A road trip to the world première in Beijing

A road trip to the world première in Beijing

It is a land of contrasts. In the centre of Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar, 1350 metres above sea level and home to 1.4 million residents, the futuristic high-rises twinkle in the sunlight. At night, the illuminated advertisements seem to be in competition to see which can glow the brightest, and expensive shops and chic hotels line the main streets. In the outlying districts, the people still live in simple yurts, the traditional tents used by the nomads. A resettlement project resulted in a large swathe of the nomadic community coming to the city. Due to a lack of funds, they were unable to build houses on the properties allotted to them. So they live in traditional tents just as their ancestors did. Visitors are usually amazed by the modern furnishings: refrigerator, washing machine, television – it's all there. And a large wood-burning stove for heat.

After visiting Khan, it is time to drive to the Chinese border. Before the long journey, we want to have another taste of the Mongolian cuisine, though it is not all that easy to find a suitable restaurant. Our tour guide advises us to avoid the establishments located along the road that leads out of town. The risk is too great that we will be served spoiled meat. So we return to the city centre and order "dry goods" for the drive. On the 600-kilometre stretch from the capital city to the border, there are only two small towns. We're hoping that everything will run smoothly. The chances of finding a suitable workshop in the event of an emergency seem rather slim.

After sundown, everyone here drives with their headlights on full beam. That makes driving quite arduous. Permanently dazzled, the eyes get tired quickly. The only thing that helps is to stop briefly and allow your eyes to rest in an area free of streetlights. The oncoming traffic has it somewhat easier; the adaptive main beam on our Volkswagen Touareg ensures that only the road is optimally illuminated and not the cockpits of the cars coming the other way. Those drivers are left unbothered by the light.

The city where we wait for our customs documents is actually more like a village by Chinese standards. There is only one medium-sized skyscraper, 50,000 inhabitants, no airport, and no place name sign in our alphabet. We seriously don't even know the name of the city! But since the traffic at the border is increasing, growth will not be far behind. Today this place is teeming with Mongolian shoppers. They buy local goods in large supply and then take it all back to Mongolia to sell on there. The cars are packed to the roof. Now we understand why our UAZ didn't have any seats.

That evening we go into one of the many restaurants. We want to try the local cuisine. The menu is illustrated, which gives us hope. But without Mr Wong, our patient tour guide, we probably still wouldn't have known what we were ordering. I'd like to take a minute to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr Wong once again for his support during our journey. Out of habit we each order several dishes. We learn our lesson: the portions are huge. The waiters can't even fit everything on the tables that we have lined up. We learn that Chinese portions are enough for a small European company party.

Despite the over-abundance, we do not want to go without dessert. But something sweet after a meal? That is not normal around here. Letting guests go home unsatisfied is not either. A couple of minutes later, we have ice-cream, watermelon and other fruits on the table – all from the little shop around the corner. Where there's a will, there's a way. The perfect motto for the last 600 kilometres to the world première of the Touareg in Beijing on Friday, 23 March. We can do it!"                                    

Rainer Zietlow