Top of the hill
I’m an early riser, and so was CSM Overway and I have an insatiable desire to always climb to the top of hills or mountains. And my battle buddy was a great friend who always indulged in my adventures. Nearby, about half a mile away from our accommodations, was a small hill topped with a Buddhist shrine. In the early morning hours we set out together for the summit with our breath easily seen in the cold morning air.
The sun was just breaking over the brown hills which still had a dusting of snow on them from the storm the day prior. I didn’t think that anyone would be up so early on this wintery day, but to my surprise there were handfuls of people about starting to ascend and descend the stairway. It felt good to walk and stretch our legs after 12 hours of bumping driving then day before.
Soon CSM CJ Overway and I were panting as we continued our climb. Every once in a while the wind would pick up and I’d shrug my shoulders and shove my already glove covered hands into the pockets of my down jacket. Man it was cold!
Panoramic view of Bayankhongor
We were rewarded at the summit with a 360 degree panoramic view of Bayankhongor and the surrounding area. What struck me the most was seeing the black smoke belch out of the smokestacks of the coal-burning power plants. The smoke hung in the cold air like a black blanket in contrast to the clear, crisp air everywhere else around it. In Mongolia I really started to appreciate the environmental protections in the United States.
After a few minutes at the top, it was time to head down and join the rest of our group. We needed to get on the road again so we could make it to Khovd before nightfall. The rest of our team was rotating through the one shared bathroom and those that didn’t have electric razors were scraping their faces with ice cold water and blades – I was one of them. Most everyone was stiff from sleeping on hard beds with 1-2 inch mattresses and used the time while sipping coffee to stretch.
Going where even Google maps doesn’t go
After a brief stop at our local Mongolian Army host headquarters for a bowl of some type of hot soup we were once again on our way. We only had an inkling of our drive based on what our escorts told us. By now we had learned that simply looking at an old fashioned map did not give us an accurate indication of the type of road we would drive on. Oh, and Google maps didn’t work because it didn’t recognize a road network to Khovd!
As we drove parts opened up to great plateaus which allowed us to see we were in a large corridor. To the south were snow covered mountains that led to the northern parts of the Gobi Desert. As we continued we saw Gers (Mongolian Yurts) scattered across the landscape and large herds of goats, sheep, and horses. I started to better understand the ideas I read about how the Mongolians were skilled herdsman and expert horseman, which built the foundations for Genghis Khans infamous cavalry.
Luckily on the second day of driving we didn’t experience the snow, dust, and wind we had the day prior. Stopping for lunch was much more pleasant and Major Scott Orr, my Operations Officer, pulled out his personal quadcopter drone and flew it around. We enjoyed looking at the video screen and comparing to what we were seeing in the distance.
Of course our lunch break seemed too quick and everyone, including our drivers and Mongolian Army escorts, reluctantly climbed back into our vehicles. We did have a few of us swap around vehicles. For instance Major Scott Orr and CSM CJ Overway swapped so Scott and I could talk about our planning efforts for the entire SFAB task force spread throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
The China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
We were relieved from the bouncing across unpaved or poorly paved roads during one particular stretch. A brand new paved road was installed by the Chinese. The new road was my first up front, and personal encounter with the tangible People Republic of China (PRC) Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) I had read so much about. Click HERE to see a short video of the paved road in the middle of nowhere Mongolia. The BRI is an ambitious infrastructure investment project by the PRC to connect the world to China.
Many Western international relations experts see it as a significant expansion of Chinese power. It is also seen as a way to leverage debt against some of China’s neighbors. For my part, I did enjoy the smooth ride in the vehicle. Though curiously it was in the middle of our drive and didn’t fully connect two specific towns or cities. Eventually, towards the end of the day I found myself staring at my phone screen watching the blue dot on my mapping function slowly creep towns our destination.
Final destination: Khovd
The sun had set by the time we hit the local military checkpoint which checked our COVID papers leading into Khovd. I was surprised to see how big the large town / small city of Khovd was. Few people were out on the streets when we arrived and checked into our hotel, which was probably the nicest place in Khovd.
Our trek across Mongolia had finally came to a close. Everyone was excited to finally arrive and we were greeted by our local Mongolian Army host warmly. Soon two of my SFAB teams would arrive to start training with the Mongolian Army.
What have you done after traveling after a long journey either by car, bus, plane or train to recover? Did you exercise, go straight to sleep, or something else? Please share your ideas below in the comments.