welcome to China!

Back to Beijing again; haven’t been to China in 8 years.  Right off the bat, I can see that one thing has not changed, whoa!  Can you say air pollution?  Take a look at the shot above from just above Beijing airport.  The Chinese air pollution is just bad bad bad!  But, my visit to Beijing is short – only passing through on my way from Ulaanbatar to Xian, China.

Just like in Mongolia, the fear of swine flu was at full alarm.  At arrival I see H1N1 stations with cameras to capture the temperature of everyone’s face  – anyone with an abnormal temperature was secluded and screened for H1N1.

China is spending a fortune on infrastructure with new airports going up all over.  The existing airports are being retrofitted with the latest technology.  America needs to wake up and realize that we are on a downward (economic) slide; we (Americans) have no clue how much the rest of the world is spending on infrastructure.  China is spending billions to upgrade their roads, bridges, airports, railroads, docks, and industry.  Every airport that I visited in China had (or was installing) the latest technology – flat screen television screens were more common than not.  And get this – their planes actually take off at the departure time – yes, I mean if the departure time is noon, the plane is IN THE AIR at 11:59.  Don’t be late, the plane is taxiing 10 minutes before the departure time.

The Chinese are spending the kind of money that the US spent during the Roosevelt years.  In a decade or two the Chinese will pass us in GDP.  Of course, their environment is taking a toll…

On my flight to Xian I took a few shots.  Many racked out on empty seats to catch some shut-eye.

As part of the pre-movie programming, we were treated to a wonderful military parade and review put on by “team Beijing.”  The 20 minute program was quite impressive.  All of the troops marched smartly (no one was out of step) somewhat akin to the North Koreans.  The review included tanks, trucks, jeeps, radars, rockets, and big huge missiles that looked quite ominous.  I thought that there must be some military memorial or holiday (the next day I would see military parades and reviews in Xian).

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again; American based airlines suck!  I really wish that more Americans travelled.  Then we would realize how bad Delta, Northwest, American, and United are.  They really suck bad.  Their staff have a bad attitude, their service sucks, they charge for bags, and they don’t even feed you!  Airlines around the world cost less, don’t charge for bags, give you food (and booze), movies, and treat you like you’re a customer and not a burden.  And get this, you don’t have to check yourself in at some kiosk machine – you are checked in by a real human.  Not only do you have to check yourself in now, the airlines encourage you to “pre-board” and print your own pass.  Don’t be surprised if you show up to the airport and have to pay a $10 “forgot your pre-printed” boarding pass fee.

I think we should all refuse to use the kiosk machines and print our own passes.  American airline carriers really do suck…

My flight from Beijing to Xian was only an hour or two and we had 3 (three) drink service rounds – the same number that United offered on a 14 hour Shanghai to San Francisco flight.

I decided to try the local cuisine.  In this case, some pork inside of a roll.  It was really good.

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drive to Altai Village

We finally were on our way.  There are only a few paved roads in Ulgi and outside town every road is a dirt road.  The roads were not too bad but with a fresh layer of snow and ice we only travelled at about 40-50 kph (25-35 mph).  As we climbed the road away from Ulgi, the mountains came up around us and were beautifully speckled in white snow.

About a 1/2 hour drive out of town we came to a quarantine check point.  Inside the small booth were some policemen and some health officials who examined our border permit and asked some medical questions to make sure that we were not carrying H1N1 flu virus.  After a brief stop and nature call, we were once again on our way.  I took the opportunity to shoot a pic of our Scooby-Doo mobile with the light smog of Ulgi in the background valley.

Even with the heater on, my feet were cold.  The knock off boots I bought were not insulating my feet well enough.  Later I remedied this problem by buying some Mongolian made leather snow boots.  As cold as it was inside the truck, I was amazed to see people walking to and from their flocks or farm houses.

I was very impressed with the striking colors; the contrast from the red or brown mountains, the white snow, the dried yellow grass, and grey, blue, green, and red rocks.  The entire car ride was a feast of color for the eyes.  As good as the photos may look, they did not come close to how beautiful the scenery looked to the naked eye.  And then there were the animals; yaks, cows, camels, sheep, goats, and horses.  The animals added a nice contrast to the color view and were entertaining to watch – especially the sheep as they ran for cover as we drove by:

This video has been moved to: http://www.scotttraveler.com/2009/11/08/drive-to-altai-village/

Most of the streams and lakes were partially frozen adding a beautiful look to the semi-Winter landscape.  Some of the mountains were red and others were brown, it seemed that the colors changed about every 10 miles.  I tried to capture photos that showed the wonderful color contrasts.

 

About 1/2 way through our journey I saw my first Mongolian horse rider.  He looked like a cowboy riding across Wyoming.

We passed herd after herd of sheep and goats…

Here, we had just cleared the mountain pass and began driving down the south side.

On the south side of the mountains surrounding Ulgi we were treated to a beautiful river view for 30 or 40 miles.  The roads were bumpy and rough, we never went too fast, especially in the snowy & icy conditions.

We spotted a lone motorcycle coming towards us; it was the first people we had seen in 2 hours.  I was surprised to see that the person on the back of the motorcycle was carrying a satellite dish on his back.

We passed one Kazakh village, it was hard to believe how people could live in such a remote area.  Water is drawn from a common well and solar power cells and (car) batteries are common.

We crossed dozens of bridges as the road crisscrossed the river in the river valley.  This was the largest of the bridges and Bataar called it the “Golden Gate Bridge.”

As we neared closer to Altai Village, some of the rock formations turned a deep marble blue and were a beautiful color contrast to the yellowing grass in the river valley.

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flight to Ulgi

Often, the Mongolian children are very curious about westerners.  This is especially true outside of the “tourist” areas  where children are less likely to see European descended people.  This child stared at me for quite a while – long enough that I was able to get my gloves off, my camera out and powered, and to shoot this photo.  Later, when I looked at this photo, it seemed to highlight the “crisis” in Mongolia right now.  The Swine Flu scare has spread across the country and some Mongolian people are genuinely frightened.  Many wear masks as this child does in an attempt to avoid the new strain of flu.

Once outside and about to board the our Saab turbo-prop plane to Ulgi, Baatar (my guide) and I shot pics of each other on the Tarmac.  The temperature was -20C (-4F).  Taking off the hat for the photo was painful for me, Baatar didn’t seem to mind.

On climbout, I was able to get a good view of the capital, Ulaanbaatar.  On the periphery of the city, residential development continues at a frantic pace as the countryside is deserted and rural people move to the capital in search of a better life.  About 10% of the population each year moves to Ulaanbaatar and at the current rate, the entire country will be empty in a decade.  The population of Ulaanbaatar has doubled in the last decade.  The outskirts of the city grow each month as pastoral nomads move and then set up their ger (round felt tent house) on the edge of the city.

As we reach the edge of the city and the mountains that surround it, I was able to see the layer of smog that lingers in the air during the cold Autumn and Winter months. 

Outside of the city I realized how big, vast, and how mountainous Mongolia is.  There are about 100 animals for every human in Mongolia, the horse to human ratio is 13:1.

Our airline, ez-nis shines in comparison to American carriers.  Great meal, lots of drinks and snacks, friendly crew, and they were on time.  Our stewardess was very friendly and helpful.  By government regulation, she was wearing her Swine Flu mask.

At the halfway point to Ulgi, we had a scheduled stop in Donoi where some passengers departed and we delivered mail and some cargo.  The long walk to the outhouse was a popular destination during the layover.  The plane took on fuel and we were again on our way…

As we approached Ulgi I noticed that the area was quite mountainous.  Fresh snow-covered everything and the view was quite stunning.

On final approach to Bayan Ulgi airport, I was able to see the town and shoot some photos.  The large chunks of ice that slowly drifted down the river reminded me of how cold it would be.

On arrival at Ulgi I was impressed at how pretty the mountains where.  Baatar shot a photo of me in front of our Saab airplane as we waited for the luggage to be offloaded.

 

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