Today I came across the best documentation of the red sweater in action. I would have included it in my original post, but I only looked through my regular photo albums for images. This photo is stored in one of the two photo albums I have of myself doing cartwheels. That’s right, for those of you who don’t know me well, I have over 150 photographs of myself doing cartwheels in different locations around the world. My ex-boyfriend shot this of me in Trafalgar Square, London.

Megan cartwheeling in Trafalgar Square, London, England–July 1999

Megan in Bruges, Belgium — January 1998

I don’t have my next entry ready for Myanmar yet (get ready for Bagan!) so I thought I would put up an old photo I came across. This is my favorite self portrait of myself traveling. It was taken on my first trip alone during my three week winter break from university in Newcastle, England. I was tired and worn down and wandering around a residential district of Bruges, Belgium when it started to rain. Ducking into an entranceway I caught my breath and waited for a break in the clouds. This was shot with my old point and shoot film camera, before I started carrying a tripod so it’s probably resting on my bag. Later that night I had Chicken Waterzooi for the first time and a glass of Banana Beer, which I have never managed to find again.

It’s getting to the point where I need to book my flight. I would like to have it booked by the end of February. One friend I talked to, who has been to South Korea to visit family, said it’s not so great. I asked if Seoul was worth stopping for a few days on my old friend, the Lonely Planet Forum, and someone told me there was plenty to see in a few days. It comes down to if I want to spend $259 to visit Seoul and have the peace of mind that my flight to Mongolia is confirmed.

Aside from the way I get to Mongolia, I’m undecided on when I’m going there. Mongolia’s largest holiday and festival, Naadam, takes place in mid-July. It is a celebration of the founding of the Mongolian State and unification of the Mongol tribes by Chinggis Khaan, otherwise known as Ghenghis Khan, in 1206. Obviously, historians are not counting the 200 or so years in which Mongolia was ruled by the Chinese–nowadays who hasn’t been ruled by the Chinese in one way or another? Originally I had decided that I was going to visit Mongolia in June, just before the festival, to avoid the raised prices and overbooked tours and accommodations. Lately I’ve been reading more about the planned events and getting a little envious. This year marks Mongolia’s 800th anniversary and Naadam should be the biggest event ever. I really did enjoy my time in Phnom Penh, Cambodia during it’s Water Festival. The whole town changed for those three days and allowed me to get a glimpse of normal Cambodians interacting and celebrating. I suspect that seeing the 800th anniversary Naadam is a once in a lifetime opportunity I would be a fool to miss. Although the actual sporting events–wrestling, archery and horse racing—look interesting, I am more tempted to reschedule to see the opening ceremony. There should be a large amount of traditional costumes around, which is my favorite thing to see when I am traveling.

On the other hand, the reasons I originally wanted to avoid Naadam are still there. The quote below sums it up:

February 9, 2006
Because of planned celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the Mongolian State, the hotel situation in Mongolia will be critical in summer 2006. Embassy Ulaanbaatar is already experiencing difficulty booking large blocks of rooms for this summer. We anticipate that late bookings for individuals will be increasingly difficult in the spring months of April, May and June, and extremely hard to virtually impossible to secure during the high tourist season in July, August and September. Post advises those considering travel to Ulaanbaatar to consider this and make travel plans as far in advance as possible.

Mongolia has a limited yet growing tourism infrastructure. During summer months it has been common for all the tourist class hotels to be near or at capacity. Many anniversary events are planned throughout the coming year, with a preponderance of the events occurring during the peak tourist season of June through September. The Government of Mongolia along with district and city governments has taken the opportunity to invite public servants and commercial contacts from other countries to witness and participate in events, sometimes block booking entire hotels.

Most of the events will center in Ulaanbaatar, as the only major city in the country. We anticipate that the increase in tourism combined with limited increase in hotel rooms in the city will result in a critical shortage for all room types, as well as availability of seats on flights to and from Ulaanbaatar.

At this moment I’m leaning toward going for Naadam. I would be in Mongolia a few weeks before and could confirm everything and secure tickets. Hopefully, I could book accommodation in March. I am certain there will be plenty of people looking to share tour and driver expenses around the country–it will only bed a matter of finding them once I get there.

I got my new passport in the mail today. It’s beautiful, clean, contains 48 pages (instead of the usual 24) and doesn’t expire until 2016! I actually still have the shirt I wore in my 1997 passport photo, which should tell me it’s time to clean out my closet.

My Chinese visa will have to wait until April or May because it requires entry at least 90 days from date of issue. But I was really nervous about not having my passport for a few months after racking up all of those interesting visas.

RIP Red Sweater

For some reason I have a history of becoming extremely attached to inanimate objects. Often the cheaper the item is, the more attached I am–which may be why I have so many pairs of socks. I have owned a red, zippered cardigan since my early college years. I love this sweater. It is thin, but warm; collared, but not hooded; zippered, but with no pockets. It is perfect for me. Granted, over the years it has shrunk in the wash, worn thin in certain areas and stretched out in others–but I still love it. I have tried to patch up some of the large holes to no avail. My mother has insisted that it is time to say goodbye.

Not only has this sweater stood by while I attended Geology of the National Parks and Monuments lectures my Freshman year of college but it has traveled with me to at least 20 countries. My favorite red sweater has followed me around the world and always been there when I needed it. Right now as I pack up my belongings to put into storage I have to say goodbye.

Watching the boats in AEroskobing, Denmark // Hanging out in Montmartre district of Paris, France // Eating McDonalds in Manchester, England // Touring the gothic quarter of Barcelona, Spain

There I was, all ready to buy my one-way ticket to Mongolia. I called earlier in the week to check on prices and put the ticket on hold. When I called back a few days later I spoke to a bit more knowledgeable agent than I had before and he revealed the wrench in my plans. Apparently, the flight from Chicago to Beijing on United was great–a direct flight arriving around 2:30 in the afternoon. The problem is that there is only one flight out of Beijing to Mongolia that l could connect to. That flight is operated by Mongolia’s national airline (MIAT). MIAT’s computer system isn’t compatible with airline booking systems in the U.S. so, although I can be issued a ticket, I won’t have a confirmation number or be anywhere in their system. I don’t want to take the chance that it will all work out once I arrive in Beijing.

There is a flight to Mongolia on China Air (or is that Air China?) at 9 in the morning. I don’t think Chinese officials will allow me to stay in the international terminal for 18 hours waiting for my flight. If I leave the international terminal or retrieve my luggage I will have to pass through customs and buy a transit visa. If I go through the trouble to get another visa (I will already need a double entry Chinese visa for the rest of my trip) and go into the city I might as well just take the train!

I am looking into the possibility of going through South Korea instead of Beijing. The flights are more expensive but Korea doesn’t require a visa for Americans so staying the night to connect isn’t a big deal. Plus, I’ve never been to Korea! I really would like to fly on United and pick up some frequent flyer miles. I’m as interested as you to find out how I’m going to get to Mongolia…