The Luxury Travel Bible - JAN WIGSTEN (Mongolia)

Jan Wigsten (Mongolia)


My most luxurious and adventurous trip: Due to the specific interests of my guests, I firstly arranged a lunch meeting with the Mongolian Deputy Minister of Trade at the time in a giant guest ger, which was once the residence of an early 20th century Foreign Minister in Mongolia. After a quick stop at my favourite antique dealer in downtown Ulan Bator we flew south in a chopper to the grasslands, and landed at Arburd Sands for the night. The next day more than 500 horses were assembled by the nomads, and we had a close encounter with the Mongol equestrian tradition.
We experienced horse races with kid jockeys and the breaking in of a wild stallion, followed by a feast on the grasslands. Next a flight to our ger camp at Jalman Meadows, in the Upper Tuul River Valley known for its alluvial wooded meadows. On the last day, we flew by helicopter into the Khan Khentii Special Protected Area, a huge forested wilderness three times the size of Yellowstone with circumpolar boreal forests - in this sense part of Siberia. We landed at the alpine lake Hagiin Balck Lake, in pristine forested wilderness, and surveyed the stunning scenery - my guests then departed in their private jet back to the Americas, following an Asia round-trip at the time of the Beijing Olympics.
My favourite place in the world: The easy climb up the amazing ridges at Altan Uul (Mongolia) where several big raptors share the same space and I am able to quietly observe their astonishing hunting and flying skills.

Posted 1/7/13