Escaping the Ice-Prison: From City to Steppe in Mongolia

INTRODUCTION

The story of my adventures in Mongolia doesn't actually begin on the sweeping grasslands of northern Asia but, rather, in the broad acres of Yorkshire and actually commences well over a year before I even arrived in Ulaan Baatar. After having graduated university, I was living at home and working in a magnificently boring entry-level marketing job in order to save money to travel. Although, in all honesty, the word 'travel' was still a rather undefined and vague concept. At the point where we begin, I still had no great idea as to where I wanted to go or what I intended to do whilst I was there. I had considered returning to the US, where I had spent the third year of my university course, and had also mulled over the idea of teaching in Africa. But, I was nowhere really close to booking a flight anywhere.. I only decided that Mongolia would be my ultimate destination thanks to a rather random moment that took place in Sheffield city centre.

It was lunchtime on a warm and sunny spring afternoon and I was walking through Sheffield to get my lunch. As I ambled along the city's main pedestrian thoroughfare enjoying the sunshine, a Big Issue seller pounced upon me. I am a little ashamed to admit that I wasn't so keen to part with £1.50 and so I tried to fob the young man off by telling him that I had no change. He responded, quick as a flash, by telling me that he had change for both a £5 note and a £10 note. It was the perfect retort and I felt that I would be a genuinely terrible person if I refused to buy a copy. Even though I didn't have the greatest job in the world, my situation was certainly better than his. So, I ponied up my cash!

As I didn't find the Big Issue particularly interesting reading, I slipped it into my work bag and forgot about it. It was not until a month or so later, when I cleaned the bag out, that I came across the magazine. The majority of what I read was not at all interesting. However, when I reached the back cover, my interest was piqued by an advertisement for an adventure travel company that organised volunteer projects overseas. It seemed to be just the type of thing I was looking for. So, I took a look at their website and did a little research.

The company, I to I, had a fantastic array of different projects in lots of different exotic countries around the world. It all looked cool and I was drawn in almost immediately. There were lots of projects in Africa and Southeast Asia doing charity style work: building schools, digging wells and that type of thing. However, when I saw that they also had projects in Mongolia, I knew I had found what I was looking for. There were opportunities to teach English or to do youth work projects, but my eyes were drawn to a project working in Mongolian media!

My time in Mongolia would prove to be fabulous. The vast yet almost anonymous country between Russia and China was - in almost equal parts - beautiful, fascinating, frustrating and heartbreaking. I had amazing adventures in some of the most magnificent natural settings you can imagine. I also met some really interesting people and got involved in some weird and wonderful activities. Simultaneously, I saw some horrific corruption and some genuinely awful social problems. Despite some of those ups and downs, the time I spent in the 'Land of the Blue Skies' was some of the greatest of my life. I don't wish to sound like a tourist brochure, but I did and saw things that were totally unique and created memories that will stay with me forever. I sincerely hope the following pages will do my experiences justice and will give you a window into one of the world's last genuinely unexplored countries.