Mongolia

I wish I knew something about cars. I'd do the Mongol Rally in a heartbeat. It sounds fun.

I know I only spent two weeks one summer there, but there's something about Mongolia that just sticks with you. Maybe it's the vast flatness, dark nights, and bright blue skies of the Gobi. Perhaps it's the breeze that carries with it the scent and taste of everything it's touched for thousands of miles, the knowledge that the same wind has been passing through for hundreds of years. Or, it could be the absence of human commotion, the harsh beauty of the land, the realization that it's just you, the occasional camel or horse. Silence.

Whatever it is, it's a relic of another time, of a place where one dreamt of greatness and its beyond, thymos ruled by might and cunning, and conquerors were forged. Chingiz Khan managed to accomplish a feat by even modern western standards.

Mongolia has a different place in modern westernized civilization. Its past is no longer of our world. But, I remember it always. Sometimes, I dream of it in my sleep.