Tips, Experiences and Inspirations by Riding Guests in Mongolia

 

Tips, Experiences and Inspirations by Riding Guests in Mongolia are Important Feed-Back for Us

 

Michelle Ho, Riding Guest, Mongolia, Stone Horse
Michelle Ho on Brownie during the July horse trek in Gorkhi Terelj National Park

It’s always great to get feedback from our riding guests, and we gladly refer to the many reviews we have received on tripadvisor. Feedback comes in various forms, as tips, experiences and inspirations by riding guests in Mongolia.

To hear from our guests about their impressions of traveling with us helps us in several ways. We understand the many facets that combine to give our guests a great experience and memorable adventure. There are always details to learn and improve on to make guest experiences even better. And we understand from our guests’ writings what are the one or several aspects that make our tours different, and what it is that touches something deeper in people than good food, quality equipment, great horses and excellent service.

 

 

 

 

 

Connecting with Nature and “Social Media Detox”

It is a recurring theme that it is the connection to nature, and the disconnection from offices, computers, cell phones, and the internet that gives guests the sense of relaxation, the ability to be present in the moment, and connect with real life. Somewhere I read the term “Social Media Detox”, and that is really a very fitting description of what is enabled when one goes on a wilderness adventure.

Most guest reviews are shorter, summarizing the overall experience, pointing out highlights, and sharing some anecdotes, often about the horses’ behavior and the rider’s bond with their trail horse that they experienced as an amazing companion out in the back country.

 

Prolific Writers – Riding Guests from Singapore

 

Tips, Experiences and Inspirations by Riding Guests in Mongolia, Yue Lin, Singapore
Yue Lin Lee on Jerry

But some guests go way beyond that, sharing their experiences in their blogs, providing great practical advice for aspiring horse trekkers in Mongolia, along with details of their riding adventure. Others are emphasizing more the impressions the adventure made on them, their connections they felt to the landscape, the horses and people, and how a seed was planted in them that makes them return to Mongolia, again and again. I am sharing here some of the content, and links to their own blogs, by two of our more prolific writers/riders. Both are from Singapore.

 

 

A Riding Guest’s 10 Tips for a Riding Expedition in Mongolia

Michelle Ho rode with us in 2015, in July at the height of wildflower season. She came together with her boyfriend Ian. As is mostly the case when couples come horse trekking with us, the woman is the rider and horse lover, and the guys are being nice to come along. It was such a case, and we definitely have lasting memories of the boyfriend too. He was a professional magician, and performed some amazing tricks. We were just happy he didn’t make any horses disappear!

 

Talk to Your Horse and Have Fun

Michelle is a good rider and gives great advice on riding in Mongolia in her blog post titled “10 Tips for a Horseback Riding Expedition in Mongolia”. In summary, her tips are:

  • Choose a reputable tour operator
  • Bring waterproof (not water-resistant) clothes
  • Consider low-cut riding boots
  • Don’t pack too much
  • Consider taping your knee / ankle (advice for novice riders during long trotting)
  • Bring good insect repellent
  • Talk to your horse
  • Be alert
  • Have Fun!

 

A Day by Day Account of Riding in Gorkhi Terelj National Park

 

Tips, Experiences and Inspiration by Riding Guests in Mongolia, Michelle Ho, SingaporeMichelle was diligent in journal writing during the eight days of horseback trekking through Gorkhi Terelj National Park and published a detailed day by day account in several posts:

 

Thanks to Michelle for sharing her riding adventure experiences!

Michelle’s blog is titled “Mich Wanderlust”. Check it out to follow Michelle’s adventures, and we hope that we will see her back here again as a rider, and writer!

 

“Time out in the Steppes”

Yue Lin, also from Singapore, has traveled with us five times, and her lyrics speak of the magical attraction Mongolia has on her, and what it means to her to spend time with “her” horse Jerry of the Stone Horse herd, to star gaze during chilly nights in camp, to be in the endless grasslands.

In one of her blog posts, after the 2016 season, Yue Lin uses the term “Time out in the steppes”. She wrote: “To be honest, actually, the scenery is so spectacular that even if there were connectivity, I would not bother turning my phone on. Time out in the steppes is better spent on soaking in the scenery and paying attention to one’s horse”. (October 4, 2016). Her lines express how she feels about Mongolia, and why she keeps coming back. Yue Lin has recently moved to Hong Kong, closer to Mongolia…

In Yue Lin’s Blog you will find entries of travel experiences, in Mongolia and elsewhere, and about both personal and other themes. And then there is Yue Lin’s poetry, profound and beautiful. Check out her blog of truly thoughtful writing.

 

“The Blue Skies are Vast and Unending”

I have selected some excerpts, of Yue Lin’s commentary and descriptions from her horseback travel with us, and some of her poetry that is close to our hearts.

Riding Guests in Mongolia, Poetry, Inspiration“Mongolia is a land too big for words: lush green beauty and distant high mountains, wide open plains and rushing rivers, unending skies and the constant wind whistling through the steppes. I will be back before long.” (October 2014)

There are early mornings and sunrises and sunsets in every part of the world, but only in Mongolia does the horizon stretch on for all eternity. Here, the blue skies are vast and unending, and wherever you look there are smooth undulating mountains, worn round by millenia of grassland winds. The wind may sweep everything away and leave nothing but the grass, but I will come back and leave fresh footprints, again and again.” (August 2015)

“Mongolia is a land that calls you back, observed a friend one night as we stood in the quiet darkness marvelling at the velvety night sky spangled with stars. She’s right. This land of blue skies, clear brooks and clean, sharp air, this sometimes harsh and unforgiving landscape, this bountiful and boundless sea, draws you in and captures your heart, the same way the piercing cry of the golden eagle draws your gaze to the skies.” (October 2016)

“I have tried, in the preceding paragraphs, to explain just what it is about Mongolia that so captured my imagination in the beginning and why it continues to capture my imagination today. However, it is difficult to accurately put down into words the feeling of the sun against your back and the bracing wind buffeting your clothes as you mount up and prepare to move down the valley into that clear blue sky. It is so easy to fall in love with a country like Mongolia. Even if you know nothing about its expansive history – how can you resist a country where kites and golden eagles still soar overhead on a daily basis, where the sky is a stunning swatch of blues and where it is still possible to walk from sunrise to sunset and not meet another human being?” (July 2017)

Thanks to Yue Lin, and friends, for traveling with us again, and again!  It means a lot to us if the time spent with us in these landscapes of Mongolia, in the wilderness, with our team of horses, dogs and humans, inspires such writing! See you next time.

 

Are you inspired to experience a horseback journey in Mongolia yourself?

 

Contact Us!

Learn more about our horseback expeditions:

10 Days Gorkhi Terelj National Park

8 Days Gorkhi Terelj National Park

14 Days Khentii Mountains Wilderness

14 Days Wilderness Conservation Adventure

 

2019 Horse Trekking Schedule

 

And here are two of Yue Lin’s poems:

poem by Yue Lin Lee, Mongolia, camping, wilderness,     poem by Yue Lin Lee, on travels in Mongolia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more of Yue Lin’s writing, check out her blog category You Go Uncompanioned, But Go You Must”