Mongolia

Mongolia was better than I expected, and I had high expectations. It wasn't as developed as I thought, nor as cold (note, it was still cold), but what surprised me the most is that the herding community are still nomadic. The land is not owned by the farmers, instead they just follow there animals around, which are cattle, sheep, camel, goat, and horse.

A ger, surprisingly warm.

They live in large circular tents, called gers, which can be easily packed up. The farmers move about four times a year with the seasons but they don't really pick the destination. That responsibility they leave to their herds.

Goof and I spent a couple of nights in here, a typical ger. The fridge is run from solar power, or sometimes a car battery. The stove in the middle is for warmth and cooking.

The Mongolian landscape kind of reminded me of the Australian desert. Flat, treeless, but with hill/mountains in the background.

 

View from the top of high hill near our camp.the camp can just be seen behind the rock in the background.

The major difference here of course was the snow. It is spring time and it still snows, which we found out about on our second day at a ger camp.

The next morning the landscape looked like this.

We arrived in Ulaanbaatar at about lunchtime where we were greeted by our lovely Honcho, Aika, and our driver, Mende. and after lunch we visited their parliamentary building, which, unsurprisingly, has a massive statue of Chinngis Kahn out the front. This was followed by a lookout that is dedicated the liberation of Mongolia from China and a visit to nearby statue of Buddha with a drum we could play for good luck.

  Australia: big merino, big pineapple, big guitars, etc. Mongolia: Giant Kahns.

The next two days were spent dead-set in the middle of Mongolia, about 300 kms from Ulaanbaatar, in the previously mentioned ger camp. Mende drove us out there and we got to ride camels, visited a nomadic family, and Mongolia's first Buddhist temple at the site of their first capital city, Karakorum, established by Chingis Kahn in the 13th century. It was razed by the Chinese in 1388 but the monastery has been rebuilt (parts are still under construction).

The monastery is still in the process of being rebuilt. Some temples have been completed, the accomodation for the monks, and a museum but there is till lots of space for more additions.

It was quite relaxing and a good way to see the countryside. We played an few Mongolian games that use sheep knuckle bones. I lost pretty badly on the first night, but after ingesting the power of the bull (read really, really cheap Chinese vodka) I won on the second night. Goof and I then modified their version of horse racing with the knucklebones to sheep racing with Mario Kart-esque short cuts.

These are much bigger than I expected. I'm not one to give advice world conquerers, but I reckon the Mongolian cavalry should have used camels instead of steppe ponies.

Upon returning to Ulaanbaatar we took in a cultural performances that showcased Mongolian throat singing, traditional dances and music, and a contortionist who wouldn't have been out of place at the yoga world championships (YouTube it, but not while you're eating). As it was Aika's birthday Goof and I took her to an all-you-can eat restaurant, because that's the type of guys are.

Happy Birthday Aika! Once again Rudolph proves to be a social embarrassment.

We ended the visit with a trip to the National History Museum. Leaving was tough, but Goof and I have vowed to come back. During summer this time.

 Statues of Great Kahns everywhere and we come across this. Given the size of the Mongolian empire I would not be surprised at all if the predator was involved.