My Mongolian Adventure
posted on 5th of march, 2009
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On June 16th of 2008 I embarked on an amazing adventure that saw me and a group of other avid adventurers, cycling across the Arkhangai mountain ranges, located about 800 kilometers from UllanBaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Aside from riding more then 400 kilometers on a mountain bike over a variety of mountainous terrain at altitude of 2000 to 3000 meters, with snow caps above us and despite it being summer time, I got to meet the amazing people of Mongolia, experiencing their warmth, hospitality and openness.It was also my privilege to encounter the wonderful Mongolian children, some of them in the Christina Noble Children's Foundation Orphanage ( http://www.cncf.org )and others in the wilderness of the plains and mountain valleys. This journey was an experience that was a culmination of two dreams.
First, to visit the wilderness of Mongolia and meet the nomad people, something that has been on my mind since my early age, when I sat transfixed, listening to the stories of the great Ghengis Khan, a man some chose to only remember for only his ruthlessness and deadly efficiency, with others attributing such lofty titles as the father of modern globalization. With the second, a desire to experience remote travel by the means of a mountain bike, something that has niggled at me as far back as I can recall.
This trip not only brought both of my above-mentioned dreams together, but also exceeded my expectations. It would by hard to single out what I enjoyed the most in any particular order, after all the cycling was awesome, the landscape stunning, the crew fabulous and the other riders engaging and friendly. However, had I just to just pick one thing, that which stood out, making this experience even more special... that would have to be the people of Mongolia.
Living in their harsh and remote nomadic conditions, often with limited means, I could feel a prevailing sense of warmth, openness and sharing with no expectations. More often then not, on their weather worn faces, the Mongols reminded me of young children, devoid of any pretense, or as the saying goes, wearing their hearts on their shoulders. No doors were closed and no meals unshared, a refreshing alternative to the way people treat one another in the western world. The people of this country have made a lasting impression on me, one I'm unlikely to forget in this lifetime.
The following are some of my selected images of my Mongolian Adventure:
http://www.meder.net/
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Tags: adventure asia cycling mongolia travel
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Comments (7)
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Comment by Drizzle
on March 16, 2009
Incredibly jealous, thanks for the post though to give us a flavour of your trip
Creative Agency Manchester |
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Comment by Piscari
on March 05, 2009
-Beautiful places! I may be wrong, but it seems you are doing shots from Pentax? I made this conclusion on the shades in the photos:)) But this is just my assumption (o_-) |
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Comment by Littledesire
on March 05, 2009
Skies are amazing! Congrats! |
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Comment by Fultonsphoto
on March 05, 2009
Very nice effect. |
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Comment by Krystof
on March 05, 2009
While the skies are quite cloudy in Mongolia, a big part of this effect is me doing HDR, which is a combo of post and pre processing :) |
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Comment by Fultonsphoto
on March 05, 2009
Great adventure and wonderful pics. One question, are the skies always like that (cloudy) or is that done post processing? |
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Comment by Picstudio
on March 05, 2009
Lovely pics. |
Comments (7) |
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Photo credits: Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder, Christopher Meder. |
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Christopher Meder
(Krystof)
North Wollongong, AU
>I'm a freelance and micro-stock professional photographer. I love my work and I see it as an art-form and a discipline of painting with light. To me it's a study of how light and shadow affects everything around us and our own and individual interpretation of the world that we live in.
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