental climate with extreme low temperatures in winter (up to -40°C or even lower) and extremely high temperatures in summer (up to +40°C). Of course, the weather varies a bit from region to region.

So when is the best time to visit Mongolia?
I was there in August and it was great. However, July seems to be the great period because of the Naadam Festival; on the other hand it may be too warm for enjoying the Gobi desert.

Mongolia is called as the “Land of Blue Skies”.
There are apparently about 250 sunny days a year.

I’m not so sure is it true. Anyway, the name is nice. 🙂

Do you know what Mongolia has in common with the Great Wall of China?
The Great Wall was built because of Mongolians; well, kind of.
The Great Wall was built to protect China from the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe, e.g., from Mongolia.

p.s. Today’s picture shows the Gobi Desert; it’s not the Great Wall of China.

Mongolia shares their boarders with only two countries, i.e., Russia and China.
And this affects many aspects of Mongolia.
Apparently, Mongolians don’t like so much China; Russia is definitely the favorite neighbor.

Welcome in August on my blog.
This month, I’m taking you to Mongolia.

Have you been to Mongolia?
I only spent in Mongolia about a week, and mostly explored just one region. However, I think, I was lucky to see one of the best sites of Mongolia. Hopefully, you’ll agree with this sentence after seeing my pictures in August. 🙂
Well, there are many beautiful places in Mongolia, but the Gobi desert stole my heart. 🙂

A “South African month” on my blog is almost over.
How did you like it?
Would you like to visit South Africa?

South Africa is a large country and there are still many great regions I didn’t have time to visit (e.g., famous Kruger National Park), hopefully, one day…

And tomorrow, a new adventure will start. 🙂
Stay tuned!

Of course, it’s not a pigeon in today’s picture. Just, this name came to my mind, while waiting for lunch and observing these cute yellow birds. Like pigeons are so common in many places in the world, in that area, I saw plenty of these birds flying between tables, trying to steal some food or begging for leftovers. For me, all pigeons could look like that. 😀

p.s. Who knows the name of this cutie?
EDIT – Thank you for telling me the name of the bird, it’s a Cape weaver bird! 🙂

West Coast National Park is another place worth visiting, especially when you stay in nearby Cape Town.
West Coast is a very nice area, with many hiking paths, as well as cycling options, bird watching etc. Doing “nothing” is also possible here. 😉

The Camdeboo National Park is located in the Karoo area, nearby the town of Graaff-Reinet.
And both, the park and the city – are tourist attractions.

The Camdeboo National Park is the most famous from the Valley of Desolation (seen in today’s picture).

And, Graaff-Reinet is one of the oldest cities in South Africa. It was founded by the Dutch East India Company and named after the wife of governor of Cape Colony – Reinet van de Graaff.
p.s. Don’t miss the Dutch Reformed Church in Graaff-Reinet.

I remember well entering the Karoo National Park. The friendly older ranger greeted us and told us basic information about the park. I liked a lot the picture of a colorful lizard that he showed us so I really wanted to spot it in the park. And we were lucky, so here it is – in today’s photo. 🙂 I know, it’s not a lion… 😉

The Karoo National Park is a wildlife reserve in the Great Karoo.
Some of the animals you may find in the Karoo National Park are:
-springbok
-greater kudu
-gemsbok
-zebra
-buffalo
-red hartebeest
-jackal
-rhinoceros
-eagles
and many more.

If you like observing birds – South Africa is for you.
I saw many kinds of birds in South Africa, big and small ones, raptors, flamingos, penguins, ostrich, etc.

For the first time in my life, I met there a beautiful African spoonbill (today’s photo).
There are a few kinds of spoonbills living in different places in the world. All of them have large, flat bills – what makes them look very unique and kind of cute. 🙂

Have you ever seen a spoonbill, or maybe they live in your area?

The Garden Route National Park is another area I had a chance to visit in South Africa.
It consists of a few beautiful parks, like the Knysna National Lake Area, Tsitsikamma National Park, Wilderness National Park, Soetkraal Wilderness and Conservation Area, and the Robberg and Goukamma Nature Reserves.

Is it worth visiting?
-Absolutely!
(It’s not a “wild Africa”, but it’s a truly lovely area!)

Zebras are very common animals in Africa; because of that, many people are not so impressed by seeing them. However, I love their pattern and I’m excited, each time while seeing them.
Aren’t “painted horses” adorable? 😀