Mörön – Lake Hövsgöl Nuur

25th June 2014       12-25’C       166km
Mörön – Hatgal – Lake Khovsgol

After the huge day riding yesterday, I had a bit of a lazy morning, waking up at 7am.  The hotel didn’t serve breakfast until 9am so I took a short walk around town to kill some time.  It seems in Mongolia that nothing happens in the morning until 9 or 10am, one hotel I stayed at didn’t serve breakfast until 10!  Maybe this is due to the winter darkness and carries on into the summer.
On the way back to the hotel I met two Russian guys in a fully kitted out Suzuki Jimmy 4WD, so took the time to ask them about road conditions heading towards Russia.  Alex is a National Geographic photographer, and they were driving through Mongolia photographing the magnificent scenery.  They showed me photos of a road where they had broken an axle, the road was so bad they needed a truck to get them out.  I made a note to avoid that road.  Alex also told me that Mongolian vodka is excellent, and he  even claimed it was better than Russian vodka. They were drinking a bottle of ‘Chinggis Vodka’ each night.  For a Russian to say that Mongolian vodka is better than Russian vodka is a big statement, and I made a further mental note to buy a small bottle of ‘Chinggis Vodka’ at the next store.

I had some administration to do this morning, updating the blog and sorting photos as well as sending emails to organise “letters of invitation” for the ‘Stans’ visas, so by the time I had packed the bike, cleaned the chain and bought fuel, it was midday already.  Fortunately I only had about 100km to ride to reach Hövsgöl Nuur, and the road was excellent, new tar.  What the Russians call “Mongolian Freeway”

I was cruising along at about 90km/h when a small boy jumped up from the side of the road and waved at me to stop.  I did, and found a girl with a motorbike, the rear wheel removed, down in the dirt beside the road.  I jumped off and she showed me the tube, which had a number of holes in it.  She didn’t speak English, but using sign language, she indicated her need for a patch, showing me the largest hole in the tube.  I told her I had patches, and both she and the boy looked relieved when I pulled out my tools and patched the tube.  I don’t know how long they had been there.  I was about to start putting the wheel back together when a young guy appeared.  He must have been her boyfriend, and had gone off looking for help.  I looked around and the closest ger was at least 4-5km away, it appeared he’d run across the steppe to there and back, but they didn’t have patches either.  I helped him put the wheel back on the bike and took a few photos before saying goodbye.  Only then the girl said, in perfect English “Thank you”
In the process of fixing their tyre, I discovered that one of my tubes of rubber cement was hard and the other one was now half empty after fixing their tyre.  I’ll need to pick up another tube somewhere or be caught out like these three in the middle of nowhere.

I rode on to Hatgal and bought my park entry permit from the camouflaged ranger at the gate, and snapped a photo together.

It was now 2pm so in Hatgal I had a quick lunch of soup and khuushuur, but the kushguur was a bit oily (they always are)  Kushguur are large fried dumplings, stuffed with beef and mutton, they are good, but oil sponges.  Mongolians love them, especially as you can pack them for a snack when traveling.

Needing a few supplies for camping, I visited four different stores before I was able to buy everything I wanted.  Water, Chinggis vodka, fishing gear, biscuits, fruit, and surprisingly I spotted a puncture repair kit in a store! No one knew what it was, but they sold it to me happily, restoring my supply of rubber cement in case of further punctures.
Heading out of town, I discovered I was on the wrong road. I stopped and asked for directions and a guy signaled that I should go over the next hill and turn right. I did that, but it was also not the correct road.  I drove around the town 3 times trying to find the road, and pulled into a petrol station to ask. The lady there indicated I had to go ‘around’ the mountain, but I’d been riding around the mountain three times already.  Even with three different maps of Mongolia and a GPS I still couldn’t find the road in a town that only had three roads leading in or out of it!  Finally I locked onto a rough track that headed the right way, and met with the correct road, but I’d lost 2hrs cutting laps around town and the visiting all the stores.

An hour later, after passing over the ridge, I reached the shore of Hövsgöl Nuur, and the magnificent clear blue water.  I explored for a wilderness campsite for about twenty minutes, and settled on a small clearing by the lake where someone had camped previously and left some firewood for me. After setting up the tent, I cooked beef stroganoff for dinner, washed down with the small bottle of Chinggis vodka I’d bought earlier.  I had a quick, and icy cold wash in the lake. The lake freezes over to a depth of 2M in winter, and it was still very cold. I lit a fire as I watched the sun setting over one of the world’s significant bodies of fresh water.  It is very beautiful here.

If you’ve ever heard of the vicious Siberian mosquitoes, I can confirm that they are savages. Their ability and aggressive desire to suck my blood, puts Dracula to shame.  They even try to bite through Goretex and leather.  I’d heard that burning yak or cow dung sends the mosquitoes elsewhere, and there was plenty of yak dung around, so I collected a few “patties” and threw them on the fire. The first couple burnt well, but the last one must have been a bit damp and just produced acrid smoke, and I had to kick it off the fire. I’m not sure if it was the smouldering turd that did it, or just that the sun had fully set, but the mosquitoes disappeared and I enjoyed the rest of the evening in peace, with the sound of the water lapping on the stones.

I climbed into my sleeping bag, draping my riding jacket over my feet, and wearing thermals and a beanie.  It is quite cold, but the view out the front door is simply brilliant.  I dozed off to the sound of geese and wild ducks calling out in the night.