So It Begins…
The 10th of March, 2014 was a big day for me. That was the day I left home, knowing that I will be embarking the longest journey I have ever done. I flew to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, coming all the way from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and had a 6 hours of transit in Incheon Airport near Seoul, South Korea. I was nervous… mixed with excited feelings. I was feeling so nervous, maybe because I was too busy with some other things and had no time to do any sort of planning. I had no idea what to do once I reach Ulaanbaatar, where to go… what to do… This is my third journey and I should feel calm but somehow… I guess the other reason was because I knew that this is going to be the longest journey among all… and surely much more challenging compared to the last two.
The look of the Gobi Desert from the plane window
The last hour of the flight, I became totally speechless once I realised I was flying over the vast Gobi Desert. I was totally amazed once I saw the desert from above, excited because I finally see it with my own two eyes… all these while I was only watching it from TV and also the internet. At the same time, my heart was beating fast, it looks so wild and desolated, must be really hell to cross this huge desert on a bicycle unsupported. I then studied the desert closely from the plane window… looking for any source of water… rivers, lakes, or perhaps some small nomadic settlements… anything. But I found nothing… The good thing is, its still winter here in this part of the world. It is still very cold, and the desert is covered with thin ice. So at least I still won’t be running out of water if worst case happen.
just arrived. Ready to unpack everything!
Once I finished assemble my bike and put all my stuff on the bike, it was already dark and very cold. I was too tired, since I couldn’t really sleep during the flight, so I canceled my plan to cycle to Ulaanbaatar. The locals been telling me theres a hotel nearby, only a kilometre away from the airport. So i decided to just go and stay overnight at the hotel, since I was too tired.
all good!!
ready to rock
The next morning I took my time, repacking all my stuffs inside my bag, making sure the weight is balance both sides. I then started cycling at around 10ish to Ulaanbaatar, which is only some 15km away. Cycling inside a city is always hell… and I never like it. So many cars and I had to stop twice asking for direction to get to the centre of the city, since Im navigating without any GPS or whatsoever. Once I reached the centre of Ulaanbaatar, I became the centre of attraction. I was surrounded by kids and old people, trying to communicate with me but too bad I don’t speak a word of Mongol. And it was there I met my first Mongolian friend, Chimedee who live in a ger (Mongolian tent) not so far from the city.
Overlooking the Ulaanbaatar city centre from the ger
Hello Mongolia…
Statue of Sukhbaatar, mistook it with Genghis Khan hehe
Diary Of A Traveller 
Raaawwrr..dem so nice and calming. (More jelous bro)
All the best on your journey mate! Stay safe and keep the stories and photos coming. I enjoy seeing the world through your eyes and lenses :-)
No stopover in Aberdeen this time around? :-)
Take care.
-Arai-
Wishing you a safe & adventurous journey.
I’m so envious right now..but hey, all the best of luck! looking forward to your upcoming post!
Assalamualaikum anknda…selamat mmulakan kmbara… umi teruja lg utk mnunggu hasilnya ditayngkn di tv. Apapun umi berharap dan doakn prjlnn anknda utk mnmba sbnyk mgkin pngalamn jga pngajaran…disebalik smua yg anknda temui, tmbh mndktkn diri dgn yg Maha Pencipta…umi ada seorg knalan dr moggolia…islam bernama farah
..dia bkerja di beijing sbg pmndu pelancong. Mmang prnh berangan2 k monggolia….enth mnjadi enth tidak… Pesan umi sbg sahabat…jngn abaikan suruhan Allah yer… mgkin ankda bole juga mnebar da’wah secara tk lngsung….salam ukhuwah…
Salam kasih sesama islam…dr umi.
have safe journey =).
rasa mcm keluar sekejap dari masalah hidup di dunia.
http://myartcrafting.blogspot.com
Ohhh kat sana they call it ger ya? Dekat Stans depa panggil yurta…
Keep the stories coming, bro…u know u hv a die hard fan @ sister so very looking fwd to read em :)
nice 1st impression of ulanbator..can’t wait for more…
dulu pernah dengar Datuk Azhar Mansur ckp lepas balik keliling dunia dgn kapal layar…sewaktu memulakan pelayaran, saikologinya agak terganggu memikirkan jarak perjalanan yg sangat jauh dn lama…apa yg beliau buat adalah, hanya memikirkan tentang perjalanan untuk esok hari shj…
Assalamulaikum bro…may Allah blessed you throughout this journey…
Semoga adik Zahariz selamat Dan berjaya dlm pengembaraan yg baru ini .
Dan jgn sekali2 meninggalkan solat walau dimanapun berada.semoga Allah permudahkn perjalanan ini. Amin!3.
Salam brother,
Wow! What a coincidence! The 10th of March was a grand day for me too because it was my hubby’s birthday Hehehe.. All the best! Since I don’t have much $$$ to send you, I am just sharing this doa as the best weapon while traveling around a no-man’s-land (even better than the knife you used to kill the bear):
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الذي لَا يَضُرُّ مع اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ في الأرض ولا في السَّمَاءِ وهو السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
Bismillahillazi la yadhurru ma’asmihi syaiun fil ardhi wala fis sama’ie wa huas sami’un alim. Maksud ayat:
Rasulullah SAW didengari berkata sesiapa yang berdoa, “Dengan nama Allah yang tidak memberi mudharat akan sesuatu yang dibumi dan yang dilangit (selagi) bersama dengan Nama-Nya dan Dia Maha Mendengar lagi Maha Mengetahui.” sebanyak tiga (3) kali, maka dia tidak akan ditimpa kesusahan bala dan musibah sehinggalah subuh esoknya, dan barangsiapa membacanya ketika waktu subuh sebanyak tiga (3) kali, dia tidak akan ditimpa kesusahan bala dan musibah sehingga petangnya (Riwayat Abu Daud, At-Tirmizi dan Ahmad)
May I share little bit more? 2 ayat terakhir surah al-bakarah, tidak akan terjadi perkara yg tidak disukai mininpa kita.. ^ ^
Alhamdulillah…so it begins!
Good luck and have a safe journey bro! Keep posting!
Selamat Menakluki DUNIA….inspirasi kepada pengikut anda….moga ALLAH permudahkan pengembaraan anda….aammiin…
Subhanallah! Its awesome and really nice place. May Allah ease ur journey,bro zahariz :)
Semoga saudara terus cekal dan tabah menghadapi setiap ujian..kerana setiap ujian ada ‘manisnya’… kita jumpa nanti…
I demand for more pictures. Thank you!
:)
Terbaiklah abang (Y)
Doa kami akan keselamatan anda sentiasa – syabas atas keberanian ini
have a nice journey. Good luck. God is always with u.
Semoga sentiasa dirahmati Allah :)
Lambat follow.May Allah protected you all along the journey. Have a blast ride