Sept. 22, 2022

We love to travel and know long plane rides are part of the deal.  But this was our longest journey yet!  

The first leg of the trip to JFK was flawless.  Unfortunately, at JFK, we learned we had to trade in our Delta tickets for Korean Air tickets.  We had to wait for 3 hrs for Korean Air to open, which meant we were outside of security and unable to take advantage of our airline lounge privileges with our Chase Reserve card.  Frustrating!!!  

The flight to Seoul, although lengthy (15.5 hrs), was more comfortable because the middle seat between us was empty (a good seating selection trick that might not always work… but it did this time!  No one wanted to choose that dreaded middle seat!!)  We had a 3hr layover in Seoul, a beautiful & immaculate airport, then on to Mongolia.  Total transit time after leaving home: @35 hours!!! 

Amazingly, we felt pretty decent upon arrival in Ulaanbaatar!

Pete, on our last leg to Ulaanbaatar ….South Korea is still very strict with masking.

Two unexpected surprises when we reached Mongolia.  First, Joan went to use the lady’s room, and the toilet seat was a heated bidet!!  Apparently, this airport is only a year old and built by the Japanese who are famous for their fancy toilets!  But, really, Mongolia of all places to have such a fancy toilet!

Next, our guide Muuggi (pictured below) told us that, although the airport was only 18 miles from the city, it may take several hours because of the “traffic problems!”  WHAT!!! This is the least densely populated country in the world… there are only 3.3 million people in this ENTIRE country (3x the size of France), and they have traffic problems!  But, as we learned, 50% of the country lives in this one city, and the town was built during the communist period, long before the infrastructure needs of today.

Once checked into our hotel, we joined Muuggi and two other group members for a light dinner.  Muuggi also helped us with our new money! There are no coins, just bills.  There are also lots of zeroes in Mongolian currency!  We can feel like millionaires here!!!

Now….home to the hotel for a good night’s sleep!