West Mongolia

Mongolia is pretty much like this as soon as you step outside of its capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Sometimes I felt on the moon, and sometimes I felt more on Earth than ever before.
Two highlights of my time in West Mongolia were (1) a stay with Nomadic Kazakh families, and (2) a hike to the top of Malchin peak the only peak of the Altai mountains that can be climbed without specialized gear and still offers a stunning view (more pictures on that later!)