HOW WE GOT QUARANTINED BY THE PESKY BUBONIC PLAGUE

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From bush camp at a family farm near Lake Zuun took us actually 3 hours or so to figure out how to cross the river safely, soon as we are through a big rock got lodged between the wheels again and have to pry it out, after that another long drive. So far we've been travelling in Mongolia on dirt roads, jeep tracks that would suddenly dissapear sometimes so the GPS gives us a lot of help, very rough travel and depending on road conditions and weather we could be driving all day and yet only gone 50 km. This is one of them long drives and when we were finally into the Khuvsgul aimag we got stopped at a bridge and from what it looks a check point, turns out not only it is but also a Bubonic plague quarantine area. Apparently the other places we've been before have sporadic cases of the plague due to the local's love for marmot meat which they hunt at certain seasons of the year like now. Tamir went out to talk to the police officers, after all paper work and negotiations, we were through in 3 hours, all of us having to walk and step into this carpet/rug thing of disinfectant, the truck came next and was decontaminated as well. Since it was really dark already, around 10pm, we just picked the closest piece of land where we can camp in. Quickly set up our tents but no time for fancy cooking so bulk food came in handy, noodle soups, baked canned beans, biscuits etc. Tamir have to go back to the check point since they took his passport , I believe it has something to do with the truck, they're not sure whether we are legally allowed to drive through or something, anyway, the next morning Tamir was happy he got it back after bribing the guards.

We stopped at the capital city of Moron, found internet at the telecom office about 15 mins. walk from where the truck is parked(near the market for the cook groups to shop). This was the time I found out that there was a service crash and most of my blog lost in oblivion, quickly emailed Angus and Little John E. for help, internet is scrace and slow I have no time to retrieve them. Trying to get to our ger camp near Khuvsgul Lake took awhile, driving through dirt roads on hills and dried up river beds, amazing how the truck got by, The view is spectacular as we near the lake shore but our camp is further out, have to dodge some low level cable wires, and finally we reached it, really nice location, found our gers and settled in quickly. Decided to have a shower since I haven't had in a couple of days as you do on this type of trips, Turned on the shower and it was a trickle and scalding hot, i must have cooked parts of my back and thighs in the process, next time I am going to brave the freezing cold water of the lake, it's really a no win situation, either that or you smell bad.

The next day was a bright sunny day and good for hiking around the areas, we first stopped by to see the reindeer herders and the animals. Took some photos, had a look at some souvenir items, I found a metal bracelet that I would like to buy but the price was too high for me, negotiated to no avail, then turns out Tamir was eyeing it too and just waiting for me to decide whether i will buy it or not, I decided he can have it and I'll just look at other souvenir stalls for the same thing but found none, bummer! In the afternoon, I joine bruce, Ron and Peter for a brief swim in the ice cold water of Khuvsgul, it was numbing but very refreshing, can't stay for too long though, I can't feel my limbs after 10 mins. The owner of the camp has a mischievous dog who followed us in the lake, while we were busy swimming, he somehow managed to tangle himself in one of the fishnets lying around next to a boat, he can't get out even Peter and Bruce tried to help it but to no avail, we left him and somehow he managed to get out, the fisherman won't be happy though when he finds out his nets are full of holes!The same dog got kicked by a horse when he came too close to it as Anne and Amy and Rob dismounted from their horse after their riding escapade.We met a nice Spanish couple staying in the same ger camp, they live in Bulgaria at the moment but with the nature of his work, they travel a lot, he mentioned he lived in Oklahoma for 2 years and have been to Boston and quite like it. Talk about shopping, they bought I think 20 pairs of wool felt slippers, don't know how they're gonna take it back home, poor guy..My roomie Peter got sick last night , threw up all over the front stairs of our ger.

The next morning had a walk along the lake, yaks grazing near the lake, horses drinking in it, locals doing their everyday thing, very lazy relaxing atmosphere, i quite like it, beautiful spot to just chill out. Went back and saw Tamir eating smoked fish, had a try and loved it so I decided to buy more for myself and also decided our cook group will have fish to cook for dinner, The seller was waiting just outside the camp and Tamir and I negotiated for the price and he was surprised I wanted 25 pieces, he did not have enough so they went back and got some more, it was a delicious purchase, the smoked fish from this lake is one of the best I have ever had.
In the afternoon played ping pong with Peter, we both suck, Tamir and Tony joined in for a few hits, it is a good game to pass the time by when you get tired of enjoying the beautiful scenery. I decided to go for a swim again, would rather do that than go through a scalding hot shower. I saw Andy already wading in the lake and he was shivering, I joined in and we convinced Tamir to have a go as well. The girls Amy and Anne went horseback riding again and they said it was quite a lot of fun, the only thing is you have to already know how to ride horses. We had lunch at the lake shore, they took the pains of bringing in tables, chairs, utensils, and of course the food, one of the helpers were also busy trying to shoo away the yaks that would come close and try to eat the food. So we said goodbye to this beautiful place, sad to leave but we must continue on.

We stopped for the night at Erhin Lake, saltwater lake and from what I heard not good for swimming, i was cooking that night so I prepared the fish and stuffed it, since it's already smoked, we simply heat it up in the fire. 3 people are feeling under the weather tonight, and because of the fish, they were sick when we left the lake, must be something they had there.

We stopped at Moron once again to shop and did some internetting, I sent a postcard to work here to humor them. Then after that I went to the Monastery with Nancy, it is called Danzandarjaa Khiid, it is designed in the shape of a concrete ger. As we are walking towards it we saw young men doing road work, it was so hot and they asked me if they could have a sip of my Fanta drink, I have a 1 liter bottle, I gave the whole thing to them cause I feel bad, they were very thankful and waved at us on our way back. I tried to buy as much provisions for myself including some more fish, this smoked fish from this region is getting addictive!

Another bush camp. A local in motorbike came to see us and before he could say no Tony and Bruce were all over his motorbike and they even had a go at it, then the driver quickly left. I noticed camels grazing up the hill from our camp, I walked up there and saw they have a stable for them during the night. Next morning we stopped by a town to try and dispose of our trash then to a stream to refurbish our water supply, i took the opportunity to wash, the water is freezing cold I did not actually jumped in but the looks of Andy's photo seemed like I did.

Bush camp near a stream I think it's called Oygon, Tamir invited us to visit the local ger so I went with Brenda, Doug, and Bev, they were very accomodating, served us warm milk and cheese and bread and some hard candy thing as hard as stone, I did not touch it, I don't want to have a dental emergency in the middle of nowhere. I gave pens and pencils to the kids, this are leftovers from Angus, they loved it.The kids are learning English in school so we spoke to them but very shy to reply. From what Tamir gathered, they are going Marmot hunting the next day, they wanted us to stay in their gers for the night, they could not believe how we can sleep in such a small enclosed space as our tents. I remember this night as the time the dogs barked for most of the night, people nearer the family ger camp heard most of it and were not happy souls the next morning.




WIKI INFO:

KHUVSGUL LAKE:

Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур, Khövsgöl nuur, also Khövsgöl dalai (Хөвсгөл далай, Khövsgöl ocean) or Dalai Eej (Далай ээж, ocean mother) is the second largest lake in Mongolia.

Khövsgöl nuur is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the border to Russia, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.

Its watershed is relatively small, and it only has small tributaries. It gets drained at the south end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately into Lake Baikal. In between, the water travels a distance of more than 1,000 km, and a height difference of 1,169 m, although the line-of-sight distance is only about 200 km.

The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Munku Sardyk (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The surface of the lake freezes over completely in winter. The ice cover gets strong enough to carry heavy trucks, so that transport routes are installed on its surface as shortcuts to the normal roads.


Khövsgöl is one of seventeen ancient lakes worldwide more than 2 million years old and the most pristine (apart from Lake Vostok) and is the most significant drinking water reserve of Mongolia. Its water is potable without any treatment and offers good living conditions for many types of fish.

The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and Siberian Taiga. The lake is traditionally considered sacred in a land suffering from arid conditions where most lakes are salty.

The Park is home to a variety of wildlife such as ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose and sable.

MORON:


Mörön (Mongolian: Мөрөн, river; also Murun, Moron, Muren) is the administrative center of Khövsgöl Aimag (province) in northern Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the aimag capital.

Mörön has a hospital, a museum, a theatre, a post office, several schools and kindergartens, as well as one of the biggest outdoor markets in the country. The town has its own power station. Additionally, it has been connected to the Mongolian central power grid in 2004.

The settlement stems from the Möröngiin Khuree monastery which had been founded in 1809/11 on the banks of the Delgermörön river. By the beginning of the 20th century, the monastery had grown to a population of about 1300 lamas, but was destroyed in 1937. A small new monastery Danzadarjaa Khiid has been erected on the western edge of the town in the 1990s.

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Photos

KHOVSGUL AIMAG
LITTLE RASCAL

KHOVSGUL LAKE
REINDEERS

Comments

[A Non y Mouse]

Cool travel blog
Are you close to Russia? Enjoyed the travel blog.