Three days in the Gobi Desert
My visit to Mongolia (pre-trip extension for OAT’s South Korea and Japan tour) includes five nights in Ulaanbaatar and three nights in the Gobi Desert. Here’s a rundown of our Gobi adventures.
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Mongolian wrestling and a bit more
Yesterday we checked out of our hotel in Ulaanbaatar, and in the afternoon we flew to the Gobi Desert. We had plenty of time earlier in the day, and the highlight of our experience, for me, was watching some young men engage in Mongolian wrestling, one of the three “manly games.” (You’ll recall that the…
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Ulaanbaatar Day Two: Archery, Food, and Shamanism
When Eric, our trip leader, told us we would start the day yesterday with an archery experience, what I imagined turned out to be completely different from Mongolian archery. And come to think of it, little of what I’ve seen and done in Ulaanbaatar so far has failed to surprise me. I guess that is…
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Intro to Ulaanbaatar
I had a free day yesterday, so I used to to give myself an intro to Ulaanbaatar. And now I can give you an intro too! This morning I will meet the other four people who are on the Mongolia pre-trip, and we’ll begin our tour. But yesterday I was on my own. I did meet…
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GDL to MEX to NRT to UBN: I made it to Ulaanbaatar
There were times I wasn’t sure I’d get here, but I made it to Ulaanbaatar after three long travel days. Here’s a rundown of the journey.
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Using Google Gemini for Travel Planning
I have recently discovered the value of using AI for planning my upcoming trip to the Far East. I mentioned in my itinerary post how I got suggestions for certain days from Google Gemini. So I thought I’d share a little about how it worked for me.
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Next: The Far East
My next big adventure is to an area that has been beckoning for a while: The Far East. Although I visited Southeast Asia in 2024 and 2025, there is a big swath of eastern Asia I have passed over. Until now. In just one week, I leave for a two-and-a-half-month adventure to five east Asian…
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There are no must-sees!
I have a pet peeve: when people ask, “What are the must-sees in _____?” it makes me want to scream.
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Madagascar Part Eight: Baobabs and Beach
My last few days in Madagascar involved heading back down the “road” from Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park to Morondava. The long, bumpy drive included some nice encounter with baobabs, including the renownded sunset at the Avenue of the Baobabs. I already had several nice sunset experiences on this trip, including one with baobabs in…
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Madagascar Part Seven: Tsingy de Bemaraha
In my life, I’ve been to two places where I thought I might be on another planet. The first was Wadi Rum in Jordan. As I wrote at the time, the only word I could come up with to describe it was “otherworldly.” And now I have another otherworldly place that is beyond my vocabulary:…
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Madagascar Part Six: From the beach back to Antananarivo
After driving well over 1,000 kilometers, starting in Antananarivo two weeks ago, we’re back in the capital city once again. We flew from Toliara Airport in the afternoon after enjoying three leisurely days by the beach on Madagascar’s southwestern coast. Today we did some touristy things here in Antananarivo, and this is the end of…
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Madagascar Part Five: To the beach!
After almost two weeks of mostly nature and villages, constantly on the go, we arrived at the beach on Monday evening, and we’ve had two full days of relaxation. Never has that felt so good! This Madagascar beach is so pleasant! The weather has been cool and breezy, perfect for lounging around by the pool…
