Archive for August, 2004


Back in UB

By steve on August 27th, 2004

We’re back in Ulaan Baatar! We have officially survived our 18-day road trip — now let’s see if we can make it back to Seattle.
18 days of squatting over pots and pans finally caught up to Kate this morning and she threw out her back while washing the breakfast dishes. A pharmacy gave […]

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Bayankongor

By steve on August 22nd, 2004

We’re now in Bayonkongor, a provincial capital in the south-central part of the country. We’re got 5 days left on our big Mongolian road trip.
Health-wise, we’re all feeling pretty good. Just a few sniffles going around, and that’s it. I’ve recovered from all my previous ailments.
Two nights ago we spent a […]

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Update to the update

By steve on August 18th, 2004

Steve here. When we told the guides our plan to skip Mt. Ot, they got very sulky. Neither had been there before and they were disappointed to have driven 1500km and not go the last 40. So Kate and I had a private pow-wow and decided that they should go. So today […]

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Quick Mongolia update

By kate on August 18th, 2004

Very quickly… Steve’s stomach bug went away, possibly with the help of some cipro that we were kindly given by a fellow traveller. He is, however, suffering from some altitude sickness so he’s not up to par yet. I’m still doing OK (but for a minor cold) so I can take care of him.
We’re near […]

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Hello from Moron

By kate on August 15th, 2004

Yes, we’re currently in a town called Moron… but don’t laugh, it means “river” and is pronounced “Murun”.
Unfortunately, Steve got a nasty bug and got sick in the middle of last night. He hardly got any sleep and threw up several times. Instead of a long day of driving, we drove 2.5 hours to Moron […]

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Leaving UB

By steve on August 9th, 2004

Well, all the details are set and we’ll be heading out of the capital in a few hours.  We’ve hired a guide, Tsogo, who is 23 years old and teaches English at the University.  He’s a bit shy and has only been working as a guide for a few months, but we get along well.  […]

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Greetings from Ulaan Baator

By kate on August 8th, 2004

We made it to Mongolia! It’s been something we’ve been dreaming about for years, so it’s exciting just to be here.
The 30+ hour train ride was actually very nice. We had our own cabin, with two bench-type seats that also served as beds. No AC, but with the breeze blowing in the window, it was […]

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Beijing!

By steve on August 5th, 2004

Hello everyone! Today is our last day in Beijing before we take the train north to Mongolia. I’m feeling a little under the weather today — probably too much Peking Duck last night — but still trying to put in a full day of shopping. Need to bulk up on groceries for […]

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Greetings from Beijing

By kate on August 4th, 2004

Just a quick hello to let you know we arrived safely in Beijing yesterday evening. Our hotel is quite nice.
Today, we spent the day walking around and saw Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City / Palace Museum. We discovered a cool park near the Forbidden City that had three pagodas on top of a hill […]

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We’re off!

By kate on August 2nd, 2004

If you didn’t already know, Steve and I are leaving for Mongolia tomorrow. We’ll be gone the entire month of August, so if I am not so responsive on the email front, that would be why.
And please, nobody else ask me why we chose to go there. I’ll have a better answer when I get […]

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