After a good night’s sleep, I showered and prepared to leave. The breakfast menu was the same as yesterday’s: dinner leftovers. Because today was a working day, and it was early in the morning, there were fewer options. There wasn’t much to choose from. I finished uploading the last files to the cloud and left in the direction of Bulgan.

The road is practically new except for about 20 km I decided to go off-road while trying to reach an area with panoramic views, according to MapsMe. It turned out to be a delight. The ground was hard compacted and mostly flat, which was a relief. I hope I have this for the rest of the adventure, but that will be unrealistic.

I stopped for a snack in the middle of nowhere.

Just a sip of water, some cookies, and a small break before continuing. I hit the road again and continued smoothly. When arriving in Erdenet, I saw a golden Buddha rising at the top of the hill. The route was taking me straight through the city but I was convinced the detour would be rewarding. I didn’t know how to get there and didn’t even bother to set it on my GPS navigator, so I took some wrong turns and dead ends before reaching it. Far from a distance, the temple seemed to be abandoned. There is a new parking lot at the entrance but the road that leads there, and the stairs up to the temple aren’t finished. I took the drone out and shot a nice picture of the Buddha overseeing the city before gearing up and continuing riding.

Bulgan wasn’t too far, so I barely stopped after that.

The road was full of Ovoos, cairns used as border markers or shrines in Mongolia. They are often found at the top of mountains and high places like mountain passes, but many are not too far from the main road. When traveling, it is customary to stop and walk around an ovoo three times in a clockwise direction to ensure a safer journey. Typically, rocks are collected from the ground and added to the pile. Additionally, offerings such as sweets, money, milk, or vodka may be left.

Not too far from Bulgan, a structure is seen that appears to be a small meeting point for ceremonies. Despite approaching it, I didn’t get any information about said construction. A large Olympic logo is erected in the center which kept me guessing. Searching the internet I discovered that there were several renowned Mongolian athletes. Could this have been used to honor their victories?

Once in Bulgan, it’s time I looked for a place to stay.

I couldn’t find anything online. Instead, I went to the first hotel MapsMe recommended, which is the same one that appears on Google Maps. A parking place was conveniently placed in front of the hotel. Beside it, is a large park. I picked up my most sensitive items such as the helmet and the cameras, and entered the hotel. The woman mopping the floor rapidly called the reception personnel when she saw me. The receptionist showed me the room’s price list. I translated the document with my phone and asked for the simplest one, a single room with a shared bathroom. There was no need for much comfort if I stayed just for one night.

However, she offered me the most expensive one. I didn’t want to be taken for a fool so I restarted the translation process to be sure. She then offered me a 20% discount, matching the price to the one I had selected. Now, I’m confused. Was this her real intention in the first place?

We’ll never know because I’ve never asked.

I was taking my things off the motorcycle when another woman approached me and said I could park it inside the property. I followed her around the building to the private yard they had behind it. Instead of parking it on the street, I would have her inside a closed shed. Once I settled in, I left for a short walking promenade to buy more food. I could tell I was now in a less touristic area because everyone looked and pointed at me. Even drunk people approached me with dubious intentions. One even followed me for about 300 m, motioning me to accompany her to an alcohol store nearby, probably to buy her something.

This country’s problem with alcohol suddenly came back to my mind.

When I was here the last time with Max, we entered a supermarket where they had most of the alcohol corridors covered. We took a small bottle to celebrate that evening from an uncovered shelf, but the cashier stopped us. We learned that on the first day of the month, they can’t sell alcohol. In addition, each region has an additional weekday when these products can’t be purchased. With that in mind, I returned to the hotel to have dinner.

The hotel’s wifi works, but it is extremely slow, and every time I enter the room the signal is lost. Two rooms down from mine four people are chatting and laughing. Luckily, the room has a double door separating the bathroom from the resting area and creating an anteroom that isolates me from the hallway’s noise.

The next day, I leave Bulgan hoping to reach Jarjorin.

There are only two hundred eighty kilometers, but I don’t think I make it today. According to the map, the first hundred and then kilometers are distributed over twenty kilometers of asphalt, and ninety kilometers offroad before returning briefly to asphalt. The first twenty passed quickly and soon I found myself looking at the next ninety. Unexpectedly, the first fifty kilometers were easy to ride on as I drove through the Valley over compacted ground. However, this wouldn’t last. I reached the mountain’s forests and the next twenty kilometers weren’t suitable for my motorcycle.

The ‘road’ turned out to be quite a complicated stretch due to the unevenness and irregularity of the terrain. As physics indicates: ‘everything that goes up must come down’. After cresting the mountain I found the descent full of gravel. While at it, I attempted to redirect the motorcycle and fell to the ground. The worst thing isn’t the fall itself, but rather having the motorcycle left perpendicular to the slope and lying in the same direction.

It is not possible to lift it without help.

I see a group of yurts in the distance with some cars parked. I’m not good enough at calculating distances by sightseeing, but it seems they are about two or four kilometers from my position. I left everything on the bike, even the cameras and the drone, and walked down. Halfway down the hill, I see a native driving one of those small motorcycles they use for herding. As he was driving in my direction, and heading towards the mountain, I waved at him and asked for help.

He takes me on his motorcycle most of the way but I have to get off when the slope starts to steepen. The terrain is cracked and it is dangerous to do it with two people on the motorcycle. Thanks to his help, the bike is quickly back on its feet. I repositioned the motorcycle facing the route I must follow before loading my stuff again. Unfortunately, a hundred meters later I fall again.

This time I’m on my own.

My savior disappeared into the woods a couple of minutes ago and it wasn’t possible to reach him anymore. I took everything off the bike and managed to stand it up myself. Slowly but surely, I went down the hill and finished without further incidents. I hoped the road would be flatter from now on, and it was for about an hour.

Everything was going more or less as expected until I topped a hill and found a destroyed road, supposedly the official route. While I’m analyzing how to get down I see that a car approaching me gets stuck. After several attempts, it seems they gave up and turned around.

On my end, I had the motorcycle in a difficult situation.

I realized too late and took the bike to a point where it was difficult to turn it around and get back on track. With a lot of effort, and having removed all the luggage, I turned it around by doing a series of forward and reverse walking, using the slope of the road. Before doing so, I had already decided to camp right there. I was exhausted from the two falls and the last stretch. I didn’t feel like I had the strength to continue exploring.

While setting up the tent, I saw the car that had turned around. It was returning from another direction, topping a different hill. As time goes by I see others doing the same thing. Maybe the solution is to go up the mountainside a little and down to the other side. With the tent set up, I explored the surroundings a little. After a while, I concluded the road was slightly better on the opposite side of the hill.

It started to rain, and the night came quickly. So did the fog. The hours go by inside the tent, and I am surprised cars ride this section without visibility. I hope to sleep despite the rain and the strong wind.