Ger Camp and Ulaan Baatar

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Day 6-7 (April 10-11)

We set out after breakfast with first stop at a supermarket to shop for a few supplies before heading out to the local Ger camp where we would spend the night.

Our local guide was very passionate about his country and freely answered any questions including those about unrest after the general election earlier in the year due to possible falsifying of results. Mongolia is a very poor country these days and has been hit hard by the global crisis. Our guide was previously a Urologist but young doctors are not paid or treated well and so he’d changed to being a guide. It's hard to imagine a situation where being a guide pays more than being a specialist doctor.

We reached our camp about an hours drive out of Ulaan Baatar and settled into to our wonderful ger. The ger has two wooden (and decorative) poles in the centre, lattice wood to give the general frame and covered by canvas, then felt then more canvas covering the outside. There were 4 comfortable beds and a table and a wood heater; it was deceptively roomy inside and very warm.

We spent a great day there eating local food and wandering around the countryside. 8 people chose to go horseriding on the small but tough Mongolian horses. A neighbour (in traditional garb apart from his Nike hat) led the group.

Some of us that stayed behind waked out to meet the riders on the hill, on the way we had some of the local environment explained to us. The local Terelj tree (we were in the Terelj National Park) apparently has medicinal properties and unwell people come and sit and breath in the perfumes to restore health. On our way back we were followed by a young man on a bike eager to sell some of his paintings.

There is a recreational building at the site with pool and table-tennis. I enjoyed the table tennis very much!

That evening, we visited a local family and had some aspects of their lives explained to us. Ger huts are able to assembled by those that have them in just 2 hours. Usually they move the huts four times a year according to the various seasons. How far they move depends on the part of Mongolia (some areas you need to travel 70 km for good food for the animals, and others only a couple of kilometres).

These days many of the children do not live in the gers. They live away from home to attend school (Mongolia has a high literacy rate) and so grow accustomed to living in a more Western style. This makes it difficult for the parents who stay in Gers as they no longer have the assistance to move house and home, and care for their stock.

We spent the night playing cards before finally getting to bed. The rooms were fantastically warm and comfortable and it was a shame to be spending only one night here.

The following morning I thought I’d have a hit of the volleyball with our group leader and I think that my mind was more keen than my body and I went for a great dive on the gravel carpark (the only level ground). Ouch!

After breakfast, we were given some lessons in local archery (imagine Chingis Khan - otherwise known as Genghis Khan) where we tried to use a high arc to reach the skin target. Lots of fun, and I was surprised to be the closest. I hit the top of the pole holding the skin!

Time to leave this great campsite to have lunch back in Ulaan Baatar at a local vegetarian restaurant that is part of a local charity that Intrepid assists. The charity supports orphans and children abandoned by their families.

Later in the day our leader is approached and kicked by 3 young guys while checking out a place for our dinner, and several of the other travellers have incidents of being followed. We end up eating in an Italian restaurant close to the hotel.

It is such a shame that the future for Mongolia appears so bleak, it is a beautiful country with amazing history and traditions but is struggling to transition into the modern world economically.

I spend the next day in the hotel with a 24 hour bug (unfortunately missing out on the chance to take some English lessons or build a fence in one of the ger districts that are springing up on the outskirts of the city).

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Photos

Our guide shows how it is done
Standing much further back than us, and the arrow flies through the air cleanly....but still the target is safe.

Another horse needed
Two appear from nowhere and now it is just a matter of rounding them up

Comments

[Josevich]

amazing!
i love mongolia. though ive never been there. it just seems so exotic and thats what i love about mongolia. thank you so much for sharing!