We didn't speak a word of Mongolian, we knew no one in the country and we made no prebookings, but we befriended a family of nomadic Mongols living traditionally on the steppe as herders and discovered an idyllic way of life.
In a world that has progressed, consumed and polluted to such an extent that it threatens its own sustainability, Mongolian herders live self-sufficiently, in harmony with the environment and each other.
It took my husband and me three days on local trains to arrive at the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator, from Beijing. Upon arrival in Ulan Bator, we flew a further 671 km northwest to Moron, the capital of Hovsgol. There were no buses or taxis at the airport, and since our only plan was to venture into the wilderness, we sat in a nearby field to ponder our next move.