We rode these camels for about 20 km. Not uncomfortable. They speak with a nasal sound similar to a whining dog.

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Every Tuesday morning at 8:05 , Train K23,the Trans-Mongolian Express, leaves Beijing Railway Station for the 30 hour journey to Ulanbataar,Mongolia. From there it is possible to connect all the way to Moscow. It is truly the way to arrive in Mongolia- to get a sense of how large,empty and remote this Central Asian nation is.

The Route.

The timetable all the way from Beijing to Moscow.

Midnight Crossing.

For adventures in Mongolia, CLICK HERE

Our final day in Mongolia was spent touring Ulanbatataar – the booming capital home to half of Mongolia’s 2.9 million people. It has the distinction of being the world’s coldest national capitol – January temperatures average close to 40 below zero ( C/F) even in the daytime. On this July day ,the temperature was pleasant – in the low 60s ( 18 C) and down to about 40 at night ( 5C ) . There is an excellent recent article in the The New York Times.

Lamasery. Beautiful ceremony inside with drums,chanting and bells – photography forbidden.

Peace !

The Communists shut down all temples and monasteries in 1922 and they did not reopen until 1992. Buddhist Life thrives once again.

The Natural History Museum has the world’s largest collection of dinosaur bones – all from Mongolia. It is currently under reconstruction.

For adventures in Mongolia, CLICK HERE

From Shanghai we flew two hours South to Guilin – the main city of GuangXi Autonomous Province. Bordering Vietnam, the area has very hot,humid summers and cool foggy winters. Above ,we journey down the Li RIver towards Yangshuo. The cone shaped karst mountains begin here and are prevalent though Northern Vietnam and into Thailand.

On the banks of the Li River in Guilin.

Guilin, at 3 million people, is considered a large town or small city by Chinese standards.

Yangshuo is considered a village, at 300,000.

The area is very fertile,with rice paddies everywhere.

Rich in all cultures.

Some of the world’s most fantastic views.

A Fish Pedicure.

In a Very Peaceful Temple.

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In a few hours we depart from Hong Kong back to MIami – via Tokyo and Dallas -completing our journey Around The World.

This is the first video upload for Mongolia. More are coming -we are finally in a hotel that has decent wifi speed. While we have a fair amount of horse riding experience,we cannot say the same for camel riding. We had a guide to take us across the trackless steppes of the Northern Gobi.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE

Guanxi Province, South China . We travelled via small bamboo boat from Guilin to Yangshuo on the Li RIver. Being on the river afforded some relief from the 102 degree heat ( 39 C ) .

Karst formations begin in South China and are prevalent in nearby Vietnam, as well as Thailand.

Incredible video will be posted in future updates.

An ancient village untouched by time – except for smartphones.

A terraced tea plantation. Excellent green and black teas were enjoyed.

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We have been in Shanghai for the past two days and just now the photo uploading is working properly. Getting here was not easy. Our connecting flight from Beijing was cancelled ( as were all flights to Shanghai ) and we had to take an overnight train. Today we leave for Guilin and the wilds of Guanxi Province,South China. Here are some random photos. ArcticTropic will catch up when we arrive in Hong Kong late next week. We have been shooting beautiful video with the GoPro, but the videos would take hours to upload on slow hotel speeds.

Lamasery Ulanbaatar.

Roadside on the way back to Ulanbataar.

At the Statue of Genghis Khan.

Boom Town Ulanbaatar.

On the Plexiglass floor 1000 feet above Pudong from the Shanghai TV Tower.

FOR ADVENTURES IN MONGOLIA, CLICK HERE