Camps in the 13th Century National Park

Posted on September 15, 2008 by admin

Technorati Tags: 13th century national Park,camps,mongolia culture,travel mongolia,discover mongolia,craftsmen,herder,shaman,king palace,horse riding,Mongolian feast.

In the 13th Century Park, u may find the various camp at different site. Unfortunately, there are no sign board and it’s not easy for a foreigners to find these camps without a guide unless u can recognise the mountains in the country side.

U can find these camps in the 13th Century Park:

i) Craftsmen Camp – Mongolian blacksmiths and the craftsmen work were quite popular in the 13th Century. In the craftsmen camp, you will see the craftsmen artwork such as household utensils, women’s ornaments, jewelry, arms and tools etc.

ii) Educational Camp – U will be able to know something about the unique mongolian culture & literacy. Tourists are offered to practise Mongolian calligraphy and the Mongolian scripts.

iii) Herders Camp – U can see the methods of producing dairy products, horse training and you may experience riding horse, yak and camel as an experience of the 13th Century.

iv) Shaman camp – The Shamans of Mongolians from different clans will usually gather around fireplace under one common area and perform a ritual to worship together for one common deed. Sometimes, several kinds of worshipping will be organised for visitors.

v) King Palace – You will get to know about the state affairs of 13th Century Mongols such as declaring the laws by carrying a great forum outside the camp. There will also be some reception programs offered to visitors such as a musical presentation with their traditional music instruments. U may also enjoy the King’s Great Feast in this camp.

Back to 13th Century National ParK

Posted on August 31, 2008 by admin

Technorati Tags: 13th century Park,mongolia,relay camp,chinggis Khan,costume,discover mongolia,places of attraction

After the Chinggis Khan Statue Complex, we proceed to the first stop of the 13th Century Park. – The Relay Station

Have u ever wonder how would be the Chinggis Khan Ruling be? How does it like to be back to 13th Century? I think that’s part of the reasons that this 13th Century Park was built to make visitors to experience the 13th Century Ruling…

After the Chinggis Khan Complex, my friend and I proceed to the first stop of the 13th Century National Park – The Relay station

How to get there? It is quite difficult for me to explain to you how to get there as Mongolia country side has no signboard or landmark. To the mongolian, every mountain is different but to the foreigners, it will be difficult to differentiate it. It is not easy to travel around the country side of Mongolia. In addition to that, if u do not know mongolian language, that will be quite difficult to ask for direction. Anyway, I will suggest u to arrange a ground tour in UB.

You should be able to see two guards riding a horse at the entrance of The Relay station. Some of the pictures below were taken inside the Relay station.

U may see some traditional warrior costumes in the relay camp, some symbolic of the flag of the Prime Minister and Defense minister.

U can try on some traditional costume to pose as a warrior of the 13th Century. The traditional costume are quite heavy and the 3 teenage children are trying to pose for the best shot.Poor boys!(3rd from Last pictures) Do u think my friend, Sarmed looks like Chinggis Khan? (the last two pictures of the this column)

Genghis Khan(Chinggis Khan) Statue in Mongolia

Posted on August 5, 2008 by admin

Technorati Tags: Chinggis Khan Statue Complex,Ulaabaatar,ulan bator,Genghis Khan

Technorati Tags: 13th century Park,Tuul River

All i know about Mongolia is only Genghis Khan and cold weather when i came here. Genghis Khan(Chinggis Khan) is the Hero of Mongolia. People may not know what is happening in Mongolia but certainly know what has the Hero of Mongolia has done in the past. He managed to unite many of the nomadic tribes of northeast asia and formed the Mongol Empire. He also invaded East & Central Asia. During his life, the Mongol Empire eventually occupied most of Asia.
Our first stop is the Chinggis Khan Statue Complex which is still under construction. It is located 54km from Ulaanbaatar, surrounded by beautiful natural scenry on the bank of Tuul River. It is 40m high from surface with a 10m high foundations.
The statue reflects his courage and power of Genghis Khan. It holds a golden whip on his right hand riding a horse. Though it is not complete construction yet, we managed to get in and have a view of the surroundings from the top. Visitors will be able to walk to the head of the horse through chest and back of the horse. Visitors too can capture panoramic view around the complex. Recreation area, restaurants and souvenir shops, conference hall are planned to be built inside the complex. Some ger gamp surrounding the complex is also under construction. Ger camp which will be built and arranged like the pattern of horse seal which were used by the 13th Century Mongol Tribes.
Besides that, there are also 100 trees that were grown before u reached the complex as large part of the surroundings here were steppes and nothing can be grown there. these 100 trees grown exactly there every year. Take note on these trees before u reach there.

A ger is being constructed nearby the complex.

Summer in Mongolia – Mongolia Highway

Posted on August 4, 2008 by admin

I can’t believe it..It is certainly amazing…the steppe, the large grassland, the sheeps and the blue sky looks like the masterpiece of an artist. You will never be able to find it some other place. The Blue sky contrast with the large grassland. The best time to visit Mongolia is in the month of July to August though their summer starts from end May. From May to Mid Jun has a lot of rains and it may not be a good time to visit. Moreover, the greenery of Mongolia mountains still can’t be seen during May or Mid Jun..

I joined my friend’s family for a tour to the 13th century park and the Chinggis Khan monuments. It is my first experience going to the countryside, staying in a ger. Thanks to my dear friend-Judy for inviting me to join her family trip. Thanks to our friend- Samed and Bayarnam for their effort in preparing the food, making the trip as one of the most enjoyable one I had in Mongolia ever since i reached here.

a) Mongolia Highway:

The highway route condition is still far behind developing country. It was narrow and may not be supply with electricity at night. There’s no rest house or toilet. U can’t expect any emergency telephone or towing services either if your car breakdown. Thus, b sure to get your vehicles service before it goes to the countryside. For me, the most difficult part is to find toilet. It is quite common u can see people stop by the road side and pee especially man. However, women just get to cover themselves with umbrella or go to an area which is not noticeable to settle themselves. Thus, i usually don’t drink lots of water or ensure that i don’t need to go to toilet throughout the journey. Thus, dehydration is another problem of going to country side. Another funny thing is that there is no signboard along the highway. Most mongolians can recognise the way by recognising the mountains or just drive off the highway towards the direction of the mountain they know. It is just like a dessert where u can find nothing but mountain. I was very surprised with their ability and asked my mongolian friends how they can recognise the way. They told me, they follow their instinct and every mountain is different to them…Isn’t this amazing? I can lost my way even with signboard and direction while i am in Malaysia.

I guess people in the city can really drive in the countryside without any signboard…Can u imagine driving without any direction in a desert?

To be continue in my next blog on places I visited the Chinggis Khan Statue Complex & The 13th Century Park.

Winter In Mongolia

Posted on July 16, 2008 by admin

How cold is Mongolia? The winter here is dry and cold. If u asked me, I would said it is quite cold compare to Malaysia but not as cold as the winter in New York which I have once experienced. It is freezing and I have bad neckache due to the cold weather. I could feel my feet was soaked into a bucket of ice while walking back home after work. I have heard from my friends that Mongolia has a temperature of -40′c +/-but now the lowest temperature is only about -30′c+/-. This probably due to the problem of global warming. I am currently staying in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

During winter season, you can barely see any leaves or greenery either in countryside or the city, just like the winter in other countries. However, the winter here is polluted if u visited some poor area around Mongolia. It seems to be smokey and hazzy in those area. Why? That’s because people in this area are burning rubbish or coal to heat up the "ger" or their house. Can u imagine that? Most modern house and apartment in the city are usually built with heater but there are still lots of houses or ger do not have heating system especially the ger at the countryside. Nomads in the countryside will use dried grass with the shit of cattle an camel to heat up their gers. Does anyone know how does it smell like? I heard it has strong grass smell but never smell it before. Has anyone smell it before?

On the other hand, the mountains around will be covered with white snow and it has another scene of it…If u ask me, it does not have the kind of pure, clean and white scene like the Christmas scene in US or UK…cause it is rather muddy when the snow melt..and I have slipped down few times..Thus, if u are coming for winter..i suggest u get a anti slip shoes which is fit to walk at winter seasons. Besides that, cashmere clothing will be good to keep u warm. Mongolian Cashmere clothing is pure and nice and i heard that it is cheaper than other countries.

Mongolia Travel Blog

Posted on July 16, 2008 by admin

When I was asked to work in Mongolia, i knew nothing about this country. All i know about this country is only the famous Chinggis Khan. I tried to surf the net about information about this country. Then i found out that this is a country with a population of about 2.9mil and its winter can reached -30′c. I was quite nervous about my adveture to this country.

While i looked down from the airplane before i touched down, i could see large piece of dark brownish land, mountains which covered by snow. There are not many high rise buildings and It looks like a desert. When the airplane touched down, i could only see one airplane in the airport.Oh..gosh…i was asking myself…what kind of place is this?

I was waiting hours for my luggage and it took long time and the airport is just like a small airport in my hometown – Ipoh, 20 years back….

Anyway, I am now in Mongolia. I shall fill up my travel blog with stories of my discovery in Mongolia. Is there anyone out there who has some unique experience about Mongolia? Let’s share with me in the blog regardless whether it is good or bad.

Cheers!

Taiping Lake – A beautiful and peacekeeping lake of nature!

Posted on April 25, 2008 by admin

Taiping is like an old town for old people…but there is certainly lots of things that you can do here…Besides the hills, zoo and prison, there is a beautiful and peace keeping lake of nature called Taiping Lake! The surroundings nature of the lake is certainly amazing…in particular the road from the zoo to the Lake. This stretch of road is grown with trees of about 100 years old or more. Just take a look at the picture down here! I also managed to see a Red Dragon Fly on one of the lake there….What a discovery!

Good Feng Shui around Taiping Lake

Due to the good feng shui of Taiping lake..Do u know Taiping is a rich town in the past and a preference of the rich to retire too? hehehehe….I am not a feng shui master but it is certainly a relaxing place to retire…things are not too expensive compare to urban area.

Roller Coaster Ride to Bkt Larut (Maxwell Hill), Taiping!

Posted on April 25, 2008 by admin

Maxwell hills or Bukit Larut – It could be a better place!

I met Ann in Taiping. We then went to Maxwell hill together. We went for lunch and headed to the bottom of the hills to ask for information on the jeep service up the hill. Luckily we checked out the last jeep service to the hills as Ann told me that sometimes they will cancel their jeep service although the last trip should be at 5pm. The cancellation could be either due to weather or the discretion of the operator. Thus, an advice to the tourists who wanted to visit Maxwell hill, checked out the time and reserved a seat on the jeep immediately when you reached Taiping. Not to mention the hotel, better make your reservation. Another thing is bring your own food, instant noodles, cutlery, bread or cereal which could fill up your stomach for the night that you are going to spend up there.

You can’t drive up yourself…you need to take their jeep service. It is about RM 8 for return trip. It is like a roller coaster ride! The route is condition is narrow and windings and be prepared…Don’t go up with full stomach. You may vomit whatever you ate earlier. It takes about 20-25 minutes to reach the top. Don’t worry, all the drivers are skillful enough to bring you to the top and the route could only occupy one vehicle at a time but you can still find people walk up along the way. I heard it takes about 2hours to walk up.

I am glad that we have actually reserved Cempaka Resthouse as it is the only one that has privatized and it looks good. A twin sharing bed room could actually accommodate another two persons as the room is quite big with additional mattress. But there’s no bathroom attached to it. The other guesthouse seems like abandoned and only one or two of the government run rest house was occupied and rented out. One of the guests that we met who stayed in those guesthouse told us that they did not make any reservation but were being told that it was fully booked in the morning but somehow there’s room available in the afternoon.

We were lucky to reserve the privatized run Resthouse where the Tulips nursery located. It is clean and well maintained but the food were sucks and expensive. You can’t do much up there…..It is just a place for u to enjoy the cool and nature surroundings. It will be better if u can get a group of friends to have steamboat up there. However, this place seems not well maintained and developed by the local authority as there are few resthouse seems to be abandoned. If it is well maintained, it could be a better place to enjoy the nature with your family and friends. What a waste of resources! Hope the local authority do something about it.

Let’s discover my adventure in Taiping in my next posts.

It’s only red colour tulips that i see when i was there. Entrance fees will be charged for visitors who visit the tulip nursery after certain period.

The road condition in Maxwell hill and the Roller coaster ride with this jeep is certainly adventurous if u like it.

Taiping- an old and peaceful town which full of discoveries!

Posted on March 25, 2008 by admin

Has anybody wonder what is there to discover in Taiping? If you ask me about it, I can’t really tell you much. All I know about Taiping is its famous Lake…but I never really explore it before.

Maxwell hill with Tulips

I thought of going to Taiping alone since it is not far from my hometown, Ipoh, about an hour drive from Ipoh. I actually wanted to go to Maxwell Hills to enjoy the cool weather and the nice views on top of the hill. Besides that, I heard there is a Tulips nursery up there. I decided to go there without knowing much about route and the town. I am lucky to meet a friend-Ann in a seminar which was from Taiping before I depart. As we sit together, we found to have common interest and just click along well on our first meeting and we share our stories on life and experiences. I guess we are somehow fated to meet each other. She offered to be my tour guide around Taiping. Thank God, I was still kind of uncertain and worried on exploring the town alone. It seems like I was meant to visit this place. Isn’t it amazing?

Weather Prediction Gambling Culture!

When you pass by some kopitiam (old chinese coffee shop) and see some old men looking at the sky? Have u wonder what are they doing? These old folks in Taiping town are gambling on the timing of the rainfall..Can u believe it? This shows how peaceful and laid back is this town where old folks create some game like this to pass their time….

Taiping Lake – Good FengShui

Take a look at the Taiping lake surrounding in my posts! It is certainly a peacekeeping lake surrounded by beautiful nature.

Taiping Prison & Temple

Does anyone know about the story of the lion statue and the prisons?

Air Kuning Hot Springs and Mountain Water Bathing

It is a cheap and good place to enjoy the hot springs. There are various way for u to enjoy the hot springs. It cost about RM1-2 for a pail of water to soak your legs. It is believed that this hot springs water from the ground can actually cure many diseases like skin cancer, diabetes…..I am not a doctor..i can’t confirm this but after a soak in the hot springs…my skin was smooth and not dried and i felt good and had a good sleep..

It is run by a mosleum owner. Thus, it looks simple and its building looks more like a mosleum structure building. As Malaysia is a multi cultural society, all other races are allowed to go in for a soak. You can actually hire a private pool and enjoy the pool among your friends and family at a cheap rate compare to other place. Besides that, you can even hire a bathroom for a private soak which cost about RM 2…..Isn’t it a good place to have nature relaxation and spa…? It is not a luxury place to enjoy a spa but certainly a clean and cheap place to enjoy the natural spa.

The paddy field, rainforest & Blue Sky in the Agriculture Park in Bukit Cahaya, Shah Alam

Posted on February 23, 2008 by admin

Having worked in Shah Alam for about two years, I didn’t realize there’s an agriculture park until one of my friends invited me for a morning walk in the park. Probably I am not aggressive or appreciative on things around myself or the Government has not done enough in promoting this park….hehehe

Anyway, this park certainly worth a visit if you want to escape from the hustling and bustling city life. The entrance fees cost only Rm 2 (USD 0.50) per entry. It is not far from Kuala Lumpur, probably an hour drive from KL without traffic congestion. It is a rainforest park which you may find some of the plantation in Malaysia. It has a paddy field plantation, a fishing village and a tar road walk through the rainforest to the resthouse where you can see all the tropical trees along the way. However, the route is rather quiet but there is always people wondering the place to ensure the safety. As Malaysia is a hot and wet country, it has a lot of mosquitoes along the way especially after the rainy seasons. You can find mosquitoes welcoming you while trekking to the peak of the rest house. It is advisable that you wear long pants and long sleeves shirt to avoid donating blood to these “Blood Suckers”. Some of these mosquitoes could be Aedes Mosquitoes which could kill you! So, please get yourself prepare with appropriate outfit and never wear black shirt or pants as it attracts these “Blood Suckers” or make sure you have enough insect repellants to spray yourself along the way. Anyway, it takes only about 1hour trek for return trip up to the resthouse.

On top of the rest house, you may find the beauty of the rainforest jungle with the housing development around Shah Alam area. Sadly speaking, has anyone realized that the sky around us is not as blue as before? I remember the sky that I used to look up during my childhood is blue and clear. The sky in Italy and Spain or some other European countries is bluish and clear. I can’t forget the blue sky in the Vatican city, the sky seems to be coloured by the skyblue pencil colour and it just make the whole environment feel nice with the sunshine. What has happened to our blue sky? Is that due to pollution in the asian countries or the weather or the location????