Author: Chris Bing

Ulaanbaatar

October 2026

The Locals call the Capital City “UB” for short. Even they have trouble using the full name all the time! Before I came to Mongolia I had trouble remembering the name of the capital and even pronouncing it. Now I still have trouble with the spelling. There are so many “a”s.

I would not describe UB as a beautiful capital city. In fact it is reminiscent of a Soviet bloc city with lots of traffic jams. I was surprised how many cars there were. Even though they drive on the right hand side of the road, a lot of cars were Right hand drive like NZ and Japan. This was because Japanese imports were cheaper and more reliable than their Russian counter parts.

The Mongolians themselves were beautiful people. They were warm, friendly and very helpful. Our guide Michelle was probably the best guide we have had with all our journeys. She was western educated with a University degree obtained in USA and she was vey down to earth. A real person. She communicated with the drivers and tour hosts very well and they returned the favour by being very helpful and considerate. The whole tour group got on so well it felt like an extended family. Michelle is starting her own specialised tour company, so if you intend to travel to Mongolia here are her details: [email protected] or IntheGo travel LLC on facebook.

Ariyabal Temple. A place of meditation. Gives a great view of the National Park.

Turtle shape rock with surrounding camel rides and eagle photo opportunities.

painting depicting the ancient city of Karakorum 1220 AD

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The Two Mongolias We Have Visited

Post author By Chris Bing
Post date October 23, 2026
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October 2026

In October 2017 we visited Inner Mongolia with a Hong Kong tour Group. Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of China situated along the Southern Border of Mongolia. I have been reading Google on the differences between the two countries and they are vast. For example,. Mongolia ( previously known as Outer Mongolia) has a population of 3.5 million. Inner Mongolia has 25 million and mostly Han Chinese! I will let you google the differences yourself, but they couldn’t be more different.

In the past people asked me what Inner Mongolia was like. I said it was like Disneyland in the desert. There were chair lifts, sledges, and lots of rides. We visited huge dairy factories, the space museum, and saw lots of shows. Did you know China launches Rockets from Inner Mongolia and they land back in Inner Mongolia? Not like in the past where NASA needs an ocean to land a capsule.

The images here are to reflect my experiences comparing the tours of the 2 countries (9 years apart) and its not meant to be an objective view of the two countries. At times my tongue is firmly in my cheek as well.

Police “car” spotted at Airport Inner Mongolia.

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Mu Cang Chai

14 August 2026

We went to Mu Cang Chai (MCC) early June 2026. Mu Cang Chai is a small rural district in North Western Vietnam. It is 300 km from Hanoi and closer to the tourist town of Sapa. It is famous for the rice terraces and well known to local Vietnamese tourists but not to foreign tourists. In fact during our 6 day visit we encountered less than a handful of foreign tourists. because we chose to visit in the Wet season. There were few Vietnamese tourists as well. This was quite a contrast to when we visited the rice terraces in Yunan China where it felt like we were in a middle of a music event! And that was the plan, just me, wife, driver and guide free to explore the beautiful land and meet the locals.

The Photostudies

04.06.26-Nikon D780-iso125-110mm-f6.3-1/320secNikon70-200f4

05.06.26-iso125-35mm-f7.1-1/200sec-Nikon35mmf1.8

Gallery One

Gallery Two

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