Dreams come true
At first, when I heard my best friend talk about her dream of conquering the Mongolian steppe on horseback, I burst out laughing and thought to myself: “Oh, how wonderful, but also so absurd!”. And then, every time we met, my friend talked endlessly about that journey, about the information she had collected, it sounded very attractive and realistic. It seemed that it was not as absurd as I had thought.
Gradually, I and two other friends were drawn into that “wild dream” without realizing it. Together, the four of us made our common dream come true in the fall, marking our 40th birthday in a brilliant way.
Even now, I still remember the feeling of galloping across the vast grasslands amidst the autumnal atmosphere and close to the clouds. It was a very ethereal and airy feeling!
From the apprentice knight
Registering and having to deposit for the tour 6 months in advance when we knew nothing about horses and horse riding was our determination for this trip. We started to find out where to learn horse riding in Saigon, at a time when the city had no roads for cars, so where could we find a place to ride horses! Should we go all the way to the Da Lat plateau? Luckily, in District 2 there was a horse riding school, mainly for foreign children living in Vietnam. So during those 6 months, every weekend, we gathered here, learning to be horsemen.
From the basics like leading the horse, feeding the horse, holding the reins properly, to mounting and dismounting the horse, everything was new to us. We were excited to gradually gain control and command of the horses, from walking slowly, trotting to galloping and jumping over fences. Most importantly, we learned how to “talk” to them through body language, such as holding the horse’s mane to signal galloping, or nudging the flanks to run faster, or patting the rear to praise and thank them.
The bruises, the falls, the aches and pains gradually subsided. Instead, there was joy and happiness in learning new skills. As the departure date approached, we felt more confident, physically and mentally ready to conquer the Mongolian steppe.
To the real knight and new friends
After many days of waiting, the trip officially began. The destination is Gorkhi Terelj National Park, located east of the capital Ulan Bator. With an area of over 2,800 km2 (larger than the area of Ho Chi Minh City), at an altitude of 1,600 m above sea level, this park is famous for its majestic mountain scenery, towering granite blocks, with unique geological structures and shapes. Interspersed are vast grasslands full of wildflowers and vast forests of pine and cypress.
In addition to the nomadic families, the park is also home to a wide variety of birds and animals, mainly weasels, squirrels, wolves and foxes. Our 8-day trip only covered a small part of the park, but it was enough to get a feel for how wild and beautiful Mongolian nature is.
After a day of free time in the capital Ulan Bator, we were picked up by van and taken to the Darkhid Valley, about 40 km from the city center. Here, we met the members of the group, including four other tourists (a Japanese woman, an American woman and a Belgian couple). Keith and Sabrina, the owners of Stonehouse Travel Company, were also the main tour guides, and two Mongolians were in charge of horse care and logistics for the trip.
We got to know each other quite quickly and realized that the four of us were the least experienced riders in the group. After a brief introduction to Gorkhi Terelj Park, the safety regulations, the protection of the natural environment as well as the upcoming 8-day itinerary, we started to collect our personal equipment and arrange our luggage from suitcases into plastic bags for the pack horses to transport.
The moment of excitement finally came when we met our new companions. The Mongolian horses with neatly trimmed manes, shiny coats and sturdy bodies were leisurely grazing under the shade of the trees. The horses were divided among the people according to their height, skills and experience. My friend was named Zay, the most “handsome” horse in the group because of his impressive bronze mane. He was also known for being calm, docile and obedient.
The first two days were quite difficult as we were still getting used to our new companions. What we learned at school were only very basic skills. In addition, we had never ridden horses continuously for more than 2 hours, only practicing in a small yard. Here, we sat on horseback all day, from 6 to 8 hours. The world was vast, the road went up and down hills, through forests, and waded through streams. Keeping balance on horseback when climbing down steep mountains was both stressful and tiring. My body was sore after the first two days, when I had not yet found a good position on horseback. My friend Zay was a great guy because he was very gentle with someone who had not much experience riding like me. There were times when I let him choose his own path when I myself was wondering how to overcome it.
As the days went by, my body gradually adapted to the new conditions. Although the pain did not completely disappear, I felt more comfortable, more relaxed, and began to confidently enjoy the scenery around me with Zay. We had moments of joy and happiness when we trotted together through the pine forests or galloped across the vast grasslands as far as the eye could see; there were also moments of tension and concentration when we went through muddy paths, climbed high mountainsides, or crossed large rivers that were higher than Zay's waist.
Throughout the journey, Zay never let me down. We also became closer and understood each other better. I knew he liked the grass next to the red wildflower beds, so I took the initiative to go off the trail to find them. He seemed to know that I liked to stop and take pictures, so every time I held the reins tightly, he stood firmly still. When we needed to gallop, he and I were always in the back of the group, partly because he couldn't run as fast as the others, and partly because I liked to take pictures of the whole group, so I didn't want to push him to run faster.
I feel so lucky to have a trustworthy and like-minded companion like Zay, who makes me feel like a true knight.
Live a nomadic life, fully immersed in the brilliant colors of autumn
I have been to many places in the world in autumn, but experiencing autumn on horseback in a setting almost isolated from the outside world is a completely different feeling. (Never before has the autumn landscape been so vast, stretching as far as the eye can see and unobstructed by anything. Layers of tall pine forests on the mountainside blend with the clear blue sky with white clouds creating a perfect backdrop, highlighting the wildflowers with yellow, orange and red colors below).
We thought the autumn scenery would be boring when we only spent 8 days in the national park. However, every day we had new surprises as the natural scenery changed with each step. Once, the horse group ran through a field of reeds, the reeds fluttering in the wind, creating a wonderful, indescribable scene. One day, we decided to race across a large grassland. While everyone had already started, my Zay and another horse refused to gallop, instead they walked leisurely to a nearby bush of young grass and ate with all their “spirit”, despite the two of us shouting and urging them on.
There were also days when we tied our horses at the foot of the mountain, climbed a high mountain, and saw the whole valley like a colorful symphony. The most fun was when the group of horses met a team of park police patrolling for the usual check of papers, we joked that we would probably be stopped for speeding!
For the first time in my life, I lived so close to nature, understanding a part of the nomadic life of the Mongolians. Eight days without electricity, no phone, no internet, every morning riding horses, every evening coming back to find flat land by the river to camp and pitch tents.
My favorite moment of the day is to slow down every early morning. Waking up with a cold wind blowing on my face when stepping out of the tent, slowly watching the thin layer of frost on the tent roof gradually melting under the early morning sunlight, then opening my chest to breathe in the fresh air of the mountains and forests, making a cup of hot tea and listening to the birds chirping and the murmuring stream nearby. Those moments are so precious that sometimes in modern life, I have never paid attention to them.
Bathing and personal hygiene in this wild natural environment was a big challenge for us. I still remember the feeling of shivering when I waded into the cold stream to bathe after a “record” of three days without bathing. Going to the toilet “naturally” was our way of joking when we “went” and enjoyed the natural scenery. More importantly, we always brought a lighter to burn the toilet paper we had just used and had to wait to make sure that the paper burned completely without any embers. It was a simple but effective way to protect the environment because otherwise, in just a few years, this park would become a giant mountain of trash.
The fifth day of the trip was the happiest day as we stayed in a Yurt – a traditional Mongolian house with comfortable beds and a fireplace inside. I have never been happier just to have a proper hot bath, when it is so normal in modern life.
And only through experiences beyond the usual limits like this can we understand that nomadic life is not only about beautiful natural scenery. It is truly a harsh environment only for those who know how to feel and appreciate what they have.
More information
+ Visa:
- The procedure for applying for a visa to Mongolia is not too difficult. The only important thing is that you must have an invitation letter from Mongolia. If you go on a tour, it is an invitation letter provided by a travel agency (as in our case). If you go on your own, you can do it through a service with a cost of about 30-50 USD/invitation letter.
- The application is quite simple, just need a passport, a 3x4 cm photo, a visa application (according to the form issued at the Embassy) and a fee receipt (after paying into the Embassy's account at Vietcombank). The application can be submitted at the Mongolian Embassy in Hanoi, or the Mongolian Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. The application review time is one week and the tourist visa is valid for 90 days from the date of issue, with one entry.
+ Itinerary:
- It takes 8-12 hours to get from Vietnam to the capital Ulan Bator, but there are currently no direct flights, you have to transit in Hong Kong, China or Korea. We bought tickets from Cathay Pacific, transiting in Hong Kong because it was the flight with reasonable travel time and the cheapest ticket price at that time, about 705 USD/round trip ticket.
- Other airlines to choose from are Mongolian Airlines, Air China or Korean Air.
+ Luggage for a horseback expedition:
- The autumn weather in Mongolia has a big difference between day and night, both hot and cold, in addition, all our transportation is by horse, so arranging and choosing necessary but compact items took quite a lot of time.
- Equipment prepared by the tour company for each tourist includes helmet; water bottle; 3-compartment bag for daily necessities that each person will carry on their own horse; 8kg plastic bag for personal luggage for the entire trip. These bags will be gathered for separate transport by pack horse along with sleeping bag and tent.
+ Personal items to bring:
Long pants and long-sleeved shirts with a little stretch to allow easy access to the horse and also to avoid chafing when going through bushes.
Trekking or hiking clothes are both suitable. Heat-tech sleepwear because at night the weather can drop below 0°C.
Flat-heeled boots (don't have to be professional riding boots, but should have a heel, not too high to hold the stirrups)
Gloves to avoid scratches when having to hold the reins continuously
Socks: woven from linen, both warm and lightLight jacket, rain suit with separate pants and shirt
Hat, multi-purpose scarf (can also block the sun when necessary), sunscreen
Sandals for evening camping
Flashlights, the type worn on the head, are more convenient to use.
+ Other items:
Camera and plenty of spare batteries (enough for 8 days); toiletries; insect repellent; tea, coffee and dried foods.
+ Cost of the trip:
The total cost for the 10-day trip was $3,800, of which the cost of the 8-day horse riding tour at Gorkhi Terelj Park was $2,950; round-trip airfare was $705. The rest was other personal expenses.
