[Off topic] My trip to Mongolia on a motorbike (1/2)

In August 2017, I traveled through Mongolia for 3 weeks, by motorbike, without a tour operator.

It's been ages since I wrote an article that wasn't about fashion, and it's with many fond memories that I've delved back into my adventures.

This is also an important moment for me, because you are about to read the story of a trip that I will remember all my life...

My two travel companions, Valentin and Dimitri

Valentin, the "super vagabond"

You have already had the opportunity to see it on BonneGueule, when I was interested in his very radical approach to clothing .

Founder of the premium organic matcha tea brand Kumiko Matcha , he is very sensitive to his ecological footprint when traveling and to eating properly (he is vegan).

And obviously, he loves adventure , it's really something in him.

Dimitri, the “digital freelance nomad”

Dimitri is Valentin's best friend. This dynamic duo is used to rough motorcycle trips.

He is very passionate about numbers and data. For example, he loves calculating the average distance traveled in a day, and deducing a retrospective schedule from it.

He doesn't want to be an employee and is therefore a freelancer for small companies. He is someone who demonstrates great teaching skills and he places importance on the notion of surpassing oneself.

The choice to go to Mongolia

We hesitated between several countries: Kazakhstan because a friend of Dimitri lives there, Vietnam because Valentin knows this country well, Laos and even Burma.

We knew we wanted to go together, all three of us, but we couldn't decide. Finally, after much research, we agreed on Mongolia.

It is a country that has several advantages:

• no mandatory vaccinations or health risks such as malaria or dengue fever (unlike in Vietnam);

• very low cost of living (expect less than €1.50 for a pint of beer);

• politically stable , they just abolished the death penalty (unlike Burma) ;

• very easy visa to obtain;

• very beautiful landscapes , feeling of freedom, few people on the roads (unlike the Burmese tourist circuits, very marked, therefore incompatible with Valentin and Dimitri's thirst for adventure);

• It is a well-documented country in terms of travel . Stories There are tons of men who have traveled through Mongolia on foot, on horseback, by bike, by motorbike , in 4x4s! Whereas, as far as Kazakhstan is concerned, the sources of information are fewer.

Valentin had a more specific vision: he wanted this journey to transcend and include his previous ones. Let me explain:

1. a wilder space,
2. with even more freedom and responsibility,
3. so wild camping, which he didn't do before .

As for inclusion, he was keen to keep what he had liked about his previous trips:

1. the fact of leaving with good friends,
2. the feeling of riding a motorbike.

So Mongolia was ideal.

This experience will be told to you in two major articles:

• the journey itself : where we went, how, the joys, the struggles...

• my equipment : how I chose it, my opinion, what I liked...

But first, we're going to answer a question you may be asking yourself.

“I’ve never ridden a motorcycle before, is this trip a good idea?”

Hmmm, that's a tricky question.

During the trip, we met a couple who were riding a motorcycle for the very first time. So it's possible. I'm not a biker myself, I don't have a two-wheeler, and this was my first motorcycle trip.

That said, I was very lucky to do it with Valentin and Dimitri, who were very experienced and kind to me.

The arguments for...

• In Mongolia, there is no traffic. The landscape consists of vast steppes, empty for hours and hours. Even in the villages, you will come across very few moving vehicles.

• The paths force you to drive slowly, further reducing the risk of speed-related accidents.

• Even if you were on a paved road, traffic is light and cars would pass you without any problem.

The arguments against:

• Off-road driving offers its share of unexpected events, we have experienced some complicated moments...
• Riding a motorbike requires a minimum of technique or learning, even if it is just to start it with a worn starter or to change gears correctly. At first, you would have no idea how the vehicle behaves when braking, on a bump, how to take a turn properly, avoid a pothole in the road...
• Good reflexes are only acquired with the kilometers traveled. You can't compete with nomads who have been riding their motorcycles for 10 or 15 years. .

So my definitive answer is: yes, it is possible . It will mainly depend on your level of anxiety about learning a new means of transport. Don't be a fool and ride too fast on dirt roads the first few days, take the time to get familiar with the bike.

And above all, never skimp on safety . Don't be afraid to be frankly "too" careful. Falls and slides have a 90% chance of happening. It's not a big deal in itself: you never get hurt if you ride at low speed on soft ground. On the other hand, making this trip without a companion who is comfortable on a motorbike seems like a bad idea to me.

I also strongly advise you to spend several hours on Moto Sécurité — the BonneGueule of motorcycles —, in particular on this article dealing with risks , and more generally the articles on reflection or on driving .

To give you an idea of ​​the atmosphere, the YouTuber " Bibix " published a long video which transcribes well what I was able to see. , even if I absolutely do not approve of his driving without gloves, nor his aggressive way of switching lanes to leave Ulaanbaatar...

YouTuber Walane also made a series of videos where I recognized myself in the landscapes crossed. A good preview of what your days will look like.

Here we go, the story of my three weeks in Mongolia!

Arrival in Ulaanbaatar

Not much to say about Ulaanbaatar: it is a city like any other, not particularly pretty, which retains some traces of the Soviet era in its architecture.

I have no idea what to expect when I arrive in the Mongolian capital of 1.39 million inhabitants. And while there are large chain stores there, I discover a Mongolian youth who love streetwear , with cutting-edge tastes, which almost remind me of my trip to Seoul.

We get our Airbnb, which is by far the most rustic I've ever tried: almost empty, without furniture, a bed that isn't one and an almost unsanitary bathroom, but Valentin and Dimitri are in heaven. They find it much more comfortable than their usual Asian guest houses.

My Experience at a Mongolian Nightclub

That same evening, Valentin meets a local girl, who works in a cosmetic surgery clinic. Her first name: Nagui. Keep this name in mind, because she will reappear at the end of the trip.

She takes us to a nightclub, the Mint. I had absolutely no idea what awaited us! Finally, we come across a rather upscale place , with a very good atmosphere. A Mongolian woman who lives in France even comes up to us to tell us that we are lucky to live in such a beautiful country; the people are very warm.

The next day: the departure is becoming clearer

The next day, we decide to visit the "black market" of Ulaanbaatar. Nothing illegal, it's just a huge place with lots of small traders selling absolutely everything and anything.

We go there hoping to buy a motorbike, but the price and the tedious formalities discourage us. We decide then to stick to our initial plan which is to rent a motorbike.

This is where I first notice that many of the men are wearing very large black boots…

Oh, I forgot, if you are looking for nice clothing stores in Ulaanbaatar, forget it. I even saw fake Diesel jeans sold in a department store there.

It's time to leave, we take our things, and we head to the motorbike rental company that we had spotted beforehand: Cheke Tours .

Recovering the motorcycles... and first breakdown!

So we arrive at Cheke Tours. It is a small house, with a yurt away from the city, very close to the airport. We meet Cheke, a Mongolian woman who speaks French, colorful, with a strong character.

She hadn't noted our reservation and told us that she didn't have any more motorcycles available. After a few phone calls, everything finally worked out: our three steeds were waiting for us. They were 150cc Shineray Mustangs, which we could therefore drive without a license.

There's no denying that these are pretty sturdy machines , especially considering the daily shocks they endure. They don't go very fast, but in the steppe, that's not necessary. And above all, these are motorcycles used by all nomads. It's therefore easy to repair them and find spare parts. Last important point: they are equipped with small trays to easily hang your luggage . Motorcycles made for the steppe!

The price: 13€ per day , with your passport or 600€ as a deposit. Obviously, everything is in cash and must be paid in advance. This is clearly the cheapest agency in all of Mongolia. Competition is very rare; elsewhere, they are 350cc motorcycles and the bill climbs to $60 per day.

We take with us the famous stover, this mini-stove to cook for ourselves which will quickly become indispensable.

With the bikes loaded, it's time to leave for good! We set off and then... my bike has a problem. I can't get into second gear, the clutch is stuck. So we go back to Cheke's, and his two mechanics fix it for me.

During the whole trip, I will not have any more major problems, unlike Dimitri…

The departure (for good)

So we follow the route of a paper map bought at Cheke . We ride on a brand new road, the size of which would correspond to a departmental road at home. The journey goes well, my motorbike is rather pleasant to drive, although the speedometer does not work.

Already, a very special atmosphere begins to set in: the sun sets and beautifully lights up the hills.

And then suddenly the road stops dead.

And when I say clean, I mean clean. You're riding on tarmac and the next centimetre, it's dirt—the surface of the roads we'll mostly be riding on throughout our trip.

So we try our first "off road" drive, and it goes well.

Our first night in the Mongolian wilderness

Valentin's adventurous side takes over. He insists on going off the path and climbing a hill.

It's done, we collect wood and make our very first campfire, with a magnificent view. We try painfully to use the flint, but it doesn't work. So, we use drastic measures: Valentin soaks toilet paper in his gas tank , we put wood on it, a flick of the lighter, and hey presto, we have a nice campfire.

This is where a series of repeated gestures takes place and will not leave us during the entire trip: turning on the stove, heating the water, putting in the rice, eating, making tea, drinking it from the same bowl to pre-rinse it, brushing our teeth and using the same water to wash the bowl, etc.

We go to bed, the night is difficult because of the cold .

The next day, first sporty ride, since we have to go down this hill. For my second day on the motorbike, Valentin and Dimitri don't spare me much! We continue our progression in the bed of an old river, it's very beautiful.

Little by little, we come across fewer and fewer cars on these dirt roads.

After picking up some snacks from a micro-grocery store in a micro-village, we head off, and that's where they appear...

The first Mongolian steppes

The pleasant little wind, these green expanses, empty and infinite, this impression of absolutely total freedom... It is the ultimate happiness.

You can see everything for miles around. This region of Mongolia is not very hilly, there are only small hills, nothing that can stop us.

There is no network in Mongolia, except in the villages, so in the steppes, nothing and no one can disturb you.

For gamers, I can't explain why, but these settings remind me of those from Zelda Breath of the Wild . So much so that I wonder if Nintendo was inspired by Mongolia.

Everything is so beautiful... The smallest tree, the smallest rock, everything seems to be perfectly in its place.

It's a strange feeling that invades us every day. The kilometers of endless tracks follow one another under a magnificent sun. We don't know where we'll sleep at night, it's total freedom . Knowing that three weeks like this await us, the pleasure is as infinite as these steppes.

First problem: the motorbike got stuck in the mud!

We can see a lake in the distance. Since it's been two days since we last washed, we think a little swim is in order.

So it is with full confidence that I set off on this immense, partly dried-up lake. A beautiful stretch of cracked earth as far as the eye can see, it will be a treat to do on a motorbike!

Boom... Suddenly, my bike stops moving and Valentin, as soon as he sees me, immediately orders me to stop accelerating. Indeed, if the bike is stuck, turning the road will only dig the ground further and sink into it .

After an hour, by digging and pulling the motorbike from behind, we finally freed it, leaving this mosquito-infested place as quickly as possible (thanks to the mesh balaclava from Maharishi ).

Valentin and Dimitri take it very lightly. They love this aspect of our adventure, but I feel a little guilty about having been taken in like a beginner and delaying our planned trip for the day.

As a gift, here is a nice file about me. Valentin is completely hilarious and very amused by the little shovel:

You have to take it philosophically. This trip is also about that. The galley comes, you overcome it, and then the adventure continues. But this is only the first of this day…

Second hassle: losing the tent!

An hour later, disaster: we realize that the tent has come loose from Valentin's motorcycle , and it's impossible to find it. We go back on our steps, we search but nothing works, it is lost forever.

And how do you find a tent in the depths of the steppe?

We decide to rush to the next village as quickly as possible, to try to buy a tarpaulin that will serve as a makeshift shelter. While we struggle to make ourselves understood, a lady comes near us with a tent! It's a Mongolian miracle, a helping hand straight from the steppes, a lucky star of the trip!

We buy it for €40 — probably too expensive, but hey, it's the law of supply and demand. And in this case, demand is very high...

So obviously, it seems a lot less finished than the Decathlon tent we had, but it will do the job for the rest of the trip.

Steppes, always steppes

Third galley: the rainy valley whose name I forgot

Getting the bike stuck in the mud is fine.

Losing the tent is okay too.

But this moment is the first of the trip where I think "I would be better off in Paris".

Valentin and Dimitri, as usual, are delighted to live the adventure with a capital A. Quite simply because they love "the moment when things go better, afterwards".

So we have to visit a valley but, while we think we are getting closer to a hot and dry climate, the temperatures suddenly drop and it starts to rain, as if there was a micro climate...

The path is complicated, "tough" as Valentin and Dimitri would say. Getting off the horse and getting back on the road is almost a relief.

A few days later, we come across a group of Swiss people who are doing a big motorbike road trip (6000 km in 3 weeks!), efficiently equipped .

They are very surprised to learn that we crossed this valley with our little 150cc. They tell us that, with their motorcycles and their great experience, the task had been difficult. For me, a beginner motorcycle traveler, it is a great pride to hear that .

This journey is also about that: miles of steppes and a huge amount of introspection…

The night is so cold that I can't sleep. It's very painful, our sleeping bags are too thin.

So I resort to drastic measures and unfold the mini survival blanket in the early morning. Although it is a pain in the neck in terms of sweat condensation, I can fall asleep a little.

And I swear to myself that for my next trip, I will dig deeper into the subject of survival blankets ...

Valentin and Dimitri take these difficulties with a smile, they have experienced worse in their previous trips. This helps me a lot to put things into perspective, not to mention their encouragement and enthusiasm which remain intact day after day.

I realize how lucky I am to have two travel companions that I really want to lean on when the going gets tough.

The famous "corrugated iron" tracks in Mongolia

A short interlude between two photos: to go to the Gobi desert, you have to take a track that is simply awful.

In Mongolia, the thing that puts you in an almost meditative state when you ride is finding THE strip of dirt without bumps of a few centimeters in the middle of the road . And you spend your time "micro-zigzagging" on the track.

Except that on this path, the quality of the track is unbearable. It is as if construction equipment tracks had ravaged the earth, which presents tiny undulations. This is what is called a "corrugated iron" track.

It's tough on the bike, which is shaken in all directions, whether you're going at 20 km/h or 50 km/h. I keep wondering what the best method is with our little 150 cm3. If you ever have the answer, I beg you, post it in the comments! I'm not the only one asking myself this question .

Besides, how can such crumbly soil turn into a terrible corrugated iron as hard as cement? Answer: well, imagine that we don't fully understand the phenomenon.

Apparently, driving over 60km/h allows you to have the right frequency, the one where the vehicle "floats" on the track. But the suspensions are put to the test and, with our motorcycles, it is an unthinkable solution , if only for safety reasons (the grip of the tires drops drastically).

The Gobi Desert

Back up to the North

Fourth galley: the trap of the eight lakes walk

The most difficult moment of the journey is this one.

The goal is to see eight very beautiful lakes, accessible by motorbike according to what we were told. It all starts with this path:

After a while, we can't get through on our motorbikes anymore! We're stuck on the side of the mountain, trapped on a slope. We have about 300 meters left to finish going around the mountain. It's all the more infuriating because we can see a very flat plain waiting for us just behind.

How do you get through on a motorbike when you're already struggling to get around the remaining 300 metres on foot, from rock to rock?

Two scenarios are being considered:

• make a mini Bear Grylls raft to get the motorbikes across - pretty stupid, but at least we don't have to turn back;

• we turn back and lose a day, not to mention the climb back up the terrible stony path.

Anyway, it's too late to do anything that night. We decide to camp there, finding a flat spot to pitch our tent as best we can.

My morale is at its lowest , because I know that we are going to be very cold again tonight.

So to sleep, I decide to take drastic measures: I put on all my clothes !

• I wear my merino leggings, the Schoeller pants and the Triple Aught Design pants at the same time;
• I wear my three merino t-shirts at the same time, a fleece and the Power Stretch Pro bomber jacket.

It is with difficulty that I manage to sleep 3 or 4 hours. I welcome with pleasure the rising sun , we will finally be able to warm up. But there remains a decision to be made: turn around or not turn around?

As usual, Mongolia decided to give us a helping hand for the rest... Several nomads on horseback pass in front of our tent, and Valentin mimes our situation to find out if there is a path passable by motorbike.

They look at us laughing and signal that we can go over the mountain, rather than turning back! So it is full of hope that Valentin and Dimitri set off on foot to scout out the area, while I dismantle and tidy up our little camp.

An hour later, they return enthusiastic: they will have to take the motorcycles to the top of the mountain , and go back down another slope, occupied by a forest.

We won't have to turn back! My dejection from the day before finally turns into hope.

In terms of difficulty, they estimate that we will be at 7 or 8 out of 10. This is still high, but less than the 9.5/10 of the day before - that's the good side of things.

With difficulty, we manage to get the motorcycles to the top and enter this forest on the mountainside.

Little by little, meter by meter, tree by tree, we go down very slowly. 4 hours later, it's victory.

Or rather, it’s the ultimate thrill.

It's a huge feeling of relief that comes over us , an intense joy of having done it, of having crossed this mountain that caused us a lot of trouble.

We even have a body of water to do some dishes! We have almost no drinking water left, we decide to fill a bottle with water from the lake and disinfect it with an Aquatab tablet, just in case.

In the Orkhon Valley

After the night we just had, I hope with all my heart that we will find a warm and comfortable yurt… But we are far from having arrived, and I wonder how I will be able to repair my rear brake.

Night begins to fall and, with all the rivers we have crossed, we are starting to get soaked. But suddenly, in the distance, it is victory! We see a comfortable "tourist camp" and we hurry to ask to light the stove in the yurt.

The next day, we set off again, still in this magnificent Orkhon Valley. We realize that our trip is gradually coming to an end, since we see more and more tourists and yurts.

Wild and isolated Mongolia is far behind us…

The (almost) end of the journey

Remember, at the beginning of the trip, we met a young girl: Nagui. We got on well; she suggested that we return our motorbikes two days earlier and take a mini road trip to a corner of Mongolia that she wanted us to discover.

We accept, but the very morning of the delivery of the motorcycles, Dimitri's motorcycle breaks down badly, as if the cylinder piston was seized. And all this, right in the middle of a tarmac road.

A truck stops, he agrees to take Dimitri and the motorcycle to the next village. Except that no mechanic seems to be able to repair the motorcycle. Fortunately, we find another truck that goes to Ulan Bator and takes Dimitri's motorcycle for a small sum of money.

In the meantime, a mad cow epidemic has been declared in the village of Cheke: all the roads are blocked... We wonder how we are going to manage to return our three Shinerays once and for all.

So we gradually arrive at Ulaanbaatar, where we try driving on the Mongolian "ring road".

Finally, we come across a road blocked by police, with Cheke waiting for us behind a cordon sanitaire. We collect our deposits and drop off the bikes. As I set foot on the ground, I realize that this intense three-week road trip is over.

The mini road trip with Nagui

Our discovery of Mongolia is not quite over. As soon as the motorbikes are dropped off, Nagui comes to pick us up by car.

She wants to show us a natural park northeast of Ulaanbaatar. On the way, I discover a Mongolia I didn't suspect : we pass by very high-end residences, we are in the posh Ulaanbaatar.

We stop to do some shopping in the most beautiful supermarket I have ever seen, the toilets are all marble! And the clientele is very fashionable, nothing to do with the dusty micro grocery stores lost in the steppes. I remember seeing at least fifteen different high-end vodkas, and a huge Haribo stand.

We continue to drive for a good hour on a perfectly tarmac road, with many tourist camps along the way. This is clearly no longer the wild and rural Mongolia we have been traveling through .

We even come across a very high-end camp where the night is €50 per person, a real fortune here! At that price, the yurt is magnificent, but it is too expensive for us.

Don’t worry, we come across a very friendly camp:

The rest of the trip is much more touristy . It feels so weird to see so many people, and to have toilets with flushing systems so widespread. It's definitely another Mongolia that is offered to us, and I don't know what to think about it.

For our last night in nature, we paradoxically had a lot of trouble finding a pleasant place away from traffic to pitch our tent.

We had told Nagui that we had been very cold during the night, so she was kind enough to bring her own equipment: a reflective groundsheet that covers the entire tent, and huge and bulky sleeping bags, impossible to carry on a motorbike, but which are very warm. For the first time on this trip, I can finally sleep warm in the tent , despite a cool night.

The next day, we returned to Ulaanbaatar in the morning to buy some souvenirs. As for me, I took a baby camel plaid, and Valentin and Dimitri bought yak wool socks from Marty & Martha .

We return to our favorite vegetarian restaurant, a real treat after three weeks of eating in the steppes.

And then we quietly fall asleep to leave at 4 a.m. for the airport, and take off early in the morning from this majestic Mongolia.

Cheke Tours Review

A quick word about our experience with Cheke Tours, which is the only "low cost" motorcycle rental company in the country.

Overall, despite a bunch of minor mechanical problems, the bikes we rented worked well despite the countless bumps, rocks and sand of Mongolia.

On the other hand, we met a very atypical Frenchman who set off alone on this trip with Cheke Tours, who had big problems with his motorbike which broke down several times.

Dimitri's stopped working on the last day. As for me, the speedometer and kilometer counters didn't work. The needle on the counter even broke because of the vibrations!

So I don't really know what to tell you: if you are resourceful, have good motorcycle experience and are going in a group, go to Cheke without any problem. If you already have a motorcycle license, have the budget and want more comfort, then go to Vintage Rides .

In fact, the only time I would advise against Cheke would be if you are a naturally anxious person, have zero experience , and are either going alone or with people who are as inexperienced as you.

In any case, remember that with Cheke, everything is done in cash. Definitely remember to take motorcycle gloves, and if you have your own helmet and jacket, it's a real plus (which was not the case for us).

Final report: Mongolia in our hearts

So, how do you get back from a three-week motorcycle trip in Mongolia? Since this article is already quite long, we'll try to be concise at the end.

As I said, the journey is as much internal as external. I was in the most total discovery : I had never done a motorcycle trip, nor wild camping for so long and in such an isolated place!

It hasn't always been a walk in the park, it's not the most relaxing trip, but that's part of the game. In any case, it was very clear to Valentin and Dimitri.

And I knew very well that by going with them, it would not be a trip with immediate gratification all the time, without hassle or tension, nothing to worry about, nothing to manage... That was not the goal of this adventure, and I made my choice in full awareness .

But the gratification is there : I came back with a sense of accomplishment, but also pride — on my scale. I am proud to have gone through all the difficult moments under the watchful eye of my comrades. I am proud to have managed to endure several freezing nights. I am proud to have continued, despite the slips, skids and falls (without seriousness, I remind you). And I am proud to have been able to endure without any problem, and without any shortage, a fairly spartan diet (thanks to the Choco Pie who helped us a lot).

In short, I found an unexpected self-transcendence there and, still on my humble scale, I understand better why some people embark on perilous climbs or world tours with heavy constraints. I certainly haven't climbed the Himalayas but for me, that's already a lot.

And I am very grateful to have had with me two fantastic friends who accompanied me so well in my fears and apprehensions of such a journey. I could not have hoped for better, and I wish everyone to take a trip with two friends as crazy, enthusiastic, curious and adventurous, but also responsible, mentally strong and reassuring .

This is ultimately the most powerful thing I brought back from Mongolia, an even stronger and more complete friendship.

Thanks to you guys. I owe you a lot.