Ger surfing in Mongolia

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Enough of couch surfing, it was time for ger surfing! With good friends in town and the Chinese embassy closed for visa processing due to a week long holiday, it was time to escape the polluted streets of Ulaan Bataar and escape for some fresh air. With a little encouragement, our friends persuaded us to leave our bikes and share a Russian van with them for a few nights.
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We awoke on the day of departure to a snow covered and still snowing city, and an icy wind blowing. To our disappointment, a modern jeep arrived instead of a Russian van. But as we headed into the suburbs, our driver had second thoughts about taking his vehicle into the stormy weather, and called for a back-up! At last we had the hoped for Russian van. But there were more obstacles to overcome. As we entered the mountain range that borders UB, the roads were icy and barely visible. Petrol stations and small stupas appeared out of the storm as we negotiated the treacherous road, but due to an electricity failure, we were forced to return to UB for petrol. Finally we were really on our way.
Our gentle and skilful driver Dabar, had a creased face that appeared to have seen everything and was unphased by the driving conditions. For several hours we drove through a curtain of snow. With no obvious road visible, all we could see was a multitude of tracks across the landscape, seemingly ‘suggested’ rather than fixed ways to negotiate the rough terrain. Unable to see the landscape in it’s entirety, we did not realise the main highway was in fact very near, but not negotiatable due to ongoing road works.
When we cleared the mountain range, the curtain of snow was drawn back, and we were treated to a beautiful snow covered landscape. As the sun sunk in the sky, our driver approached a family ger to request accommodation. They turned us away, and Dabar advised us we would have to camp. This was the first of many tricks that he played on us. As we contemplated a freezing and hungry night in our tents Dabar was driving towards 2 small dots on the horizon (more gers - barely distinguishable in the white landscape).
This family agreed to put us up, and moved into one of their 2 gers for the night, vacating the other for us. Here we were able to observe family life in modern day Mongolia. The family were dressed traditionally in woollen cloaks with vibrant sash ribbons. They had a solar panel charging a motorcycle battery which powered a television and electric light.
The fire was fuelled by animal dung. On entering we were offered Mares milk tea, a very rich and salty concoction, which is the Mongolian mainstay. We also tried the ubiquitious airag, twice fermented mares milk which is alcoholic. It tasted like yogurt gone sour, not bad tasting but then again we only had a mouthful each. The airag was being made inside a large barrel, which had to frequently be stirred.
The two children were very shy until Nigel presented them with peanut butter and honey on bread, which they had a real taste for. We learned that it was the first time that this family had hosted tourists, and so we hope that the experience for them was as interesting for them as it was for us. The amount we paid them, while a small amount to us, was equivalent to 4 days wages for a teacher in Darkan, and so for a family that lives mainly by subsistence, it is a large amount of money.
In the next few days we came to trust our driver implicitly, as he negotiated the beautiful and inhospitable terrain in his van that could seemingly go anywhere with him at the wheel. We forded streams and snow filled ditches without missing a beat.
On the way we saw yaks, Bactrian (2 humped camels), old citys, the beautiful Lake Ogii, and Orkhon valley with it’s frozen waterfall.
After the first very special experience with the family we spent the next few nights in ger guesthouses. Gers are the funkiest of accommodation. Decorated in folk art and lined with thick felt, they are very warm inside once the fire is going. Leaving the ger to go to the nomad’s toilet (ie the outdoors) is very cold but under an amazing starry sky not such a bad experience (except when the dogs are harassing you!)
The challenge for Nigel, Shell, and Tim, which I passed on, was to gut a fresh fish from Lake Ogii. Performing the bloody task in the snow was enough to make them light headed and I am not sure that much fish was consumed, but it was probably as close to participating in nomadic life as we got.
Many fascinating scenes unfolded across the landscape, gers being packed up to move, or set up in a new position, mares being milked, families creating their own freezers in barrels out of snow, and of course the many herdsman sheperding their animals or animals running free across the landscape. Aside from the domestic animals we were lucky to observe the giant black vulture, and a kind of wild cat/fox as well as many birds of prey, wild takhi horses which have been successfully reintroduced to Mongolia from zoos, after years of extinction, as well as a variety of small rodents who were dashing to safety in front of the vehicle.

Trip notes

Oct 1 day 168
LG Guest house $12 US (14400)
Vietnamese visas - $70 US (84 000TG)
Supermarket 6000 Togrog
Food and drink 14 000
Laundry 10000 Togrog
2nd hand magazines - 8000 Togrog

Total = 136400
Euro = 79.5

Oct 2 day 169
Met Shell and Tim who arrived off Trans-Mongolian train
Private room in guesthouse $16 US (19200)
Food and drink 25 000 Togrog
Train tickets to Bejing 84 000 Togrog x 2 for 2nd class

Total = 212200
Euro = 124

Oct 3 day 170
Overnight tour to Terilj including accommodation in a Ger and horse riding for 2 hours + meals 72 000 Togrog.
Additional drinks 14 000

Total = 86 000
Euro = 50

Oct 4 day 171
Return to UlaanBataar
Guesthouse $16 US (19200)
Food and drinks 28 000

Total = 47200
Euro = 27.5

Oct 5 day 172
Guesthouse 19200 Tg
Groceries 35000Tg
Restaurants 20 000 Tg
Waterproof jackets from black market (North face and Columbia) 25000 + 27000 Tg
Total = 126 200
Euro = 74

Oct 6 day173
Left UB for 5 day tour to the west of the city in Russian van.
Travelling with Shell and Tim.
Cost for 1 couple for 5 day tour = 264 000Tg
Accommodation with family in Ger, arranged by our driver (Dabar). 10 000Tg

Total = 274000 Tg
Euro = 160

Oct 7 day 174

Lake Ogii. Beautiful lake without the rubbish of Lake Baikal. Ger guesthouse 10000Tg
Food and drink 10 000
Museum next to old city 2000 Tg

Total = 22000 Tg
Euro = 13

Oct 8 (my birthday!) day 175
Orkhon valley Ger guesthouse 10 000 Tg
Euro = 6

Oct 9 day 176
Harhorin - visited ancient buddhist temple city still in use and saw monks carrying out a prayer session.
Ger guesthouse 10 000 Tg
1 hour horseriding with guide 5000 Tg
Park entrance 2 x 3000 Tg
Entrance to old city 2 x 2000 Tg
Evening performance (throat singing and traditional music at our guesthouse) 4000 x 2 + 15000 for CD.
Groceries 18000

Total = 66 000
Euro = 38.5

Oct 10 day 177
Return to UB - Tip for driver 40000 Tg
Visit to wild Takhi horses in nature reserve 12000 Tg
LG Guest house in UB (staying in children’s rooms as the guesthouse had been fully booked in our absence.) 12000
Laundry 3500

Total = 55500
Euro = 32



Oct 11 day 178
LG Guest house - $16 US (19200)
Restaurants 17000 + 9000
Hire of guide at station to assist putting bikes on train 15 000
Bicycle carriage on train 45000 (made up of various fees, 500 to consider request for travel, 10,000 for customs stamp, additional customs fee of 1500, use of internet and photocopier to type up and copy forms, 31,000 for actual fee of bicycle carriage.
5 hours were required to complete the procedure of booking the bikes on the train, including many trips back and forth between the ticket office, customs office and luggage office. We employed a local man who was at the station and offered to assist us as soon as we arrived. He had poor English and handwriting which caused some difficulty but still made the process simpler.

Total = 105 200
Euro = 61

Oct 12 day 179

Groceries 27 000
Restaurants 20000
Internet 2600
Guest house $16 US
Souvenir rug 150000
Chinese visas $30 US x 2
Book 15000
Card 600

Total = 299 400
Euro = 174.65

Oct 13 day 180
Boarded No 24 train from Ulaan Bataar to Beijing
Drinks 4600 Tg

Euro = 3

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