In the next morning, I woke up before 7 and my god! It was freezing outside! 🥶🥶 🥶🥶🥶🥶 The sun was up yet the wind carried the cold wind all through out the ger camp. 🥶🥶🥶🥶 I headed directly to the ger camp’s bathroom area to prepare. Bloody hell! 🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶🥶 The water was sooooo cold in the shower. 🥶🥶🥶🥶 The heater did not worked. 😭😭😭 I had no choice but to take a quick shower. 🥶🥶🥶🥶

Before 9 in the morning, our breakfast in the restaurant were prepared. We had a delicious meal that was still part of the tour package. 😋

After our breakfast, we prepared our stuffs and had a short photo-taking with the group. We then left the ger camp. 🚘

To start the second day of our tour, I am sharing everything below as part of the tour package I availed in Central Mongolia.

Erdene Zuu Monastery, Wearing of Traditional Mongolian Royal Dresses and Eagle Photo Op

The Erdene Zuu Monastery located in Karakorum was the first Buddhist monastery built in 1585. It is said that it was founded by Avtai Sain Khan who is a descendant of Chinggis Khan and the great-grandfather of the first Bogd, Lama Zanabazar. Too many religious and cultural artifacts were found in the monastery. However, during the political repression in 1930s, some were destroyed and was not able to keepsafe.

The monastery also have the temple called Panjara Mahakala that used to be a place of offering for Panjara Mahakala, a powerful and wrathful deity who serves as a primary protector of the Dharma or the teachings of the Buddha. The temple was also a residence of the Dalai Lama before when he was visiting Mongolia.

The Erdene Zuu Monastery was less than 10-minutes from our ger camp. We explored the entire monastery with the guide of Sarah. I found the monastery very peaceful and felt like I was transported back to Bagan in Myanmar where I travelled also in 2016. The sunset, cold wind and old temples were like a reminder of how Buddhism flourished in the early times in Mongolia.

During our breakfast, Sarah, our guide told us that she have surprises for us. 😍😍😍One of that was to wear traditional Mongolian dresses. 😍😍😍 We left the monastery and crossed the street to wear our dresses. The ladies in the shop chose different colors of dresses for all of us. They helped us to wear it including our headpieces. 😍

Wearing the traditional Mongolian royal dresses were not part of our itinerary and tour package. However, Sarah told us that because we were very nice to her, she will let us experience this custom. 😍😍😍 As we changed, I felt like Queen Chabi, the wife of Kublai Khan. Those royal dresses were really elegant and gorgeous. Though the headpiece was really heavy. 😅

After changing our dresses, we had a chance to take photos with a Mongolian eagle. 😍🦅😍 Eagle-hunting was a huge part of the culture of Mongolia. Archery, a way to hunt eagles, is a part of Naadam Festival. This festival showcases the top sports in Mongolia. Aside from archery, the festival held wrestling and horse-racing that were treated as sacred and Mongolia’s best sports.

As for that day, we were able to held a female eagle in our arms to take nice photos. 😍🦅😍 After the photo op with the eagle, we returned to Erdene Zuu Monastery to witness the Buddhist monks morning prayers and chants.

A small population of Buddhist monks were still in the monastery complex to maintain it and to say prayers with locals. The morning prayers and chants were scheduled every 11AM.

After the short prayer, we took some photos and returned to the shop and undress our traditional costumes. So long, our royal duties have come to an end! 😭

Before we head out to our next itinerary, we had lunch in a local restaurant. And oh man! 😋😋😋 The food was great! I ordered buuz, it is the version of dumpling in Mongolia. 😋😋😋

No rice was needed. All of the meat were so heavy including the wrapping and vegetables on the side that made my tummy happy and full. 😋😋😋

Mongolian Calligraphy and Art Center

Sarah, our guide, had another surprise for us. 😍😍😍 Still in Karakorum, we visited the Mongolian Calligraphy and Art Center managed by a non-profit organization called “Erdenesiin Khuree”. It was minutes away from Erdene Zuu Monastery.

A Mongolian named Tamir or also known as Samandbadraa Purev founded the calligraphy center with the mission of preserving, promoting, educating and fostering the development of Mongolian Calligraphy. Tamir won different competitions related to calligraphy and organized different exhibits to promote Mongolian Calligraphy.

All of the exhibits were inside a ger that made the setting more traditional. I like all of the exhibits as all of it demonstrated different pieces of Mongolia. Apart from the exhibits, we had a calligraphy class with a local artist named U. Tsaveendulan or also known as Tseegii.

Tseegii came from a herder family that was raised in a deeply creative environment. Both of her parents were artists too. Aside from her passion in calligraphy, Tseegii is a contemporary clothing designer too. She began her apprenticeship in the art center in 2025.

In our calligraphy class, Tseegii taught us of the basic alphabet of Mongolia. She gave us an ink pen and paper to try what she was doing. It was a bit difficult though yet very educational. 🥰

After we tried the basic alphabet, Tseegii wrote our name one by one using Mongolian Calligraphy. As I have a long name, one paper was not enough for me. 😂 But Tseegii was able to complete my name! 🥰

I had so much fun in the free class we had! 🥰 It was nice to experience first-hand the culture of Mongolia. 🥰🥰

Stopovers: Grocery Shopping and Photo Op in Khogno Tarna National Park

Right after we completed our calligraphy class, we drove again to head out in a big supermarket to have grocery shopping. The store felt like SNR or Landers in Manila with mountain view on the side. 😍

We had to stop by in a grocery to buy stocks as we will stay with a nomad family for a night. As I observed, Sarah and our driver, made this gesture as a way to make their guests accommodated and also re-stock the needs of a nomad family. It was just really rightful to buy our own meals as respect to the nomad family. 🙇‍♀️

As soon we completed our grocery, we returned to our car. We stopped by in another spot to take photos of the beautiful Khogno Tarna National Park. 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

It is also known as Khogno Khan National Park which is a protected area in Central Mongolia. It is about 84,390 hectares where the steppe, taiga, and desert ecosystems meet. It was very magical and mesmerizing! 🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍

After we mesmerized with the beauty of the park, we returned to our car to drive again in our last stop. 🚘

Horse-riding in Khogno Tarna National Park

For almost an hour on the road and felt like we were out of nowhere, we finally reached the nomad family’s ger. 😍😍😍 It felt like I was transported again in different time as there was no electricity and no proper bathroom.

Moreover, the time travels more when I saw the nomad family’s horses. Horses in Mongolia were way too many than the actual Mongolians. Dated from the Mongolian empire, horses were used not just in everyday life but also in conquering new land area.

Horses were a huge part of the culture and tradition of Mongolia. Kids were trained as early as 5 years old to ride horses, how to take care of it and how to use it for their daily lives. As our guide said, they were bore in this world with horses on their feet.

As we arrived in the nomad family camp, the family prepared the horses to let us ride on it and walk around the part of the national park. We took turns in riding the horses. One Mexican who was part of the other group tour was really a pro! 🤩 She was very good in riding horses.

As for me, I was thinking twice if I will ride a horse. Unlike the bactrian camel we rode on the first day of the tour, there was no back support if I will ride a horse. It made me more uncomfortable to think of that situation and about again the height of the horse. Also, horses are wilder than the camel. 😰

After other travellers’ round, I found myself riding the horse with the help of Sarah, Tom – the other guide from the second group and our driver. 😅😅 A bit ashamed to ride the horse as I cannot carry myself, they helped me to ride the horse safely. 🥰 Sarah told me not to shout as it will scare the horse. I tried to be calm as much as possible.

I rode the horse in less than 5 minutes while a boy accompanied me. I was still quite proud of my achievement to ride a Mongolian horse. 🥰🥰🥰 Having this travel in Mongolia will be incomplete if I did not ride the horse as horses are one of the best thing to experience Mongolia. 🥰

Second night in a ger with nomad family

It was our second time to stay in a ger but first time with a nomad family. A nomad family has no permanent area to live in Mongolia. They change their location depending on the season. As per Sarah, the nomad family we were with were living in two different areas every summer and winter.

Aside from their household items, they will also bring their animals with. So, if they will move, it will really take an entire community to help them out. All of the nomad families were herders of either horses, cows, goats or lambs. Sarah told that they do not pay taxes as they were contributing already in the economy by the provisions of their live stocks.

Within the camp, we were surrounded completely by nature. 🍃🌳🍃 The mobile data signal was weak. The sounds of the animals will fill your ears, the coldness of the wind will hug you and the beautiful scenery of mountains, trees and steppes will calm your entire nervous system. 😇🥰😇 It was off the grid, out of the noise and just being with nature. 🍃🌳🍃

Before 7 in the evening, dinner was served inside the ger. We shared the local food that the nomad family prepared for us. It was very delicious. 😋😋 We had some time too to exchange stories with the other tour group.🥰

We shared some hot tea and liquor that I think everyone enjoyed. 🥰 It was a pleasant experience for me as I met different people from different walks of life and we were just in Mongolia to experience its beauty. 🥰

As we completed our dinner, we had plenty of time in the national park. I was able to walk outside and just experience what was surrounding me. 🥰🥰🥰 The sun was still up by 9 in the evening. Thus, you can still see everything. 🥰🥰🥰

The coldness of the night started to caress me. The horses around were still running freely. The darkness started to unfold at around 10 in the evening. As I watched the horses, I felt like something inside me is saying, “life is beautiful”. 🥰🥰🥰

Before I started freezing, I returned to our ger. Similar the other night, the ger for the women and men were separated. This time, the ger was bigger with 6 beds and with bigger coal stove. We had a small sink too inside.

I started to fix my stuff before going to bed. However, I and Haruka-san has one more mission on that night – to see the sky filled with stars. ✨✨✨✨ I set my alarm to let me wake up at around 11 in the evening. I lay in my bed and tried to sleep. 😴

While I was about to sleep, I heard that some of the girls were like panicking. It was because of the fire in our coal stove got bigger that created too much smoke inside our ger. 😨

We all went outside as the smoke might suffocate us. Our guides and the local family helped us to fix our coal stove. We opened our ger to let the smoke come out. We almost became smoke salmon inside. 😂 Seriously, take God that the other group with Japanese sisters notified our guides immediately before everything gets out of control. 🙇‍♀️

The smoke was a signal that we were right in time to see the stars of Mongolia! ✨✨✨✨ And oh, it was not just stars! We saw shooting stars! ✨✨✨✨

It was very magical and mesmerizing! ✨✨✨✨ The dark sky filled with stars were right before my eyes in a cold night in Mongolia! ✨✨✨✨ I was very lucky and blessed! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩

No photo or video can justify what I saw that night! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩 We were able to see more than 20 shooting stars! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩 It was very amazing!!!!! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩

It was my first time to see shooting stars and I was lucky and blessed enough to witness it in Mongolia! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩 I was very happy! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩 One of my bucket list in Mongolia came true!!!! 🤩🤩🤩😇😇😇🤩🤩🤩

Thank you Kuya Jesus and Mama Mary for that wonderful night!! 🥰😍🥰 It was indeed one for the books! 🥰😍🥰

It was a great tour indeed! 🥰😍🥰

Follow my next blog to read more about my travel in Central Mongolia! 💜