Mongolia: The empty quarter

The Dornod province in eastern Mongolia: The last train left in 1989, the uranium mine is shut down, and the WWII battlefield is an overgrown meadow with abstruse monuments. On the Khalkhin Gol (pronounced Chalchin Gol, with Gol = river) the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo got to the Soviet-Mongolian army (i.e. to the Soviet army because Mongolians = men with bows on horses) during the Second World War. In Japanese, the whole story is kindly called "Nomonhan Incident". In the absolute middle of nowhere plus the felt 10 billion mosquitos, they fought for a few kilometers over the border line for months: According to the local museum (less than 10 visitors per year), this was the first battle worldwide with the massive use of airplanes (over 500 both sides; again: it was about a brook through the ass of the world).

In Mongolia, every village is obliged to provide overnight accommodation for government officials. If there is no government representative in sight, you can use these rooms as a normal traveler. The rooms on the ground floor of this museum are located in Khalkhin Gol. There were government officials (brother, brother-in-law, ... of the prime minister) on a drinking tour, but one room was free. A 'night in the museum': Since the spy Richard Sorge at the German embassy in Tokyo reported the Japanese military actions to the Soviets, I waited all night for the visit of historical people who wanted to take revenge! The escape to the outside was not an option due to a huge German sheepdog with a totally shredded snout was protecting the museum. Together with huge thunderstorms all night long: A nice setting for a panic attack.