Mongolia

Mercedes-Benz Zetros 6x6 Luxury Expedition Vehicle

If you were going on an expedition and wanted to take all your luxuries with you, what would you pick? A Range Rover? Maybe a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen? Neither of these nor any other vehicle can rival the sheer capabilities of the Zetros.

Made by Mercedes' truck division, the Zetros packs a 7.2-liter inline-six diesel engine with 326 horsepower and 960 lb-ft of torque driving all six wheels for a 16-ton cargo capacity and go-anywhere capabilities. But while these vehicles are used by militaries around the world to move cargo, a pair of Mongolian businessmen -- one runs a mining operation and the other a brewery -- have commissioned a pair for their hunting expeditions.

The specially-made models feature full bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom (complete with shower, marble tiles and under-floor heating), 46-inch flatscreen TV monitors, outdoor grilles, Bose sound systems, self-adjusting motorized satellite dishes, wireless internet... the works. Their new owners use them for hunting wolves in the Altai mountains with an eagle.

Tags: altai mountains, expedition, hunting, mercedes, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz zetros, mongolia

Hunt with Eagles on Dunhill's Luxury Adventure Tour

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Men's Style

Famed London luxury goods firm Dunhill is collaborating with UK adventure travel firm Black Tomato on a new series of excursions replicating a famed Dunhill journey in 1930. In that year Dunhill's Clement Court traveled overland from Paris to Japan to secure the very finest Japanese lacquered goods for the firm. Dunhill and Black Tomato are now offering modern versions of Court's epic journey, with appropriately luxurious accommodations and adventuresome activities along the way. The excursions are designed to demonstrate that "luxury is something more discerning, more elusive and more unique than just a price tag", as they put it.

The concept of discovery and exploration has been a hallmark of the Dunhill brand since 1893, as reflected in its most recent collections. The luxury packages are priced from about $4,500 and include destinations such as Paris, Moscow, Mongolia and Japan. Experiences include a private tour of the Louvre in Paris while the museum is closed, a flight in a Russian fighter jet above Moscow, learning eagle hunting in Mongolia (above) and bathing in Japan's oldest mineral hot springs. Guests can also opt to recreate Court's entire journey, including 10 days in a private cabin on the Golden Eagle Trans Siberian railway, starting at about $44,000.

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Tags: Black Tomato, Dunhill, hunting, Japan, London, Louvre, luxury goods, luxury travel, Mongolia, Moscow, Paris, Russia, train, travel, UK

The Story of the World's Most Luxurious Fabric from Loro Piana

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Books, Men's Style

Baby Cashmere may well be the world's most luxurious fabric. As The Classicist noted when it debuted in 2008 courtesy of Italian luxury label Loro Piana, to make it the company first had to spend several years convincing Mongolian tribesmen to comb the fine underfleece of the Hyrcus goat kid when it is 3-12 months old. Each combing yields no more than 30 grams of the rare, precious and incredibly soft fiber and is only done once in the well-cared for animal's life. It takes the fleece of nineteen kids to make just one Baby Cashmere sweater. Now Loro Piana has documented the painstaking process in a lavish new volume from Skira called Baby Cashmere: The Long Journey of Excellence. Traveling through the remote and unspoiled lands where the goats are raised, the epic journey is revealed in over a hundred vibrant full-color photographs, presented in large-scale format.

Tags: animals, baby cashmere, books, cashmere, coffee table books, fabric, Italian fashion, Italy, Loro Piana, Mongolia, Skira

Urbane Nomads Offers A Kublai Khan Experience

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Luxury travel purveyors, Urbane Nomads has given us a peek at their next trip. The company is currently working on a trip that combines the themes of equestrian adventure, falconry and hunting to be launched at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi in late September. The trip, billed as "The Most Luxurious Trip In The World" will attempt to capture the spirit of the lavish hunting expeditions of Kublai Khan.

The trip involves traveling through the western part of Mongolia to experience the exciting experience of horseback falconry. Guests will be led by an award-winning filmmaker familiar with the area, locals and the eagle hunters of Bayan Olgii in Western Mongolia. As guests try their hand at eagle hunting their portrait will be immortalized through an oil painting by a famous painter and falconer whose patrons include Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE and the HM Queen Elizabeth as well as many other members of the gulf royalty.

The trip then heads to Northern Mongolia, on a horseback riding expedition where they will be guided by academic researchers actively involved in the study and conservation of the Mongolian reindeer. Travel will be by private jet and with the accompaniment of a private chef, a private butler. Guests will be accommodated in luxurious, movable private gers (yurts) outfitted in a luxurious style.

It all begins in Beijing where the guests will stay in the presidential suite of the Park Hyatt Beijing as well as a private villa designed by Kengo Kuma close to the Great Wall of China. Costs for the trip starts from $2 million. If Mongolia doesn't suit your fancy, tell Urbane Nomads your most outlandish travel fantasy. If you've got the money, they can likely make it happen.

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Tags: kublai khan, KublaiKhan, luxury, mongolia, travel