The Ethics Of Hunting With Eagles – Mongolia

The Kazakhs are Mongolia’s largest ethnic minority group representing 3-4% of Mongolia’s population (Mongolia’s entire population is just over 3.2 million people – 2020 Census). A majority of Mongolia’s Kazakhs make their home in western Mongolia in Bayan Ölgii Aimag (Province) with another group in Khovd Aimag and then smaller groups spread throughout the country including […]

Beyond Black Friday

This Friday is Black Friday – synonymous with consumerism and excess but there is an alternative option – to help make a statement against what Black Friday has come to represent. Personally, I’ll be sticking my finger up at the event and here are a few ideas on how to mark the day by doing something […]

We need to have a rubbish revolution in tourism

Let’s talk about rubbish. As in discarded rubbish – especially discarded rubbish left in our areas of nature. Specifically wet wipes, hygiene products and sanitary items. This is specifically about Mongolia but also applies to wilderness areas in other countries. We have just completed our annual two-day rubbish clean-up of a national park here in […]

Getting started: The Philosophy of Travel

“To begin, begin.” A deceptively simple sentence, yet its truth resonates deeply in the journey of life—and travel. William Wordsworth, the poet behind this quote, wasn’t calling for a complicated analysis. He was offering a reminder: to start anything, we must take that first step. It’s as straightforward as it sounds. But why do so […]

Real Life Is Everywhere

Look at the image above. Not the most prepossessing image is it? But, what do you think it represents? Any ideas? For me, it reminds us as travellers that real life is everywhere when we travel. It is actually the business plan of a young fashion designer who lives in the ger districts of Ulaanbaatar […]

To tag or not to tag, that is the question

I recently read an article on the BBC News website that ‘Icelanders tire of disrespectful Instagram influencers.’ Part of the article included a comment by Pall Jokull Petursson, who makes a living out of showing photographers Iceland’s nature: ‘The good instagrammers try to show different ways of enjoying nature. We don’t tag places that are […]

There’s no ‘I’ in team

I recently received negative feedback about certain members of my beloved team. But I didn’t pass the buck. Instead, I apologised and said that I take full responsibility for the mistakes made by my team members. When EL was first created, it was just Turuu and I as driver and guide. It was easier then […]

Making A Positive Difference Through Tourism In Mongolia

Any ideas? Any ideas what the image represents? This is how our group spent a day recently in Ulaanbaatar – the capital city of Mongolia – at a felting project run by the Buddhist NGO Asral. The group learnt how to clean the wool, process the wool, colour the wool & then how to create […]

Local Travel On A More Personal Level

There are trends and cycles in tourism just as with other areas of influence. One of the current shifts is towards a more authentic experience. It’s there in these three tag lines – ‘travel like a local’, ‘don’t just visit, live it’, and ‘be where you belong’. All from three quite major tour or accommodation […]

Supporting Local – Why is it important to support local businesses?

Let’s start this post with a recent experience I had. I’m originally from the rural county of Devon in the UK, based in a small town on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. I return there when I’m not in Mongolia, and it was during one of my visits that I had an eye-opening moment […]