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Published: October 29th 2008
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The last two weeks were certainly an "experience".....we learned a lot about the Russian attitude. So I guess we became sceptical about what other countries would be like.......and Mongolia proved us wrong!!! The moment we stepped off the train people were smiling at us....waving at us. Then this lovely girl came skipping up to us with the biggest grin & shouted "Hey.....I found you!!"........It was Gerlee (or Jenny)...our Mongolian tour guide!
Straight away we looked at each other and said "I already love this place".....and from the moment we got there til the moment we left we said the same thing!
So our first day in the Capital....Ulaanbattar we did the city tour. We were heading up towards the Gandantegchenlin Monastery, and asked what a totem pole was doing in the middle of a rubbish dump! Jenny explained it was a Shaman camp, and took us in to see the Shaman. (Sha-woman actually). It was a bizarre experience. We went into her ger which had a kind of alter, to the right of the door was a HUGE Golden Eagle sitting on a perch near the doorway watching us!
We asked her questions about our health, about our trip
Just as we arrived
A ceremony was taking place in the main square of Ulaanbattor for the Emegency Services and our families. All of which she gave positive answers! Jenny transalted and then we would ask our next question.
The monastery was lovely, we span some prayer wheels and saw a giant golden standing buddah and we met Jenny's grandparents too on the way there - they seemed lovely. In the afternoon we headed off to Erstei Ger Lodge, about an hour or so from Ulan Bator.
The gers are great round tents with very low doorways - I think we all ended up with several bumps on our heads walking into them - especially after a few beers!Inside they are very colourful and with a stove in the middle of each, they are really toasty, no matter how cold it got outside (-13c at some stages). There were about 10 gers in the camp, including two that were a kitchen and dining room. No running water at all, long drop toilets again - but this time no velvet seat cover - in fact no seat to cover anyway! Everyone was a bit nervous of the long drop since it was a very long drop and the holes were actually big enough to fall down (note to
self...not too many beers!). A gorgeous dinner, where we met some new friends Moo and Bink - Sisters from Australia and Singapore.
The next morning, we went on a 7k each way horse ride with the nomad horse herders to an aluminimum statue of Chinggis Khaan, when I say massive, I mean I don't think I've seen anything on that scale in the west at all. The horses are smaller than we are used to, but very sturdy, and they are only semi-tamed. They understood one word "choo" which means faster, but no words for "slow down" or "stop you crazy creature I'm going to fall off." We started trying to race, but as we were shouting "choo choo" at our horses, they seemed to ignore us, and instead, the horses with those new to riding, that didn't want to run, decided to start running instead.
The mongolians use the torturous wooden saddles, but fortunately had nice soft ones for us feeble westerners!
That afternoon, we had a visit to a nomad family who showed us the traditional wedding ceremony.......with the help of....Lorna & Mick!!! HA! John (friend from England we met on the transib) was Lorna's
father....and Mick's father was the Nomad man. Mick had to ask permission of my Dad....and they struck a deal that Mick had to provide me with loads of Goats and a flushing toilet (the toilet was a joke obviously!). It was a lovely ceremony which involved the passing of a silver bowl with fresh sweet cream held with a blue cloth.
We couldnt help pissing ourselves when John (my Dad) had to kiss Mick at the end of the ceremony....and of course I got a peck from my Mongolian father in Law!! :D
Afterwards, back at our gers, we got our wish - it started to snow..and snow..and snow - all night, there was about a foot of it by morning. So that night after dinner, we and the guides played some bizarre games - one involving making "intimate sounds" from leters of the alphabet (I suspect the one male guide was going through a bit of a lean period on the dating scene as he was a bit obsessed with anything sex related), then a big snowball fight and when we had all frozen and managed to set our hats and gloves on fire while trying to
dry them on the stove, one of the yonger guides taught us a traditional game of Horse racing using sheeps ankle bones. Then back in Chris and Caseys ger, played a card game called spoons, all sang our national anthems and after much persuasion, and assurances that we would all take it seriously, Casey did the Hakka for us - outside in the snow in shorts! - It was fantastic, and I think the mongolians were amazed to see a real Hakka performed.
It was so cold that night, that when we went to bed, loads of mice also came into the gers to get warm, I nearly died seeing the mice!!! I jumped into Mick's bed....and needless to say didnt sleep much that night. But still loved waking up in the Ger (just not the mice rattling!!)
In the morning, in spite of trying to negotiate some extra time in the ger, we had to leave. With 11 of us packed into a tiny minivan, no snow chains, and about 5k off road to do before we got back to the main road it was a life embracing experience! The van nearly tipped over, we slid around
and backwards, down ditches. The main road wasn't much better with lorries sliding backwards down hills towards us and a minivan that had gone into the ditch and literally split in half! Our driver told us that his van was a good strong one! Mongolian driving is crazy at the best of times, they make Russians look quite sedate So we were all very glad to get out back in Ulan Bator.
So that was Mongolia - one thing we do know is it wasn't long wnough and it's definately on our list of places to return to and explore some more. I think it helped that Jenny was such as fantastic huide, so entusiastic about Mongolia and so willing to share as much of it as she could with us. Thanks Jenny!!!
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