The Mongols were considered to be the best horsemen in the world, and it was from horseback that they ruled the largest empire in world history.

The Mongols and the Land that Made Them

A Two-Part Adventure Led by
Sandy Lydon and Gary Griggs

A rare journey to understand the Mongols from the perspective of the Chinese who were conquered by them followed by an adventure across the Mongolian heartland.

Dates: Depart from San Francisco Airport on Friday, August 10 on China Airlines and return to San Francisco on Sunday, August 27.

Part I – China: The View from Inside the Wall (August 11-14)
We will begin the adventure with an introduction to the Mongols as seen by the Chinese. We will spend two full days in Beijing focusing on the Mongol influence there including a leisurely visit to the Great Wall. (You can get a feeling for how the Chinese felt about the Mongols by the lengths they went they went to keep them out.)

Hotel: - Mandarin Capitola Hotel – This is our favorite Beijing hotel because of its central location – walking distance to Tiananmen Square. Recently refurbished and taken over by the Mandarin Hotel group, the hotel itself is now as special as its location. This will be a wonderful opportunity to get our body clocks in adjustment and prepare for the Mongolian adventure ahead.

Genghis Khan consolidated the various groups in Central Asia and using his remarkable military mind, he set loose the forces that eventually conquered most of Asia.

Part II – Mongolia:
Meeting the people and the land that made them – (August 14-25)

We will fly to Ulaanbaatar (UB) and after several days touring the Mongolian capital, we will set out on an adventure by motor vehicle going west to Kharkhorin and then northward until we reach the “Blue Pearl” of Mongolia – Lake Khovsgol, on the northern border of Mongolia. We will be staying in traditional (but Westernized) Mongolian gers, and spending at least two nights at most locations so that you will have an opportunity to ride horseback, hike, fish, boat and get to know the landscape. Our stay at Lake Khovsgol will conclude with a regional festival – Naadam – where the Mongols gather to have contests in archery, wrestling and horse racing. Then we will fly back to UB for a farewell dinner and overnight and then fly back to Beijing on August 26.

Time to Hike, Ride, and Fish
The cross-country itinerary from Ulaan Baatar to Lake Khovsgol has several free days built in so that we will have time to pursue our own interests. Ann Lydon is an avid horsewoman, so every chance we get there will be an opportunity to ride. Sandy Lydon is a fisherman, so you can be assured that there will be opportunities to go fishing; Gary Griggs is an avid hiker, so there’s certainly going to be a lot of opportunities to clamber over Mongolian hill and dale.

The History and Geology
Throughout our Mongolian adventure, Sandy and Gary will provide insights into the history and geology of this remarkable place.

We will be staying in Westernized versions of this traditional ger throughout our cross-country adventure in Mongolia. They all have Western style toilets and hot showers.

We will overnight in Beijing at the Capitol Hotel, and then have a leisurely morning until departing in the afternoon from Beijing to SFO, returning on Sunday, August 27.

Cost of this Adventure: $5, 487 – double occupancy; (add $1,600 for single occ.)

What’s included:
• Round Trip air fare from SFO to Beijing on China Airlines, Coach Class
• All transfers, travel and tours in Beijing and Mongolia
• Round Trip air fare from Beijing to Ulaanbatar
• Air fare from Khatgal to Ulaanbatar
• First class hotel in Beijing and best available hotel in UB
• All accommodations in gers while in Mongolia
• All guides in both China and Mongolia
• All meals both in China and Mongolia
• All tips, gratuities and airport departure taxes
• All pre-trip instruction
• Personally escorted by Sandy Lydon and Gary Griggs

Not Included:
• Trip cancellation insurance
• China visas
• Horses, tack, riding guides, fishing gear.
• Fuel surcharges
• Items of a personal nature including telephone, computer charges, laundry
• Transportation from home to SFO
• 3% handling fee for credit card transactions now imposed by suppliers
• Passport fees
• Anything else not specified on the “included” list.

Size of group: 30 maximum

Special China-Mongolia Report!
Sandy Lydon is making a special trip to China and Mongolia to review the
itinerary and accommodations. He will give this report one-week following
his return.
Sunday, June 10, 7:00 PM, Room 435, Cabrillo College, Aptos

Pre-trip sessions: There will be two mandatory day-long pre-trip sessions: Sunday, June 24 and Sunday, July 22 . These sessions will be required for all participants living within 150 miles of Aptos.

A Note About the Degree of Difficulty of this Adventure:
The Chinese part of the trip is cushy, but Mongolia is a developing nation, and though the accommodations will be the best that Mongolia has to offer, it’s going to be rough around the edges. The UB to Khovsgol itinerary is paced more slowly than on most off-the-shelf itineraries, but there are several long travel days, each followed by a day where we don’t pack up and move on.

What makes our Adventures so special?
• An informed and sensitive group of fellow travelers. One of the great risks of group travels is that you’ll get stuck with some strangers that will annoy and embarrass you every day. Because of our screening and pre-trip preparation, the group will be not only informed about the Mongols but also about each other.
• A chance to think about the Mongol phenomenon. The Mongols were the most feared people on earth, and no place more so than China. Group members will be provided recommended lists of readings to become familiar with the Mongol phenomenon and then will visit China to get the Chinese view of the story. Then we will spend the remainder of the trip in Mongolia to get their side of the story. One overriding question will be the relationship of the Mongols to their landscape. What is it about Mongolia that grew such a military and political force?
• Two dynamic scholars leading the group – Sandy and Gary have been leading local, regional and international groups for over a decade. In 2003 they co-led a 3-week trip to China where Sandy illuminated the cultural history while Gary explained the geological phenomenon that we were seeing. Gary takes care of the first billion years, while Sandy only has to deal with the most recent millennium or two.

The Co-Leaders:
Sandy Lydon is Historian Emeritus at Cabrillo College in Aptos where he has taught since 1968. A graduate of the East-West Center, Honolulu, Lydon taught the history of East Asia and Asians in America at Cabrillo. He has been leading groups to Asia since 1974, and though he and his wife Annie took a group by train around Mongolia (Beijing-Harbin-Irkutsk) in 1986, this will be their first time leading a group to Mongolia. (Sandy will be previewing the trip in Mongolia in late May.)

Gary Griggs is Professor of Earth Sciences and Director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at UC Santa Cruz where he has been a faculty member since 1968. He has taught, traveled and studied geology all around the world, including Greece, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea. This will be his second trip to China and his first to Mongolia.

The Group Leaders and their Partners Sandy Lydon (standing on left) and Gary Griggs with their steadying and moderating influences Ann Lydon (seated) and Deepika Shrestha Ross, on a tune-up hike in the Sierra Nevada, summer 2006. These four seasoned Asian travelers will be leading the Mongolian adventure, but sadly, the dogs Sonny and Ruby must remain behind. For those that know the Stanislaus National Forest, yes, that’s Pinecrest Lake in the far distance.

Travel Arrangements
We are working with Barbara and Hugh Dawson of Global Ventures, Sonoma. (CST # 2085984) They have handled all of our group travel arrangements to Europe (Ireland, England, the Isle of Man) and Asia (China, Hong Kong and Japan.) Our Asian arrangements are being handled through Sinotours (CST #2028670-40) of Los Angeles.

Note: Sandy Lydon will be traveling to Mongolia in late May to get a preview of the accommodations and infrastructure and will be able to better inform the group about how to prepare during our pre-trip sessions in June and July.

Deposits: $1,500 per person to guarantee a place.

Deadline for applying: June 30, 2007.

A Note about age: The mental and physical rigors of this trip require that we not take applications from persons under twenty-one.

How to apply: To guarantee a place, send me the following immediately:
1) $1,500 for each place – checks made out to Dawson Global Ventures
2) A note about whether you are double or single occupancy
3) Mail to: Sandy Lydon, 2255 Redwood Drive, Aptos, CA 95003
Then we’ll send you a couple of forms to complete. The checks will hold the spaces, and we won’t send them on to the Dawsons until we get the completed forms.

If you wish to download the forms and make it go more quickly:

Lydon-Griggs application – click here

Dawson application – click here