2002 - Mongolia by Motorcycle
On Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 11:17:12 AM MDT, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
(Henry's comments in italics; Steve's comments in normal script)
Steve,
As I remember, you lost your passport, and some other stuff (rain jacket et al) and had to ride the last day, in the rain, inside a plastic refuse bag, as a rain jacket into Ulan Baatar.
Do I remember this correctly? If so, how was the passport dilemma solved?
I lost the pp in Peru. I do remember the last day ride in the rain in Mongolia and remember using the plastic bag as a rain jacket. It also rained the night in Peru after I lost the pp. Seemed like we did two dozen stream crossings on that Peru dirt road in the dark. Were you on the same Peru trip... the one that resulted in Burt getting out of the business after he was sued by the poor kid who became a paraplegic after falling thirty feet off of a bridge? At the trip end I went to the US Embassy in Lima and had the PP replaced within an hour or so. I remember the inch thick glass at the US Embassy in Lima through which I did the transaction with a consular officer.
A memorable trip- even if my roommate crashed and broke his collar bone early on and had to be evacuated by airplane whose tires were worn down to the thread.
Don't remember his name... but, remember his bike being loaded up in an evac plane.
Some of us were looking at those tires when the pilot walked over and said “Nyet Problema” (no problem) to which we answered: “Not for us- were not
On the flight”.
Yes, I remember the bald tires on the Mongolian plane landing in the middle of nowhere. My second international flight ever was in 1964 flying from Honolulu to Tokyo on JAL with a fuel stop in Wake Island. At Wake we were allowed to get off the plane and wander, sans supervision/oversight, any place we wanted. When I got off the plane, I saw the JAL captain wandering around the landing gear kicking all of the tires. It really amused me. He was about 5'5". Unlike Mongolia, the tires weren't bald, but it just struck me as one of those unlikely amusing scenarios.
Also, we saw a Langer Meir- the world’s ugliest bird.
Yes. And have never forgotten that. Forgetful as I am, I have always remembered that sighting and the name of the bird at the time I thought we were told that the Lammergeier was the world's largest bird. Apparently not. See Grok.
Grok Size Comparison
- Lammergeier: About 1 meter (3.3 feet) long, with a wingspan of nearly 3 meters (10 feet) and weight up to around 7–8 kg (15–18 lbs), sometimes described as one of the largest vultures or birds of prey in certain metrics (e.g., robust build).
- World's largest bird overall: The common ostrich (Struthio camelus), which stands up to 2.7–2.8 meters (9 feet) tall and can weigh over 150 kg (330 lbs). It's flightless but dominates in height, weight, and egg size.
Largest Flying Birds
For flying (volant) birds:
- Largest by wingspan — Wandering albatross (up to 3.7 meters / 12 feet).
- Largest by weight — Andean condor or similar large vultures/eagles (often 8–15 kg).
The cultural highlight of the trip was our introduction to the only consumer good the Russians produce, besides vodka, the Kamaz chase truck- the perennial wer of the Paris-Dakar rally in the truck category.
Memorable trip.
Indeed!
Henry