Tomas Tumalovicius:

We woke up, packed our tents, and decided to take a different route than the one we came in on. And guess what? We stumbled right into a gathering of a Mongolian clan!!!! In the photo, you can see the very happy grandmother of the family — clearly, the celebration must have been a good one!

Here are Audronė, Olegas, Andrius – the owner of the most amazing curls – and Paulius, the proud owner of the most beautiful white-toothed smile. Just a bit of light off-roading. We were racing through the canyons.

One day they nearly flipped over. Seriously. The roads in Mongolia are so wild, thrilling and intense, but in return, you get the freedom to drive wherever your eyes take you.

There are National Parks where it’s unclear where they even begin or end. But once the rangers introduced themselves, they quickly set us straight. In the end, it all wrapped up with a group selfie and our escorted departure from a place where only wild horses roam.

Audronė, ever the serious real estate expert, is trying to sense whether the feng shui in this yurt is any good. But jokes aside – right in the middle of the steppe, this is what a true remote homestead looks like. Not many amenities, but at least there’s a roof over your head.

We didn’t sleep here – we just really wanted the photo. That said, we did experience overnight stays in yurts as well. And those yurts even had showers! So basically, a full-on Mongolian SPA experience… or simply wild living with a touch of comfort.

How about a delicacy for the little one? No need for candy here – bacon is the ultimate treat! The tastiest snack there is!

This is the dining area inside a yurt. There are certain rules for how to behave here. Men are not allowed on the right side, as that is where the women take care of everything and if a woman happens to be bending over, it would be considered disrespectful to stare.

But what attracted us most was the food! We sampled absolutely everything: ayran, kumis, cheeses, breads, and bacon. And the hospitality? You simply can’t imagine how warm and welcoming these people are!

Mongolia – a paradise of skulls and skeletons. Why? Because the local Mongols have countless livestock: horses, camels, goats, sheep… and they all roam freely across the steppes. Horses, in particular, are often just let loose wherever. And if there’s a nearby water source, they run around completely unattended. The herders come by once a month or so, count how many have died, and that’s it.

We’re adventure seekers – treasure hunters, and this time we became the “skull buriers.” We buried them so we could return for them later. So get ready for an adventure in the Mongolian dunes. We’re on the hunt for two skulls!

This sweet girl became our local guide for an hour. She invited us to her family’s celebration, showing us around and introducing us to uncles, aunts, grandparents, and so on. While leading us, she said: “Today is a calm games day. But yesterday… oh, yesterday drunk men were fighting. Yesterday was a real celebration!”

So, as we understood, a family celebration isn’t really a celebration without a few fights – only then is it truly a party!

Actually, there are roads in Mongolia – Google just hasn’t discovered them yet, because you really can’t tell where they’re leading. The “road” is like a meadow that’s been trampled three times by a cart. That’s the road… but this story isn’t really about that.

It’s about a girl, maybe 13 years old, who came running across the steppe toward us utterly terrified. Seriously, completely freaked out. We realized she had buried their Toyota Prius. Her dad, feeling like he was in the Dakar Rally, probably decided to cut a path through or maybe Google misled him too.

Anyway, we practically carried the car out of there with the little dog and the mom sitting inside.

Otherwise, while speeding through those fields for a few hours, you rarely encounter other cars. Maybe we passed two or so, but one of them was just completely stuck.

Now this is a real shootout. Do you know what this rifle is loaded with? Dominoes. And where do you aim? Somewhere over there. But everyone’s playing. Fun for both the old and the young. Just a casual domino shoot in the middle of the steppe.

And for them? After yesterday’s wild celebration, it’s just a relaxing little game. For us? It’s the ultimate attraction!

As I mentioned before, there are countless corpses in the steppe. For us, it was more about skulls – from burying them to decorating the cars. Somehow, it made us feel closer to the tribe… or maybe we just got a little too carried away.

And here I am – Tomas Tumalovicius. You can just call me the Adventure Factory. Kind of like how some people are orchestras… I’m a one-man Adventure Factory. Why? Because I decided not to look at life through a window, but straight into its eyes!

Are you ready to race across all the steppes, deserts, and dunes? Because I’m already lacing up my boots!

It may seem a bit barbaric, but the sheep was put down very quickly and painlessly. Like true professionals, they did it in seconds. The animal died instantly. We were completely stunned.

The Gobi Desert is made up of steppes, mountain ranges, canyons, and sand dunes — a truly vast territory. Even more impressive are the unreal, colorful canyons.

More drone photos here: https://feeldakar.com/su-dronu-per-mongolija/

Tourists get around in UAZ vehicles. During the day, it gets really hot, and they don’t have air conditioning – so good luck to anyone traveling by bus!

For those interested in the technical side, they replace the UAZs’ shock absorbers with proper ones. Otherwise, everyone riding inside would rattle their teeth to pieces on Mongolia’s long and notoriously rough roads.

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In Mongolia, we often had to cook our own meals. A huge THANK YOU to Jurgita and Andrius – amazing chefs!

You’ve got to get a tan – are you really going to come back from the desert pale?

We woke up in the morning ready to go, but for me, an adventure isn’t just sitting and driving. I suggested climbing through the canyon to reach the spot where others, too lazy to climb, had come by car. Morning canyon workout: done!

If you ask what Mongols eat, the answer is simple: they’ve barely heard of vegetarianism. The main dish? Meat with more meat. For dessert? More meat. They wash it down with ayran and kumis. Occasionally, they might nibble on some cheese.

We stopped on the highway, parking carefully so as not to block traffic. Then I went looking for a route further ahead.

Our dream team. By summer 2020, there will be 4 SUVs and 16 true adventurers!!!

The children’s playground. Meets all safety requirements – ISO 9999999 standards approved by the Children’s Playground BBD Inspection.

This is the little village where we stopped to ask for directions… and ended up being invited to a family celebration.

And of course, our air conditioner broke down. So we had to find a local repair shop. And guess what? Deep in the Gobi Desert, they speak neither English nor Russian. So we had to communicate with fingers and gestures – “condition kaput, harakiri, cross signs, hot, need cold.”

We somehow summoned the mechanics, who called each other, drove out to meet us, and fixed it within a few hours! Otherwise, I feel like we’d have been roasted alive.

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There, in the canyon’s carved-out hollows, we set up our tents. An amazing spot to camp!!!!

An off-road playground captured from a drone flight. Unfortunately, the drone didn’t last long – it crashed at a waterfall near the end of the trip. Luckily, we managed to recover all the photos and videos.

A romantic overnight stay for two awaits you this Valentine’s Day.

And here’s where we slept – yurts with showers! This isn’t some greasy little shack. After endless bumpy rides: a cozy restaurant, a romantic sunset, and a chance for us to recharge our energy!

We climbed onto the roofs, and a flock of sheep ran across our road.

Here are the true, massive dunes of the Gobi Desert. And over there, our little jeeps – can you spot them? 😉 No tourists ever come here.

One morning, we greeted the day on horseback, racing toward a waterfall!

This mischievous waterfall bewitched the drone and… crash! Okay, fine, it was my own clumsiness, not the waterfall’s fault. The important thing is – we managed to recover all the footage!!!