Mongolia - Landscapes and People

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Julian Elliott

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Julian Elliott
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Morning all

Been a while since I posted here but thought some people might like to see some imagery and footage from Mongolia.

Probably not high on some people's radar but it really should be. Absolutely amazing place. Many challenges but if you can overcome your fears then you'll be fine.

 
Mongolia looks a blast. Relatively safe country with good scenery. My fear is I don't fly nor will I and driving there is a stretch. Spain, Italy, France etc are easy but anything east of Hungary is a major hassle to drive to.
 
DG Phototraining said:
I enjoyed that Julian :)

But what 'fears' are you alluding to? I didn't notice any big spiders in the video

Dave
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That is one great things about Mongolia. No BIG spiders ;)

For some being away in the middle of absolutely nowhere can be a problem. No running hot water. No running water at all. No internet. Add in being offered things such as fermented horse's milk etc ;)
 
SFTPhotography said:
Mongolia looks a blast. Relatively safe country with good scenery. My fear is I don't fly nor will I and driving there is a stretch. Spain, Italy, France etc are easy but anything east of Hungary is a major hassle to drive to.
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It is definitely a long flight.

London/ Paris to Moscow is 4 hours
Moscow to UB is another 6 hours

I'm grateful i get access to the lounge as it made the journey on my own more palatable.
 
Julian Elliott said:
That is one great things about Mongolia. No BIG spiders ;)

For some being away in the middle of absolutely nowhere can be a problem. No running hot water. No running water at all. No internet. Add in being offered things such as fermented horse's milk etc ;)
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Ah - well I live close to Barnsley so none of that's scary :D

Dave
 
That was totally worth the watch and I loved the facial shots, great stuff.
Thanks
 
SFTPhotography said:
Mongolia looks a blast. Relatively safe country with good scenery. My fear is I don't fly nor will I and driving there is a stretch. Spain, Italy, France etc are easy but anything east of Hungary is a major hassle to drive to.
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Generally interested why you don't fly? Is it a fear of flight? If it is a phobia?

Also, Mongolia looks wonderful I've had the pleasure of flying over it on my way back from China to the UK and the tundra landscape is amazing. I'm hoping to visit with a drone soon as I can.
 
Krow said:
Generally interested why you don't fly? Is it a fear of flight? If it is a phobia?

Also, Mongolia looks wonderful I've had the pleasure of flying over it on my way back from China to the UK and the tundra landscape is amazing. I'm hoping to visit with a drone soon as I can.
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I don’t want to take the thread of in a tangent but I find flying utterly intolerable. I don’t like the noise once in the air, the bumping etc. Rail and car/bus is just more comfortable.

There is a fear too although out of the many times I’ve flown there was only one small fault which caused a short circuit which lead to a tiny tiny little bit of burning but enough to ground the flight and fly us out the next day had that happened mid air that might have been good night for good.Such an occurance might happen in a car but the ramifications are much less severe.

Put it this way, they tell you it’s the safest form of transport - and statistically it is but the fundamentals of being 5miles high, going 600mph in a pressurised tin can with several tons of explosive liquid make it fundamentally unsafe and it’s not something I would do again.

I have no need to fly, I live in Scotland and can drive to Spain in two days. I have time, I don’t need to do it in 2hours so I’ll not subject myself to something I feel uneasy and uncomfortable doing - because I don’t have to. I happen to like driving anyway.

If I was going to Mongolia I’d seriously consider driving and seeing the world inbetween over a year or so, that would be awesome.
 
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It's a fair enough comment SFT! Flying isn't for everyone but for me it is a means to go to places that would cause too many complications in a car.

My next photography trip is the Dolomites which could be done in the car but it's easier for me to fly. Straight afterwards is Japan for the autumn.

But because I fly so often and have found a system I get things that make the journey more palatable. Getting priority check-in; priority security; the lounge; priority boarding etc helps a lot!

One case was last year in Rome. The Alitalia computer system had gone down. The airport was jammed solid with people. I didn't know when I first arrived what was going on but I found a member of staff who helped. She then asked where I was going so I showed her my boarding pass and she led me through the crowd to the priority desk. I got some very evil looks from people on that journey!
 
Julian,

Over the past 38 years I have travelled extensively with my work (more than 100 countries) and am lucky enough to enjoy the actual flying part. What I dislike intensely in the airport process and always use the priority services and lounge.

Evil looks? Maybe, but we all have the same opportunities to avoid the airport chaos so I have no sympathy for those that choose to follow the herd :)
 
SFTPhotography said:
If I was going to Mongolia I’d seriously consider driving and seeing the world inbetween over a year or so, that would be awesome.
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That would be awesome - but you could get the train there too!

Many years ago my wife and I were travelling around Asia and took the train back - Trans Siberian train from Beijing to Moscow across the Soviet Union, then on to East Berlin. In winter too. It was fabulous.
Ended up cheating and flew back from West Berlin.

@Julian Elliott - thanks for post that, really enjoyed it.
 
desf said:
That would be awesome - but you could get the train there too!

Many years ago my wife and I were travelling around Asia and took the train back - Trans Siberian train from Beijing to Moscow across the Soviet Union, then on to East Berlin. In winter too. It was fabulous.
Ended up cheating and flew back from West Berlin.

@Julian Elliott - thanks for post that, really enjoyed it.
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That would be do-able - I like train journeys and that is the ultimate one. One day I hope. Your trip sounds magic other than the flight back from Germany.
 
It was a while ago but Russian trains were very bumpy, noisy and uncomfortable - and I only did Moscow - Leningrad (yup, Leningrad - it was a while ago!)
 
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