9/7 to 9/10 Final Days

9/7 was a day of leisure. We had the option to ride which most took up. I had caught what turned out to be a stomach virus and rested. The weather and scenery made for a pleasant day off. In the afternoon we visited Jergdallen's ger and family. The little boy in the photos is his son but really his grandson. Jergdallen's son is either not going into the family business and/or lives far away. Jergdallen and his wife adopted their grandson in order to teach him the ways so he may one day inherit the herds of sheeps, goats, yaks and, of course, horses.

Jergdallen's son was much less shy than the other kids we met. It may be because he's met all the other non Mongolians who have been on tour. Past participants have sent batches of photos back and he pleaded Jergdallen to put a photo of him in the front. The conversation went as follows:

Son: Put this picture in the front.
Jergdallen: There's room for it in the back.
S: No! Put it in the front.
J: How about the middle?
S: No one's going to see it if it's in the middle!
J: Okay, I'll put it in the front.
Jergdallen's Wife: Oh, just put the album away! We have company and you're being rude.

It played like a sitcom. At least it was more productive than my conversations with Bootsy that went like this:

Jackie: Okay, time to canter! Come on, Bootsy! Tro, tro! Tro, tro!
Bootsy: Um, no.
J: PLEASE!
B: Nope.
J: Here comes the whip...
B: All righty then.
(30 seconds later.)
J: Oh come on!
B: Hehe.

The next day we had to say good-bye to Dogii and Jergdallen (and Bootsy). We were all pretty sad since who knows if our paths will cross again, even if we return to Mongolia. We wished them luck for the coming months and were off for a drive to "Piece of Sand", an area at the very edge of the Gobi. We had a chance to ride camels but I passed. It was entertaining to watch Jim and Katie try to manage the animals though. Listening to the camels made me think of Star Wars. In fact, we found postcards of costumes worn by Mongolian princesses and clearly George Lucas's costume designers borrowed heavily for princess Amidala.

The following day was spent driving back to UB on terrible roads. It didn't take as long as the first day out but it was just as uncomfortable. We got back in time for me to check out the main square very briefly. Then we saw a performance of traditional song and dance.

As I mentioned before, the staff at Nomads really took care of us well. I had never been on an organized tour like that so it was a nice first experience. Everyone was friendly and respectful and the participants all agreed that Mongolia more than lived up to our expectations. I went away with a desire to see much more of the country (we only covered a small part of central Mongolia) and a definite plan to return. The people of the countryside were all incredibly warm and welcoming. Almost everyone asked if I was Mongolian and didn't believe Mishidma when she told them I wasn't. This was really the first time people have had that kind of reaction. In Korea I am always asked if I'm Chinese or Japanese. I will think back to this trip very fondly and hope to get back to Mongolia soon.

Here is the link to the last of the photos. I ran out of juice the last few days and had to eek out photos with my other camera: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602153514067/

9/6 Final Day of Riding - Orkhon Waterfall

Today is the official final day of riding. We have the option to ride tomorrow though. We got a late start since the horses all ran home in the middle of the night. Turns out Dogii and Jerdallen's gers are about 15 km away so they knew their way back. While Dogii and Jergdallen went back to retrieve them, we visited a family in a nearby ger. The father and older daughter had gone off to visit another family so the mother and younger daughter greeted us. The girl was very shy at first but finally opened up for photos. The ger was very clean and the mother was preparing milk to make butter, cheese and vodka. The furniture, including the roof beams, was all hand painted by the woman's brother-in-law. Orange is often used to brighten the interior.

When the horses were all back we rode to Orkhon Waterfall, the largest in Mongolia. On the way to camp we stopped at Dogii's ger and met his family. Dogii was an extra in a music video of one of Mongolia's most popular entertainers. He tried to find the video but sang for us instead. I am trying to upload the video of him singing a song about being 18 years old. The words are all about the trials of being that age and trying to figure out who you are. His father also sang for us. He also had a fantastic voice. Jergdallen said their whole family could sing well. They wanted us to sing a song popular in our respective countries but none of us dared to follow their performances. Somehow I don't think my rendition of "Umbrella" would be a positive representation of American pop culture.

Here is the link to photos from Day 8: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602153450829/

9/5 Tovkhon Monastery and Orkhan River

Today we rode to Tovkhon Monastery which is on top of a mountain. At least it wasn't too hot for the horses since it was tree covered. Four monks were still there when we arrived. Others had gone to another temple for the winter. Tovkhon holds significant historic importance since it is where the first religious king of Mongolia, the Ondor Gegeen Zanabazar, worked and lived. It is said that he prayed alone in a cave at the very top of the mountain. The adventurous ones climbed to it. The rest of us decided to wait for the photos. We also went inside the temple which was modest in comparison to the interiors of those of Erdenezuu. After lunch we rode down the mountain and then up another, smaller mountain. We were back to camping riverside after riding along the Orkhan River. Another beautiful camp site.

Here is the link to the photos from Day 7: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602144881328/

9/4 Urt Bulag Valley

Today we covered another 30 km and I seem to have gotten used to riding now. I decided on a sitting trot instead of trying the other options. Bootsy still breaks his canter and there's nothing I seem to be able to do about that. We had a bit of miscommunication in the afternoon and I fell off when he started galloping away while I was taking a drink from my water bottle. It's not a long way to the ground so it didn't hurt and I rolled to standing right away as Dogii chased after Bootsy.

In the afternoon we visited a family preparing insulation for their winter ger. They also had solar panels. The family had two little girls and I gave the older one a stuffed horse beanie baby. She seemed very pleased and showed it off to her father when he walked in. When he asked who gave it to her, she said she forgot. Thanks, kid! Her parents seemed quite young. Mishidma said they've broken with the tradition of arranged marriages and now young men scope out the ladies, though they have a lot of distance to cover on their motorcycles and horses.

The ride to camp was quite short and we were no longer by a river. Our tents were set up on top of a tree covered mountain. It was Lisa's birthday so the cook made a cake. We still can't figure out how she baked a strawberry shortcake without an oven. I managed to stay up past 9:30 and saw the stars. You could see everything, according to Katie. I don't know anything about stars and constellations but all I know is that the sky was covered. We saw a number of shooting stars as well.

Here's the link to photos from Day 6: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602144397002/

9/3 Kharkhorum

Today we rode to into Kharkhorum in the morning. Kharkhorum is where Chinggis Khan launched his cavalry to set off to conquer and create one of the greatest civilizations. What stands now is a small local township and Erdenezuu Monastery. A description from our itinerary: "The monastery was built in 1586 and is surrounded by a massive 400m x 400m wall. Not a single nail was used in the construction of the ornate temples only a few of which remain standing after the communist purges. In previous times the grounds held over 60 temples with 10,000 monks using them for their daily worship." After religious tolerance was restored in 1990, Mongolians rebuilt the temples that stand now from ruins of the old temples which the monks and towns people hid at great risk to their own lives. 108 stuppas surround the grounds. Annika and I met a British woman who has been living in Mongolia for four years, volunteering with the VSO to help with the running of the monastery. She told us that the young monks had been in prayer for over 24 hours when we arrived. We saw one monk talking on his cell phone. I guess you can get reception there.

In the afternoon we rode to our lunch stop which was in an amazing valley. The poor horses had to climb up and down a rather steep mountain and cross a rushing river. I almost fell into the river because I lost my left stirrup and Bootsy was his taking his sweet time, per usual. Jergdallen thought that was funny. After lunch we set off on some flat land and Bootsy and I got lots of cantering in. On our way to camp we visited with a very friendly family. There were nine children in the multi-generational gerhold and the youngest, a seven month old, looked like a baby Buddha. The family invited us in and offered us airag, cheese, butter and vodka made of mare's milk. It tasted like water with a faint taste of medicine. Every family makes it so I guess it's like moonshine. We took a lot of photographs of the family and children (after asking for permission, of course) and the kids loved seeing their photos on our digital camera screens.

Our camp was riverside and the scenery matched the Mongolia of my imagination before I came on this trip. People have asked, "Why Mongolia?" and I hope my photos of the landscapes answer that question. I feel its countryside is one of the last untouched places and nowadays it is rare to glimpse a way of life so vastly different from your own. Even though you can find gers with solar panels and televisions, the nomad's way of life is fascinating. Mongolian nomads move every season. They take everything, including the gers and their herds, and find a new location for spring, summer, fall and winter. In fact, many of the families we visited were preparing for their autumn move. There is no land ownership in the countryside and families keep a respectful distance between each other. Nothing is written down but there seems to be a general understanding and social contract.

Here is the link to photos from Day 5: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602153412389/

9/2 Ow! Ow! Ow!

As anyone who has ridden a horse knows, the second day of riding is absolutely the worst. Your whole body hurts but especially your butt and inner thighs. Mine were bruised already and I felt so very sorry for myself. On our second day of riding, we covered 20km in the morning and 10 km in the afternoon. Whatever feeling I had left in my butt in the morning was completely gone by the afternoon. Of course that is when Bootsy decided to wake up and be energetic. Great. But we did some galloping on long stretches of flat land and it was fantastic. I had forgotten how much fun it is to ride.

The landscape is striking. The mountains look like drapes of green velvet. Contrasted against the blue sky, it is the very definition of picturesque. We ran into many herds of cows, horses, sheep and goats being tended to by men on motorcycles, the modern method.

It was incredibly hot and not a cloud appeared in the sky. It was very nice to have our camp all set up and waiting for us, including a shower tent.

Here is the link to the photos from Days 3 and 4: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602153342707/

9/1 First Day of Riding

Mongolian horses are noticeably smaller than horses in the US. Normally you'd ride a horse that is 17 hands tall in the States and an average Mongolian horse measures 13 hands. Jergdallen is Dogii's uncle and their summer gers are set up close to each other. I learned that Jergdallen is 50 and Dogii is 20. I thought Dogii was 17 when I first saw him. Turns out he's married and has a five month old son. I felt kind of bad when I found out his name. I had been calling out to the mutts following us, "Doggy, doggy! Here doggy, doggy!" I wondered why he kept looking over when I did that.

On our first day of riding, we covered 17 km in the morning and 13km in the afternoon. Our path was toward Karakorum, the first capital of unified Mongolia. (Chinggis Khan started the building effort with one of his sons completing it.) The first thing you notice while riding through the steppes of Mongolia is the sky. Mongolia means "The Land of Blue Sky" and no wonder. You'll see what I mean in the photos.

The weather was desert-like with hot days and cold nights. There is virtually no humidity. A little breeze would have been nice for the horses. The gait of Mongolian horses makes it difficult to do a posting trot so I spent the first two days trying to find a comfortable position. I gave up on the third day and just did a sitting trot or rode two point but that was tiring. My overall solution was to go directly into a canter but Bootsy, my horse, was a lazy bastard and broke his canter whenever he could. By the afternoon of the first day Jagdallen gave me a whip. I don't like using whips but it's hard work trying to get a horse to keep cantering. Plus, I got tired of always bringing up the rear. Bootsy really liked being dead last.

Another beautiful camp site awaited us and I got some decent shots of the sunset. Here's the link to photos from Days 1 and 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54764455@N00/sets/72157602153315677/

8/31 Driving to Ogii Nuur Lake

Our first day was spent driving the 360km to Ogii Nuur Lake where we were to make camp. The drive was incredibly bumpy and we had to take motion sickness pills to get through it. To give you some perspective, it took us nearly 10 hours, not counting our stops for lunch and to check our horses, a euphemism for needing a restroom. Mongolia is as untouched as they come so the rest stops were aplenty.

The lake was beautiful and we camped right up against it. Annika took a dip, saying it was completely normal to jump in a freezing cold lake since she's Swedish...which brings me to the other participants. Annika lives in Thailand with her family due to her husband's work in telecom. Daniel is Belgian, spending a month in Mongolia. He is a stage lighting technician and his next project will be the opera in Monaco. Jim and Lisa are a married couple from the UK. Jim works in special effects for movies (and knows GKR!) and Lisa has a business creating invitations. Katie is an American who has been living in Tokyo for the last year and a half, first teaching English and then working at an equestrian club. She was the most experienced out of all of us and often raced with the herdsmen. Crazy. The herdsmen, Dogii and Jergdallen, arrived with our horses as our tents were being set up. Nomads, our tour company, really took care of us. Our tents were always waiting for us and all of our meals were excellent. I was a little concerned that it would be all mutton all the time in Mongolia but Nomads puts their cooks through a two week training program to ensure great meals. We had anything from deviled eggs with caviar and crepes for breakfast; cheeseburgers for lunch; and spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner.

8/29 - 8/30 SF to Ulaanbaatar

After a great send off by my SF friends, I started my adventures on 8/29. Factoring in the time difference and travel, I had to dedicate two days to get to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. The very long journey was only broken up by a layover in Inchon Airport in Seoul where my friend Nancy met me. There was only one hitch. Since I was in the transfer area and couldn't exit the airport, we had to "talk" through a thick slab of glass. It was kind of like getting a visitor in jail except we didn't have the luxury of a telephone. We spent the next hour writing messages to each other. I could see the passersby staring at Nancy and making comments. I was waiting for airport security to descend any minute. Other than that inconvenience, Inchon is a very nice airport. When you're hopping from one country to another, airports become quite important. Little did I know that I would have a few choice words about the Moscow Intl Airport.

Fast forward many hours and I arrived in Ulaanbaatar at 10:30pm on 8/30. There was a bit of confusion at Immigration since the agent couldn't quite make out why I have a face that doesn't match the name. I offered him my California drivers license. He still looked confused but let me through anyway. I was met by Michidmaa, our tour guide and translator, who told me immediately that I look Mongolian. This became a common theme throughout the trip.

Driving into Ulaanbaatar proper, the first thing you notice is that the highway is a narrow two lane path. At least it was paved. Turns out paved roads are far and few between in Mongolia. The most random sight I caught on the drive in was an Esprit store.