USA: Washington, Philadelphia & New York

My sister always wanted to go to New York, so in September we went to the east coast.

Washington D.C. day 1: first day we have a look at the White House and the many many monuments. Everything is so well organised and clean. Then we pick the national history museum from the Smithsonian museums (all of them are free). It's mainly aimed at kids, but still great fun to see the huge collection of stuffed animals, interactive displays and butterfly garden!

Day 2: the memorial park is great to go running and along the way I cross many sportive Americans. I run all the way to the Pentagon, but I get to close and one of the guards grabs his gun and shouts I have to leave... Later that day we go explore the Georgetown district. Best parts are the Exorcist stairs, the university (Hogwarts vibe) and the pier near the Potomac river. In the evening we see a great jazz concert in the JFK center (free performances every night).

Day 3: the temporary exhibition 'The Beach' uses plastic balls to represent the sea. It's a great concept and I see people franticly diving in, while others cover themselves and relax. In the afternoon we rush trough the air and space museum (there is so much amazing stuff to see and learn) to be in time for the train to Philadelphia.

Philadelphia day 1: the old centre. A lot of history has been made here; the declaration of independence, the constitution and Benjamin Franklin. Visiting the independence hall and liberty bell is free if you arrive early enough. Next we do a very nice walk next to the Delaware river and so we turn into colourful South Street. Here you can buy and see almost everything. Very nice is the magic garden filled with mosaics.

Day 2: we have a walk to the other side of Philadelphia. We visit the Franklin institute, with the temporary LEGO show 'Art of the Brick'. Fairmont park is also wonderful, and here you can find the 'Rocky stairs'. Final stop is the Eastern State Penitentiary which has a great audio tour.

New York Day 1: Philadelphia was a very pleasant city with much to see and great food. But we have to continue. After my morning run to Fairmont park, just like Rocky, we take the train to New York. The first thing we notice it's so crowded! But this is no problem because the subway is perfectly organised. We take a 7 day metro pass, because this is already cheaper after 12 rides. After checking in and filling our stomach, we decide to check out Times Square. Very crowded again but what a spectacle! All the billboards, shops and traffic give the feeling this city really never sleeps. But we do need sleep so we head back to the hostel after this long day.

Day 2: the One World Trade Centre and 9/11 memorial museum give us plenty to do. The museum is quite new and I really recommend it to get a feeling what an impact the attacks had on New York. After that we take the free ferry to Staten Island to get a nice view of the Statue of Liberty.

Day 3: going running in central park is the perfect way to see most of it. It's huge and there are so many other runners. After that we go to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and are amazed by the huge and varied collection.

Day 4: too Brooklyn! The architecture here is completely different and the atmosphere is more relaxed. Except for the Labour Day parade that's taking place. Later we go to the very crowded Cooney Island, which is a beach + pier + amusement park. The attractions are all very expensive, so we quickly leave for the monumental Brooklyn bridge. While crossing it we have an unique view of the city. After 4 days there's still so much to do in New York, so I'm certain I will return one day!

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Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar again & Moscow

After being outdoors for so long, you only realise your odour after the shower, when you enter the room and smell the dirty clothes. Ugh! So that's why all the people in the mall looked so annoyed! When we are clean we can meet the other group of Belgians, who arrived just a few days ago. It's great fun to scare them with stories about the lack of hygiene and paved roads.

The biggest Naadam events take place in Ulaanbaatar. We go see the opening ceremony (watch out for cheap tickets, the seats can have a horrible view), wrestling and fireworks. The last part is the most spectacular, with an incredible amount of fireworks used.

We end up in a karaoke bar and some vodka helps to produce unique renditions of among others The Pianoman, Creep and Bleed It Out!

The next day is though. Not only because of the hangover, but also the sandstorm and the horrible traffic. We manage to get trough it, and see the carnival and the big horse race outside of the city. Then we say goodbye to the other Belgians as they leave for more adventures on the Mongolian road.

Our own remaining adventures are limited to some museum visits, a dance performance and some souvenir shopping.

Before we arrive back to Belgium, we have 8 hours to spend in Moscow (you'll need a visa to leave the airport). I was there once in winter, but with some sunshine the city appears much more beautiful. Highlights are Lenin's tomb, St. Basil's Cathedral and Arbat Street. Tired but satisfied we get back to the airport and so ends an amazing journey!

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Mongolia: road trip part 2

Day 6: crossing the vast steppes on horseback is such an amazing feeling. We are free to walk, trot or gallop. The speed is controlled by hitting its rear and shouting 'tchuu!'. Some struggle a bit to control the horse, but eventually every duo reaches some sort of agreement. While I'm in a gallop, my horse gets bitten by a fly on it's head. It panics and wont stop, so at max speed, I have to lean forward to swat the fly. It thanks me by slowing down and behaving for the rest of the trip :) For lunch there's goat barbecue, and we watch how the farmer skilfully kills and cuts it.

Day 7: the drivers will bring our tents while we go to the next destination by horse. Now the saddle pain starts to get really bad, we are all to big to sit on these tiny wooden things with our legs in the wrong angle. Luckily at the end of the day, we are greeted by a naturally heated swimming pool and shower. It's the perfect end to the best experience of the entire trip! Also the combination of quite a few drinks in the evening and the shiny moon prompts me to blast Shine On You Crazy Diamond trough the valley. Needless to say our guide was a bit confused!

Day 8: some culture. We visit Kharkorhin and its remains of Mongolia's first Buddhist monastery. It's an impressive place. Much less impressive is the nearby penis rock.

Day 8: we are staying next to a river, and our guide manages to rent some canoes. The river is quite long and we have great fun manoeuvring it. It's also great fun to bump the other canoes! The animals at the side are unimpressed by our antics. When we walk back to the camp, a farmer tries to herd his goats to the other side of the river. He asks for our help to cross them one by one. The farmer and his kids group the goats, so we can grab one by the horns and pull them over. The goats don't like this at all and bleat like they are being murdered: maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! If they swallow water it becomes the funniest sound ever: maagllellegllelle!

Day 9: Naadam is the national holiday in Mongolia. There are lot of celebrations around this time, focussed on the three most popular sports: wrestling, horse riding and archery. We have the chance to visit such an event in a small town. The premise is nice, but everything is very chaotic and badly organised. There's some wrestling going on but only with kids. We do see the finish of the horse race. The riders are very young and sometimes are thrown off under way. There's a point system which lets these riderless horses still count. All the awards only go to the trainers. Another particularity is the rush of people wanting to touch the sweat of the winning horse. We are chased away by a heavy storm but soon the weather calmes down and we settle at the most idyllic location of the entire trip! In the evening we visit a school were the unofficial fourth sport: knuckle-bone shooting. It reminds me of shooting marbles in primary school, but for the people here it's serious business.

Day 10: another local Naadam and now we see the real wrestlers in action. The size of the men is impressive (no weight categories here) but even more memorable are the victory dance and the occasional butt slaps! Everything was well organised here, so it really depends from town to town. After a lot of driving we set camp in a desert area, filled with lizards, prompting our scared guide to sleep in the car instead of his tent!

Day 11: we visit a nearby monastery and the ruins of a rare stone temple (Süm Khökh Burd). But the most impressive sights of the day are the rock formations of Baga Gazryn Chuluu. We set camp for the last time, enjoy the night sky full of stars (Orion!) and so this amazing road trip comes to an end.

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