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Published: November 22nd 2006
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You know when you leave a carton of milk in the fridge for waaaaay too long, and when you take it out there is solid stuff in the bottom and clear liquid on the top but you've already opened it and taken a whiff before you realise? Well if you're ever in Mongolia and someone offers you fermented milk alcohol, you would be well off to remember that particular smell and JUST SAY NO!!! One of our group ignored this advice and earnt himself the name 'Yoghurt Boy' before waking very ill in the middle of the night.
Only two days in Mongolia on the way into China which was nowhere near enough to see this amazing country.
Off the train in Ulaanbaatar into minus 6 degrees and snowflakes in the air. Have I mentioned I was supposed to be following summer this year- oh well- it was time to find the beanie and gloves again.
We headed straight out into the country to a traditional ger camp for the night. A round tent open at the top greeted us with enough room for five people and a wood stove, pretty comfy really. Surrounded by snow, mountains, trees,
yaks, it was very picturesque. We had a local guide, Mea, who lives with his family at the camp who gave us lots of info about the surrounding area as well as being a fountain of knowledge on Mongolian history and customs. He was really interesting, even more so because he learnt to speak english only in the last year or so simply by listening to his passengers. Very smart guy.
I opted out of the 3 hour horse ride that afternoon and instead went for a long walk around the area, heading with a few others up the side of a hill to get a fantastic view from the top which included the obligatory monk riding a horse who seemimgly appeared from nowhere. Was fun, especially when we tried to take a shortcut back down the other side of the hill and ended up slipping/crashing/falling/ through the trees and snow on the other side- Well it didn't look that steep from the top!
The resident family cooked us an amazing goulash for dinner (was too scared to ask what sort of animal it was made from) and the dinnner also included an extremely large array of different fermented milk
products. Some nice (yoghurt), some not so nice (curds and whey)- but I did try them all.
Leaving the ger camp next morning and heading back into Ulaanbaatar for the day to visit a monastery, have a wander around town and see a cultural show. It reminded me a bit of south america and we were given so many warnings about pickpockets and looking out for ourselves that a few were considering staying in the hotel. Out on the street it didn't seem any more dangerous than anywhere else, just lots more people. The cultural show was amazing. Dancing, music, contortionists that made us all cringe, a mongoilian throat singer - now that is something weird to listen to, and they even chucked in something a bit western and played a Mozart rondo on a guitar like instrument.
Heading to a local restaurant after the show we were greeted by a waiter who suprised us by first saying hello, then getting all the drink orders correct, remembering who ordered what food, was more than helpful and smiled the entire time. We're definitely not in Russia anymore!! A pity there wasn't more time to stay before catching another train
towards China. Another excuse to come back maybe?
Things I find disturbing chapter 10:
Hmmm, nothing disturbed me too much at all about Mongolia although you did see a lot of people wandering the city talking on phones. Not mobile phones, normal house phone connected to an outside cord and everything, a bit strange.
At the Mongolian-Chinese border the bogeys had to be changed (that's the wheels) which meant a very long border stop. From 1915 till 0115 the next morning! Strange but when the train is moving you don't so much mind being aboard, but when it's not...... and you can't get off...... and the toilets are locked.....and you had a beer just before they locked them..... - slightly more frustrating. ( In answer to an email question I got last week - the toilets get locked coz the men changing wheels not happy if happen to be standing underneath one!!).
For years and years my sister Shani has quoted to me and the family the following
"There's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing." I ask you this - Just what exactly is the approriate clothing for a midnight
excursion to an OUTSIDE LOO in Mongolia when it's MINUS 18 DEGREES?????!!!!!
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shirley
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lucky you
mongolia sounds realy great. it is on my hit list. need to talk with you about the train when we get back in march.