Mongolia The Travel Show

That's it from me, the Breakfast team will be

here at six o'clock. Now on BBC News, The Travel Show.

It is one of the most isolated countries in the world, with huge

extremes of climate. It has a reputation for endurance like no

other. But, how tough do you have to be to survive in Mongolia today?

I am travelling from the extreme north of the country, through the

capital and south-east towards China on one of the world's most legendary

trains. This is the restaurant car. Look at these! To the Gobi Desert,

where I will test my own to really see in one of Mongolia's three manly

sports -- test my own manliness. It will not be a walk in the park.

Close to the Siberian border is Mongolia's forested playground.

Wild, pristine and enchanting. Recently, more people from the city

's have started coming here in the summer, hoping to spend time with

these magical creatures. Hello. How will you? These are your reindeer?

They did not get here by chance. This herd has walked 370 kilometres

to make money from the tourists. It is a tough journey, one of their own

would rather not have to make. As night draws in, we returned to his

teepee. I wonder where his resilience comes from.

In early rise the next morning and onward in my mission to uncover the

secrets of the Mongolian powers of endurance. Until a few years ago,

there was no electricity in this region, and there is still no

running water. It is raw and quite physically

demanding just to survive around here. But impressive, take this for

example. More than 2 million years old and one of Asia's biggest

freshwater lakes. Hello, take my hand. Step out here. Excellent. A

day on the lack! Let's do it. I absolutely love this place. It is

wild nature at its best -- lake. The lake represents about 70% of

Mongolia's fresh water supply. Nearly half of 1% of the Earth's

fresh water supply, which is a huge amount. If you think about bottles

of water, how many are consumed in a day, imagine one out of every 200

would be coming from this week. Most people don't even know that it

exists. Rate came over from Canada in 2007 to join the first scientific

diving mission to explore the bottom of the lake. But this is what he

found. It is pretty solid, what they've done in the past is illegal

now. They used to drive tanker trucks of fuel across it. Diesel and

other fuels. Every once in a while, the ice Break and the trucks would

go to the bottom. It is known that there are 37 heavy trucks and

additionally anywhere from three to 15 tanker trucks loaded with other

fuels. We are talking potentially quite serious environmental damage?

Yes. One litre of diesel fuel can contaminate 100,000 litres of fresh

water. If you start talking about gasoline, that figure can borrow up

to 5 million litres of fresh water that is literally destroyed. -- can

go up. Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I said goodbye to the

lake knowing I face a ten Hour Drive S. To my next stop, the capital. --

ten Hour drive to my next stop. In a country of just 3 million people,

the recent trend has been to move to the big city. Thanks to a mining

boom, business and foreign investment was soaring up until

2012. Although growth has slowed, or you can sense a good humour in the

air. It is so hot today! 7pm, it is about 35 degrees. In the winter, it

is the complete opposite. About -30. Hello, can I go in? Thank you. More

than one third of people still live in yurts. It is cosy now, but you

have to be resilient to live here when it is 30 degrees below. It

cannot be comfy, but a lot of families are doing it. While

Mongolia was never part of the soviet union, in the 1920s he became

the world's second communist state and maintained close links with its

comrades from over the border. Tourism was extremely limited until

the democratic revolution in 1990. These days, it is much more

accessible. There are even new attractions on the block that will

give you a crash course in Mongolian traditions. Some of which might make

you wince. Their's no better example of the traditional Mongolian traits

and sheer strength and resilience. When I was, I think, six years old,

I saw two girls performing on TV. I saw it and it looks really

interesting. I told my mum to take me to a State Circus, I auditioned

and then I started. For most people like this woman, it looks very

painful. Is it not painful? When I started, it was very painful. I was

crying, four months. Now, it doesn't hurt that much. If I overdo it, it

does hurt a little bit. You do have joints? I do.

LAUGHTER Just a normal human being. Actually, a little bit superhuman if

you ask me. Nevertheless, she is a proud Mongolian and agrees to show

off her hometown. A lot of people come after they graduate high school

or college. Or even after the wedding. They come with their family

and take pictures. This place is a monument, a relic of this country's

once close relationship with the soviet union and a memorial to the

soldiers killed in World War Two. This is why they come. Because it's

fresh air, and it has a great view. Tell me one thing. I have noticed

already that the people here are very tough, the men are very strong.

In the city, is that the same? In Mongolia, the women are tougher than

men. There are a lot of big business people, most of them are women. The

women are good at business? Yes. A lot of women, they take care of the

whole family. And the business? Yes. I think definitely women are

stronger. I think it is in the blood. It comes from Genghis Khan.

She is not the only one to claim heritage. He is largely airbrushed

from history, but pretty much every Mongolian claims they are descended

from Genghis Khan. The last ten years has seen a

revival of the most feared and greatest war lord of all time. And

there's no better illustration of the status of Genghis Khan in

Mongolian today than this. -- Mongolia.

Built into thousand eight and coated with stainless steel and 40 metres

high, it faces north-east towards his birthplace. But how did separate

fact from legend? -- 2008. Genghis Khan's name was actually Temujin and

he was born to a nomadic family in about 1162. He formed enough

alliances to raise an army and soon began taking over neighbouring

tribes. By the age of 44 he united all of Mongolia's tribes and was

crowned universal ruler, or at Genghis Khan. He used spies ex- dens

of Lee, established a fast, efficient means of a medication and

showed no mercy. Tactics that saw him conquer more of China, central

Asia and Persia. He died in his 60s when it is that he was thrown from

his horse, but his descendants went on to conquer everywhere from

Beijing to the Balkans. But there's something bothering me. Should a

mass murderer really be lionised like this?

And of course Genghis Khan epitomises the Mongolian never say

die attitude. Will passengers please take care on the cart. Thank you. I

am now on my way deep into the country's upback to test my own

powers of grit and determination. To do that, I will get on the famous

trans- Siberian express, which runs all the way from Russia to China. It

is a five-hour journey to my destination near the border with

China, although I could have taken this train all the way from Moscow

to Beijing over six days if I wanted. Outside Ulaanbaata, the

population is sparsely distributed across this vast Touraine. Check

this out. -- terrain. This is the restaurant car. Look at this!

Fantastic! Lovely carvings, gold curtains. Let's see what there is

for food. Can you tell me what we can eat, the ETO? The food?

Breakfast, omelette, bread, writer, jam, tea, coffee and juice. Lunch,

salad, soup, read, hear, juice and water. Beer, juice and water. OK.

Anything else in the evening? Dinnertime? Jam. It is like a scene

from a bygone era. And while the staff take a break, I go wandering

to see who my fellow smut -- fellow passengers might be. Hadow, how are

you? Tell me, where are you from? We are from Singapore. This train is

legendary, the Trans Siberian railway line. What do you think? We

love travelling on it. It is such a legendary trip. This train is very

modern. I think it is one of the longest trains in the world. I think

it is the longest rail line in the world. Actually, this is one of the

highlights in our tour, travelling on this train for one night. It is

something very different. The train is very different. I think it is

good. A very good experience for us. And so deep into the desert we go.

Bleak, harsh and mesmerising. To our destination. My first port of call

is the home of a man who became a mental in a sport that is could

essentially Mongolian. Hello. Hello. Hello.

How did you feel when you see him wrestling? Do you worry about him

getting injured? Now down to the nitty-gritty, the

art of combat, Mongolian style. There are no weight divisions, so

the biggest are often the best. Before that, you have to faster...

My translator helps me get to grips with the strategy. Now pushing? I've

got to get this one down and then do this on second. Then I've got both

hands. How are my singing him? Use your elbow. Like that? This goes

down, this goes up and I go for... Which led to? After several hours of

quite intensive training, it feels like I am suddenly getting it. Yes?

But I am still under no illusion it will be easy. After all that, how do

you feel about tomorrow? My main worry is that I fall very awkwardly

and injure myself, if I am absolutely honest, because they

won't get anywhere near average and even basic standard. His advice was

very important, having really good relaxed today and then your body

will be loosened up. Sunrise the next morning and my

mental's wife takes me to an agent site where I may draw some magical

strength, called Sham Bala. You are encouraged to leave all

harmful boards outside and set fire to your fears. Worth a try, I guess.

Here we go. This is an annual festival which takes place every

year right across Mongolia. To participate compete in the three

manly sports, horseracing, archery and wrestling.

The biggest and most popular with tourists is of course in the

capital, but this is the real deal. And, to begin, the pomp of the

Opening Ceremony. . I spotted my mentors. How are you? Good luck. He

is one of the first to compete. The match is on whenever somebody falls

to the ground, or anything but the souls of the feet or hands touch the

floor. That could be you. I was a KR until just now, but the guy before

the fight has dislocated his arm, which has freaked me out. Minutes go

before my ballot and this is my opponent. -- bout.

The one tactic I was taught doesn't really work. And from that moment

on, I am in a bit of trouble. Good luck. Thank you. Well, I didn't win,

but I think I took defeat like a man. So I set off on a quest to

emulate that unique Mongolian spirit of resilience that is being forged

over thousands of years. Did I succeed? Well, probably not. But I

met quite a few characters en route to got that -- who's got that magic

ingredient in spades. These are rapidly changing times for

Mongolia and for these noted -- nomadic people at case of adapt or

die. We will need all their Buddhist stoicism and their warrior like

determination to survive. I think they will.

Well, another weekend and another blast of chilly weather.

"Blast" is probably the right word because it is going to be

particularly windy across much of the UK.

The strong winds bringing heavy blustery showers

and certainly across Scotland those showers falling as snow,

particularly over the hills, but even down to lower levels through

Notice everything is coming in from the west, from the Atlantic,

so we don't get the desperately cold air coming from

However, following this cold front, the colder air does tuck in

for a time, bringing the outbreaks of snow even

down to lower levels across Scotland for the early part of Saturday.

Could be a covering in a few places down at lower levels, but piling up

over the hills and being driven by particularly strong winds, which

will drive a lot of showers, mainly of rain, eastwards through the day.

East Anglia and parts of southeastEngland probably just

Maybe not too many showers to the east of The Grampians either

but the strong winds particularly across England and Wales, gusts

of 40-50 miles an hour, might be enough to cause minor disruption.

A closer look around shows further snow across the hills, blizzards at

A bit of snow maybe further south across the higher parts

of the Pennines, the Cumbrian Fells, but it will be rain across

Northern Ireland and across Wales and the rest of England.

As I mentioned, that south-east corner just about missing most of

Temperatures, though, certainly lower than they have been

over recent days in most places, 7-9 degrees and feeling colder than

that in that strong wind, which will keep on blowing

overnight, Saturday night into the early part of Sunday as well.

Still have to keep snow going, I think,

across higher parts of Scotland as temperatures dip away here.

Elsewhere, temperatures holding up because of the cloud and wind.

On Sunday, we could see a bit of snow down to lower levels,

across the southern uplands, maybe the central belt of Scotland.

Winds across England and Wales, even stronger than on Saturday.

50-60 miles an hour, maybe more around exposed coasts.

That might be enough to cause one or two problems.

However, temperatures across the southern half of the UK in many

The colder air sitting there across Northern Ireland,

much of Scotland, and northern-most counties of England.

Into the start of next week: A very turbulent spell

Another deepening air of low pressure rushing in

So more strong winds and more heavy rain.