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Published: November 14th 2007
Harsh Place
For a horseWith a band of 8, Greg, Pippa, Robert, Carla, Anna, Pete, Lucia and myself we started out on our 8 day hike around Mongolia. The trek was to take us west as far as the city of Karkhorin and then back east to Ulaan Baatar and up to a park outside of the city.
We had 2 drivers (Sugra and Togo), 2 guides (Tosnoo and Kishgee), and a heap of food and drink so we all bailed into the same trusty Russian Jeeps we'd used in Baikal and took to the road.
DAY 1
Well we had something of an unfortunate start to proceedings when we got 3 punctures in the first few hours. The driver had gotten 4 new tires the day before and they were leaking. We had to hang around for hours waiting for the other van to get back with the spares.
I was chatting to our guide, Tosnoo, about Mongolia. He was telling that it is becoming more and more industrialised in Mongolia with their new found mining reserves the reason. They've found plentiful supplies of coal, copper and some gold.
We arrived at our first ger around 6.00 pm. It was
Group
Carla, Pete, Lucia, Greg, Pippa, Anna, Myself, and Robert in a place called Mongol Els. A ger is essentially a circular tent with a stove in the middle and a few beds surrounding its edges. Generally the inside will also contain an Altar.
On arrival we were treated to some Mongolian tea, containing tea, milk, water and salt. Takes a bit of getting used to. With with the tea we got some kurd, which is a really hard substance with a strong sour milk taste. Its the cream from the top of the milk, dried. Milk is a massive part of their staple diet.
The group split into 2 gers and we got the fire going. The fuel was interesting, dried camel shit! Left a bit of an odour in the ger as you can imagine. It was Tosnoo's first job with the Golden Gobi, and he hadn't been expectd to cook at the last place so we had to give him a dig out with dinner.
After dinner we decided to play some cards, blackjack. Tosnoo was telling us that he didn't know the game so I did my best to "teach" him. When we got going and the chat started he told us that
he used to work in a casino 8 years ago, at the blackjack tables!! Talk about being hussled, good job we weren't playing for real money.
First nights sleep was fitful at best. The weather outside was wild and windy and the temperature was dropping. Once the fire went out the ger got really cold!! The door of the ger swung open at about 1 am. We got it shut and bolted, well Anna did.
DAY 2
We woke up to snow the next morning. This was a bit unfortunate considering Mongol Els are where the sand dunes were.
The toilet facilities are at best basic. On this part of the trip we had to deal with the pit and 2 plank variety. There was walls and a door but the wind was howling through it and there was a fair auld shtank! I'll not go into too much detail but I think a bush somewhere would have been prefarable!
Next we were treated to a camel ride which was a bit surreal what with the snow and all but sure what about it. We were dressed up in the traditional clothes and led off. Camels
are quite stubborn so we had to led by the people from the ger. We were led around for about an hour or so and it was deadly.
After that we were heading for the 8 lakes area, it was a 5 or 6 hour drive from here what with the roads and the conditions so we got going before lunch. The roads are hardly that, they are at best dirt tracks for large areas, though there are new paved roads being built all over the place. The jeeps made light of the whole lot though, dirt roads, sand, rivers, snow, rocks, you name and it crossed it over the course of the next few hours.
The next ger was the starting point of our horse trek. Nearby was a waterfall which was breathtaking. It was covered in snow and ice and when we got there the sun was setting, wow!!
DAY 3
The wind had gotten up again over the night and when we got up it was looking like we wouldn't get to go on the horses. The guides were a bit apprehensive considering the weather and the fact that we largely novices when it
First Ger
Toilet Facilities came to horse riding. But they left it up to us.
We had a chat and decided to give it a go and if it was too difficult we'd turn back. Due to the fact that we had lost so much time it was decided to cover the first 20 km by jeep and start from there. By the time we'd covered this the day had begun to clear and had gotten quite warm. We had also been provided with more traditional gear and looked the ticket.
We were provided with 2 horsemen and our guides accompanied us as well. Horse riding went well, we started at a very slow pace and the guides all kept a very close eye on us, advising us on technique etc. The horses weren't near as big as what you'd get in our part of the world either. Speaking of which, it had been decided to give me the smallest horse there, which was the butt of the jokes with the guides.
The 8 lakes area is spectacular. The scenery is out of this world. It is a massive volcanic crater with mountains, lakes (8 of them), vast valleys, and some
loose volcanic rock. Everytime you cleared the top of a hill you were treated to another fantastic view, that would just leave you gobsmacked!
We were treated to real nomadic lifestyle here. The tradition here is not to turn people away. There was 12 of us altogether and we would just roll up to a ger to make dinner or sleep and it was never a problem. Its an amazingly open way of life that unfortunatley is completely alien to us in the west. Each and evertime we were welcomed with open arms and a big fuss was made and tea was handed to all.
At this ger they had just brewed up some milk vodka, made from mare's yoghurt. It wasn't to everyones taste but I've had worse. It was quite mild, about 8%. Apparently it is really good luck to have visitors call after you've made vodka, who gets the good luck I'm not sure.
We finished off the night with some charades and blackjack.
DAY 4
This was to be our longest day riding, altogether we covered about 40 km. Again it was beautiful, we skirted along the banks of a river and
through it at times and we also climbed and descended some pretty tough hills.
Remember me telling you earlier that I had the smallest horse, well he sat down twice from fatigue. We'd be trotting along and he'd just stop and sit down. I'd to swap with Lucia who had the biggest horse of the lot!
When we rolled into our gers that evening we were treated to a view of some vulcers on the cliff. There was a carcass of a dead fole that the local dogs and crows were feeding on and the vulcers were waiting for them to finish. Christ they are ugly bastards! We tried to get a few snaps but they are extremely wary birds and it was difficult to get close enough. They are quite cowardly actually, we noticed one getting chased and bitten by 2 crows, the thing was twice their size!
We learned a wee bit more about the nomadic lifestyle at this ger. They move with the seasons, following the grass as they put it, looking for somewhere sheltered to erect the ger. A ger can be assembled in about 30 minutes, the centre beams support the roof
and the walls are a trellis like material.
We were told as well about the dowry systems in place for new families. A new couple is presented with a ger and some animals to get started by the grooms family.
DAY 5
We were only on horseback today until lunchtime. We looped around by the waterfall near the original camp and headed across river at its shallowist part and then back to the camp.
When we got back our goat was ready. To explain, before we left we pooled some money together, 16,000 Tugrogs (14 Euro), and bought a goat. While were away our drivers skinned this goat and cooked it in a big pot with vegtables. The meat was cooked traditionally by placing red hot stones in the water and boiling it all up. We produced a crate of Chenngis beer and everyone ate their fill.
Every conceivable part of the carcass is re-used for some purpose, the hide can be sold for fur, bones are kept, as were the intestines, for what I could not even start to guess! One of the drivers sold the fur on the way to Karkhorin.
Next stop
Horse Trek
Yakkidy Yak was the ancient city of Karkhorin. It was founded by Ghengis, we're on first name terms now, and served as the capitol city until it was destroyed by the Chinese Ming Dynasty. It was in fact destroyed a second time by Stalins troops in the 30's. We visited a large monastery outside the city called Erdee Zu Khiid, where we learnt about the rebuilding project that is ongoing from this. You might remember me explaining about the destructions of the monasteries in the last entry.
The monastery part was interesting but Karkhorin itself is has little or nothing to offer. It is Mongolia's second biggest city and there is no industry to speak of, as whatever concrete buildings here are very delapidated. When the Russians pulled out in 1991 they withdrew all industry funding and we seen the results of that here as the Mongolians weren't in a position to maintain them.
The place we were staying in offered a shower, of sorts, and electricity so people were able to recharge camera's and the like. The shower was fairly miserable but no worse than alot of GAA clubhouses around the country.
Our guide told us that night
that he was going to finish the trip and that this was his last night. He had not been getting along with the other guide or the drivers. We'd sensed the tension earlier. There was only 2 nights left, and though we sympathy I felt he could've slugged it out.
We had an extra special treat that night in the form of a traditional Mongolian throat singer! There were some fairly odd noises coming from the chap and Lucia nearly wet herself laughing at him. It was one of those inappropriate times to have a fit of the giggles. Hilarious
DAY 6
This was our longest day driving. We had to head back to UB. Our first call was to the Penis Rock that faced Vagina Hill, and no I'm not making this up! Its a sort of fertility area that Mongolian couples visit. After some obvious jokes and tittering we were on our way again.
Our next stop was 7 hours later at the horse sanctuary called Terelj. Its a sanctuary for the Mongolian Wild Horses, that are only found here. The park is about 10,000 hectares and there is only about 100 odd of them
Horse Trek
Admiring the view in it so we were steeped with luck to find some.
They are quite unique in that they all have the same yellowy beige colour. They are smaller than normal horses in that have bigger heads and short thick necks. The most interesting thing is that they have 68 chromosomes as opposed to the 66 that all other horses have.
They were extinct to Mongolia, due to hunting and looting. However, two that were in captivity in the Netherlands were given back to Mongolia and this park was created. All current horses come from these two.
The scenary was fantastic heading out of the park, especially in the fading light. The problem was though, that the light was fading and we weren't exactly on good roads and well lit areas. After a few hairy hours we landed back in UB.
The driver of the other jeep, Togo, was putting us up for the night in his new house. His wife had put on a serious spead for us and we ate our fill. We spent the night having a few beers and playing cards again.
DAY 7
Next we headed to the National park that
Horse Trek
Lucia has enough of horses was just east of UB. Kishgee was in our jeep for a change, think she was a bit worried about any fallout from the our guides departure. With her intertreting, it was the first time that we had gotten a chance to talk with our driver properly. He hails from the outskirts of the Gobi desert, where he has a wife and 2 kids. He had last seen them in May and this was his last job before heading home for the winter, we'd heard similar stories all along the trip. Inconceivable stuff for us to comprehend.
Just outside the park we pulled over to where this chap had a tame eagle that you could hold. It was only half developed at about 7kg, but christ it was heavy! You wouldn't hold him for long but it was great to see one close up.
We entered the park itself and stopped at a cave that used to be used by monks to pray during the Stalinist era, where they could escape persecution. We climbed up to a small opening to a regular cave that supposedly housed 1000 monks at a time.
We drove on to the turtle
Horse Trek
Family from Ger rock formations, which you might have guessed are large rock formations shaped like turtles! Again the view was unreal! We had lunch here and then we hiked up the hill to a meditation monastery set on the side of a hill overlooking the valley.
DAY 8
We were treated to a serious breakfast the next morning of fresh bread, cheese's, and yoghurts. After breakfast we floated around walking up hills etc. We left the park around lunchtime to head back to UB.
Kishgee had arranged for us to stop in at the National History Museum to view their dinosaur exhibit. The highlight was 2 dinosaurs that had been killed while in combat. One was a velocoraptor, remember the really intelligent ones from Jurrassic Park. Nobody is sure what happened when they croaked it, but it looked pretty cool.
When we got back to the Golden Gobi they insisted on taking our laundry of us. They had no facility to dry them on site so they went to a laundrette at no extra cost to us. Really nice thing to do, but that was just the way they were here. The owner of the Golden Gobi, Ugi, sat
Horse Trek
River Crossing chatting
Our train left the next morning at 8.30, and we left with nothing but good memories of Mongolia.
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Love the beard
haven't seen such a magnifician beard since 4th year in college seamie! presume you'll be doing some hulk hogan style shaving at some stage!!! fascinating stuff guys - keep up the good work!!