My family and I went with National Geographic Expeditions, it was great!!! I met some interesting characters and saw amazing sights!! It was just a life-changing experience!!
The Mongol Empire was a gigantic country ruled by the Khaan, or king. The Khaan that took control of many major trade routes and "modernized" Mongolia was Chinggis Khaan (commonly and incorrectly spelled Genghis Khaan). The Mongolians achieved this through horseback. The horse was their pay-way to conquest. Mongolians invented the stirrups which made them able to do things they couldn't have done before. This made the Mongolians a truly terrifying enemy, not to be opposed.
We went to the steppes of Gun-Galuut nature reserve for 3 day where we rode horses, went on great hikes, and took amazing pictures! We stayed in a GER, or FELT-LINED YURT!!! HHEHEHHEH!!! We also went to the Gobi desert! We saw and hiked the sand dunes, rode bactrian camels (two-humped), went to Yolyn-Am (a valley/canyon with ICE in it), and the Flaming Cliffs (one of the most important paleontological sights ever)!!! The nomads of Mongolia are extremely kind and welcoming people who take great pride in their beautiful country and are preserving it well.
It was all great fun, and to top it off, we went to the Naadam Festival!!! Naadam is an old holiday but became an official holiday as the day of the People's Revolution from communism (screw you Stalin). Naadam's main sports are the "three manly sports", which disregard what gender you are of other than wrestling, which are wrestling, archery, and horse-racing. Over the years, Naadam has come to include few other sports but the sports above are the main ideas. Below I have a few photos and I'll be posting some pics later! Hope you enjoy and consider Mongolia your next destination spot!
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