The bus for Ulanbataar,Mongolia leaves Ulan Ude at 7:30 sharp every morning. The trip is about 12 hours including 3 hours to cross the border and several rest stops.

The landscape is steppe and high desert, with more mountains towards UB.

The border crossing is not an easy one. While Russian customs were very easy coming in by air at Moscow, leaving the Federation by land is a very different experience. About 100km before the border, a soldier boards the bus and inspects all passports. At the actual border there is a two hour wait. No photos are permitted in the border zone. There is a baggage check and individual questioning by a Russian border patrol agent before the exit stamp is issued. The same process is repeated a few minutes later going into Mongolia, minus the interview.

ArcticTropic returns to UB.

UB continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the world, but monastery life never changes.

Deep in the Heart of Siberia, Lake Baikal is one of the most pristine regions in the world. The 636 km long lake holds 20% of the world’s fresh water that is not permanently frozen. ArcticTropic only got to explore a small portion ,as it was early in the season and the full boat network is not yet operational.

From Irkutsk we took a two hour hydrofoil ride down the Angara River into Lake Baikal to the tiny village of Bolshie Koty.

Bolshie Koty has no roads, except an Ice road for a few months in the winter. There are only two or three operational motor vehicles in the village.

On this early June day, heavy snow had fallen on the mountains across the lake ,which had iced out only two weeks before. Swimming would only be possible after a hot banya.

Naturalists from around the world are working to create a hiking trail going around the whole lake.

Bolshie Koty began as a gold rush town int he 1850s. There was not much gold and today it is a place to escape the cares of the world.

Unless you bring your own food , you will likely be eating Omul soup. Omul is a great tasting fish,related to salmon.

ArcticTropic searches far and wide for untouched spots on the globe and Lake Baikal is certainly one of them. The cold climate and remote Siberian location ensures there will never be casinos and fancy marinas here.

After flying for over two days – from Miami to New York to Frankfurt to Singapore to Yangon – ArcticTropic then boarded an Air KBZ ATR 72 prop plane to Bagan. I arrived Friday late afternoon on March 14,2014. The temperature was a dusty 104 ( 40 C) when I got off the plane. In the next few days it would get up to 107 in the day, then down to about 78 at night.

A combination of a silent electric scooter and a GoPro strapped to my forehead made for great stealth shooting (video) opportunities. Village inhabitants did not realize my presence till I was already gone.

Baby Burmese.

Crab Curry.

Houseboat.

Next Stop – 1948 !

Offerings To Lord Buddha.

Burmese is written in one of the 19 Sanskrit alphabets.

Next Stop – 1648 !

Searing heat bakes the riverbed,now 20 feet above the current waterline. By August this spot will be under 20 feet of water.

Lunch Break.

For thousands of years, life in Bagan has revolved around Lord Buddha.

Shortly after sunrise I rented an electric motorscooter and set off to explore the searing hot plains of Bagan, and visit some of the thousands of temples built over hundreds of years – each a tribute to Lord Buddha.

Temples large and small stretch as far as the eye can see.

Along the way I came upon a ” Community Service Project . ” Local villagers dig a giant hole by hand, which will fill with water in the coming rainy season – attracting animals to drink there. Each person is expected to carry a number of loads equal to their age.

Lord Buddha is the Center of Life.

Styles changed throughout the centuries.

A $100 bill will get you 97 of these. 1000 kyat notes are used for everything and this stack will last a few days. Breakfast was 700 kyats – 70 cents. MOtorbike rental was 8000 kyats, a little over $8.

ArcticTropic has many more shots and incredible video. The hotel has wifi but upload speeds are like dialup , so video may not be uploaded until we return Stateside.

On Monday morning,October 28th, we departed the desert cam for the coast. The first stop was a cheetah reserve. We were able to get up close to the slumbering cats as the sun was too high for them to chase small prey at 110 kph.

Out Chameleon Tours all terrain vehicle. Much more detail will be given about our hosts in later posts. Though now in South Africa writing this, hotel bandwidth is still extremely limited.

This tree grows where rain is scarce because the roots are up to 40 feet deep , getting miniscule amounts of groundwater to stay alive.

Flamingos in a coastal lagoon.

Our hosts were Jargalsaikan and his wife Tuya. We stayed with them in the yurt ( ger ) on the left for two days and nights. The encampment is in Bulgan Aimag ( an Aimag is similar to a province or state ) about 15 kilometers from the village of Gurvanbulag,where they spend the winter.

With two children of the encampment.

The inside is very comfortable. A video of daily life will be uploaded shortly.

We rode these camels for about 20 km. Not uncomfortable. They speak with a nasal sound similar to a whining dog.

ArcticTropic flies by Cerro Aconcagua, 22841 ft , 6962m, the highest mountain in the Western HemisphereLast Friday,February 3, ArcticTropic was returning to Chile after business meetings in Argentina. The Mendoza to Santiago flight was on a midsummer’s day. One can see the Argentina – Chile border post on the highway below, then Portillo Ski area in Chile, beside the bright blue Lago de Las Incas.

Explora Parques , led by Ramón Ossa Federico took ArcticTropic on an adventurous excursion to Parque Nacional El Leoncito. The first activity was dry land sailing on Barreal Blanco, a dry lake bed located at the foot of the  Andes.  The video above was taken as we drove at 100 mph ‘160 kph across the lake bed.

The lake bed is parched as it rains or snows only a couple of times a year.

No sound except for the wind.

The wind dies down, so the sailing is a bit slow.

The technique is not much different than water sailing.

Entrance to the giant park.

A valley oasis.

Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO), where we will vist at sunset.

A cooling waterfall. There may well be gold in the rocks.

Will almost no rain,these rocks take eons to form.

Springtime in the oasis.

Some rare clouds.

The park is near the Chilean border – the mountains offer huge mining potential as well.

As darkness fell around 8 PM we arrived at Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito (CASLEO). There are three times as many stars to view in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere. The high Andean deserts in Chile and Argentina offer the best viewing in the world  due to high altitude,clear air and a total lack of light pollution due to being one of the more remote areas of the world. Even with some volcanic dust in the air from Peyhuehe the viewing was incredible. Above is a photo taken with a radioteescope.

Comet Halley in 1986.

Planet Venus in the West.

The radio telescope is for the astronomers only. We were treated to views from a smaller but very powerful telescope outside. The roof above retracts.