ULAANBAATAR -- The road stretched ahead of me, a vast gray emptiness broken only by the occasional flock of sheep scattering at the unexpected sight of a car bearing down on them. Grayish-green hills topped with the last vestiges of winter snow rose in the distance on either side. And every few kilometers, an isolated ger, the traditional nomadic dwellings known as yurts in other parts of Central Asia, usually surrounded by a few grazing horses or yaks.
I did not know what to expect from Mongolia, but this was not it. Like most people who think of traveling there, I had visions of a desert country -- after all, the Gobi Desert is Mongolia's most famous landmark and tourist attraction. But instead of shape-shifting sand dunes and two-humped Bactrian camels, I was seeing large swaths of hilly land and brief patches of lush vegetation. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment of epiphany, but it was along the seemingly endless road to Olgii in western Mongolia that I realized the extent of the country's hidden facets.
