It may happen that you start traveling in summer and, unintended, are not yet back in winter. Because there was no room in your 70-liter backpack for the thick down jacket, you will just stand there, clueless and freezing. The purchase of winter clothing can be fatal for a small travel budget. In this situation, [...]
Start with the door ...
Life Tip: Drinking beer at seven in the morning might be a good idea when you are 20. At 30 this is not such a good idea. The hung over will occur right around lunch time and stay for the rest of the day. Some people say you just need to continue drinking, but this [...]
If you are traveling with a Mongolian man, it may happen that he turns the car off the road and drives straight into the steppe. "A shortcut maybe," you think and stay quiet. Then he stops at several yurts and seems to ask the farmers for directions. At that point, you start to wonder what [...]
The first time we stop because the gear chain is loose. I climb off the motorbike, Basa does, too. He sits down behind the bike and pulls a wrench from his Deel, the traditional Mongolian coat. The colorful garment has no pockets, just a fabric belt that's wrapped around the waist. Basa keeps the tools [...]
When Orkhon said, the way to the mineral springs would be difficult, he was not exaggerating. The term "rough terrain" has never been a better fit. We are in the mountains around the Tsagaan Nuur, the "White Lake" in the Arkhangai province, central Mongolia. Orkhon is the mountain guide of a three-day [...]
The first horse I come across in Mongolia is lying on my plate. Oogi's sister has cooked a big lunch during the camping trip. Although it tasted good, eating horses was not the purpose of the trip. Actually, I wanted to sit on them, not chew on them. Apart from this, Ulan [...]
"You want to travel all alone? Wow, you are so brave. - That's what they said at home," says Johanna. Ruoyin and I are laughing: "Same here." The three of us met on the bus to Olkhon. This is the island in Lake Baikal - a hot tip by Sasha, my "couch [...]
Our train stewardess is holding two bags under my nose, one has black instant coffee, the other one has coffee with milk powder and sugar. "With milk, but no sugar," I say in English. She looks at me confused. No one seems to order such a thing. She takes the initiative and [...]
The driver repeats her sentence in Russian for the fifth time, I repeat mine in English for the fifth time: "How much does it cost to Yaroslavsky Station?" We don't understand each other. By her tone, I realize that she is getting angry. She opens the door and points her finger outside. This is how I get thrown out of a Moscow street car. "You can't get far with English in Russia", I heard this before. How bad it really is, however, you can only feel when you're actually there. Whether it's the street car driver, the cashier at the supermarket, the kiosk person or train station staff, they all speak Russian and Russian only. Somehow you can make it work anyway, you just shouldn't be under time [...]