Central Mongolia

The second part of our tour

In this part of our journey, we have experienced the high and lows of travelling. Realized why we love to step out of our doorstep and chase after the unknown and we had to accept that it is not just a game of gobstones. The road is a dangerous place and one can be betrayed by the closest friends and allies.

22.6

The sun dawned brightly above our ger. Everything seemed to be in a state of pleasant calm, when in fact Artey had been betrayed that night. Betrayed by the one thing that always gave us courage and a new mood for adventure. The one thing that could refill our core reserves and solve almost all conflicts: Food. We are Hobbits at heart and just love to eat. From Plov to Tteokbokki and Gado-Gado we have enjoyed almost everything our multi colored destinations had to offer. But the culinary experience of the last kingdom on this trip lacks a bit on the essential points. To understand the concept: We have mentioned before that we are currently in the least densely populated kingdom in the world. A huge stretch of land filled with endless steppes. The people who live here are tough and enduring and also very generous and kind. But if you want to survive one must eat. And if you are incapable of eating the grasses 'of the steppes you need to eat the things that eat the grass. So as growing veggies is so hard the traditional Mongolian cuisine consists mostly of dairy products and meat. We ate a lot of mutton on this trip, very fatty mutton with very few veggies. As a result Arteys digestive system had decided to throw a temper tantrum. So, that morning Artey did not break her fast with Sesy and the rest of our team. But we are on an adventure that cannot be stopped. We left our ger camp and set out in our trusted Russian van. Luckily our drive that day was comparably short and we arrived at our next destination before lunch. Our camp was located in the Orkhiid Valley, a rocky area with a small river flowing through it. There we ate lunch (Artey got a bit of rice soup) and stayed the afternoon. Our camp was very nice. We had a common area, electricity (not in the gers) and a shower! Before enjoying the luxury of a gentle indoor rain Sesy greeted the local river spirits. The water was very cold and the home of the river spirit was sadly only deep enough for getting wet not really for swimming. In the afternoon Sesy settled in to the common room. There she stumbled upon two other travellers, who were just enjoying their lunch. The two travellers were Adrian and Justin. We had met both of them on the first day of our tour. It turns out they are master explorers both on their quest to visit every kingdom known to men. Naturally they can tell marvelous tales of past adventures. The big issue with meeting characters like that is that the wish to go to the extraordinary places they talk about. Suddenly places like Afghanistan or Bangladesh seem like the place to be. The conversation continued until we were ushered on by Orna. Our next destination was waiting: Ongi Monastery. Artey had slept during the afternoon and had regained enough strength to join in. Our exploration party of seven (Artey, Sesy, Jane, Orna, Justin, Adrian & Ono (Justin & Adrian's guide)) set out into the mountains. After a short walk we found the ruins of the once mighty complex of the Ongi Monastery. A long time ago that was a place full of live and spirituality. After the destruction of nearly all temples in the times of the Soviet Union only one small temple is still active. There a lonesome monk sat and prayed. It was a nice, small Buddhist temple. Afterwards our guides went back to the camp and the rest of us started a side quest along the river. The terrain quickly climbed and after a while we found ourselves at the top of a small rocky hill overlooking the lands. There we sat in company of a large golden Buddha talking and watching the sheepandgoat wander along the riverbank. The wind with its icy fingers pulled at us and forced us to start the journey to our camp. There we were greeted by a feast of past. In Mongolian standards a very light meal suitable for someone with an upset stomach but Artey still stuck to her rice soup. The sun sank behind the horizon and we went to bed inside our comfortable ger.

23.6

That day was a long day on the road. Artey was feeling a lot better and ready to speed over the bumpy gravel road. We made several stops along the way to watch the inhabitants of the steppes wander past. For on that day, we departed the stretch of land that is named Gobi and ventured into greener areas. There many four-legged creatures roam the wild. The sun walked over the sky laughing at our slow progress along the endless plains. After it had passed the highest point in the blue dome we stopped for sustenance. The local establishment Orna had chosen was of the highest quality and offered us a rare access to the invisible library of all things. With the high hope of getting food with a little less fat Artey ordered a noodle soup thinking about the liquid dished we had savored so often during our quest. Her hopes were foolish in this place of mutton and milk and her not yet fully recovered digestive system made it impossible for her to eat more than a mouthful. An alternative source of energy was found in a bowl of white rice. Sesy unhindered by a body with crumbling interiors decided to just as well try the weird food and ordered milk tea with dumplings. To eradicate any confusion the dumplings were swimming inside the tea. To our surprise the tea-soup-situation was served with a sheeps tail. It is probably a big hit somewhere, surely, just not with us. A sheep tail, for everyone who has never eaten such a delightful thing before, is just a big chunk of fat. Very healthy. Luckily Orna ordered a green salad for Artey to eat with her rice which ended up as the source of vitamins for Sesy, as Artey had a very European approach and decided that cold, green salad was not ideal for a sensitive stomach. During lunch we also got an owl from Adrian, thanks to the access to the invisible library of all things, explaining that his exploration party’s carriage got stuck in the mud. We were already far ahead of them so we couldn't turn around and rescue them. Well, they got out eventually. Later in the afternoon we reached the green valley of Orkhon. A stunning green plain surrounded by grassy hills with a sprinkle of pine forest. At the edge of the plain is a cliff where a river tumbles into the depth. There we spent some time wandering and the two of us jumped into the ice waters. For dinner we carried the small table we found in our ger outside to eat under the blackening sky. During dinner the dog of the owners of the ger camp joined us in the hope of getting a supper himself. There we were later joined by Adrian and Justin who's journey to Orkhon Valley took a bit longer than ours, mostly to their encounter with the mud. Dinner quickly turned into a game of cards. As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, we moved inside our ger. With the sound of very mixed music evening turned to night.

24.6

Morning broke and we were shaken out of our peaceful slumber by the ringing of an alarm. Our alarms, calling us to break our fast. The morning was very relaxed. We ate once more in the company of Adrian and Justin under the bright morning sun. There we talked about matters big and small in the world. We were called away from the breakfast table by Orna as our next adventures awaited. That morning, we would train to join the Rohirrim. We met up with an elderly guy dressed in the traditional attire of the people of this land. Next to him four strong stallions waited. Artey was the first to mount. Out of the three of us she had the most experience. She quickly got on her horse and were told how to steer it. With the hope to become a valiant rider of Rohan she was allowed to ride on her own. Jane and Sesy mounted their horses as well and off we went, over rocks and past mountains. Artey’s hope of joining Theoden’s army any time soon were quickly trampled for her horse had spent too much time in Fangorn forest and fully operated under the mantra “not so hasty”. In Mongolian the word for “go” is “cho” which is used to encourage a stallion to speed up. So, falling behind the rest of the group Artey and her horse turned into a steam powered train with a constant “cho cho” needed to make any progress. After an hour we returned to our camp with new impressions and a dampened hope of turning into a true Rohirrim any time soon. Shortly after our return we boarded our trusted Russian van and were whisked away. We stopped once next to the river to marvel at the large and small carpet cows, in the common tongue they are called yak.

After lunch we reached the once mighty city of Kharakhorum. An ancient place full of angry ghost wailing their tragic songs about glorious times long lost to the turning of the wheel of time. Kharakhorum was founded by the most famous of Mongolians: The great conqueror Chinggis Khan. He decided that that place should be the capital of the largest empire the world has ever seen. It only became a vibrant city during the reign of one of his sons, Ögedei. The grandson of Chinggis Khan, Kubelei later moved the capital to Dadu (later renamed Beijing) and Kharakhorum's city walls emptied over time. After the fall of the Mongolian Empire the city was also plundered by the Ming resulting in ruins and the many angry ghost we met that day. Of the city itself most has been lost to the long strides of time and not yet freed out of his tomb in the ground. We learned all that and more in the museum there. Then we visited the only really impressive sight that still remained: the Erdene Zuu Monastery. Of the once magnificent place of worship only a shadow remains, but still we marveled at the couple of temples that were left. One story I would like to tell to you dear reader is the story of the only female angry guardian: There once lived the devil in the world. Just wandering about and destroying the beauty of it. So, Buddha send the angry guardians after it. One after the other all nine male guardians failed to destroy the devil. In the end the female guardian was sent and with her female charm she ensnared the devil and killed him. With that she defeated the evil in the world. Afterwards she bore the devil’s offspring and as it was the child of the devil, she ate it freeing the world of all evil. The largest temple held a large statue of the female guardian riding a mule with the skin of the devil on top of it and her own child in her mouth. So much for angry ghosts. After the monastery we drove to our camp for the night. It was a very fine establishment with showers, running water and even Wifi. There we ate traditional Mongolian Barbeque, a fine experience. It is basically a big bowl of meat with some stones inside to keep it hot. Orna gave us some easy pieces to eat, meaning pieces with less bones and fat. None the less it proved to be a real work out for our jaws. We were later joined once more by Adrian and Justin. If we were still on our quest and hadn't destroyed the one ring yet I would accuse them of being ringwraiths. But the ring has returned to the fires of Mt. Doom so they are just nice travelers hoping to finish their own bond quest. The evening held more surprises as we were invited to a traditional show in the restaurant. There an elderly man was joined by two of his grandsons (if I state it with enough confidence no one can prove me wrong there) he and one of them played the fiddle. It was the Mongolian version of it. They sang songs praising Chinggis Khan and horses. Both very important topics for the people here. One boy also danced. After the show Artey tried to show her skill at the fiddle, but her skill did not compare to those of Kvothe but more of those of Troubadix. Before someone with a hammer could come by and stop her that way the room switched to a dance floor. All of us tried to learn the Mongolian dance with the twelve-year-old boy as our instructor. All of us failed more or less spectacularly. Most of us tried our very best and stumbled over our feet. Justin did not even try and ditched the confines of guidelines and performed a splendid freestyle solo. As the musicians departed with many shouts of thanks, we managed to snatch the small singing dragon powered by ecklectisity. With the help of a spotify jam we had a very diverse dance party until we were told to turn down the music. That was our sign to wander into the realm of sleep.

25.6

The last day of our tour began. It began with an epic start. It began with breakfast! The only real way to start the day. As it was our last day Orna outdid herself and served fruits, bread, pancakes, the typical spreads and tea and coffee. As usual we were joined later on by Justin and Adrian. The two of them were usually a bit behind us. Hard to keep up with us. Before we set out, we said goodbye to the two travelers we met so often the last couple of days with the promise to meet up again in UB.

Our first stop was at an abandoned factory. Many of the walls had fallen in and nature started to retake the place only filled with live by ghosts and surprisingly horses. Maybe not that surprisingly we are in Mongolia after all. There are horses everywhere.

After a quick look around the large complex, we drove over the great paved road in the direction of the red knight (also known as UB, Ulanbator, Ulaanbaatar, Ulan Bator, whatever). On our itinerary for the day was also a visit to a national park. At first, we were told that that would not be possible due to the rain that was pouring down, but as we neared the national park the rain lessened and we attempted the drive over the mud road. Our trusted Russian van did not let us down. There we first watched an interesting movie about the wild live in the park. As an added bonus we snacked on some wild rhubarb. Then we headed into the wild. The Khustai National Park is known for hosting the last wild horses. The takhi were basically extinct in the wild but thanks to an amazing program and some wild life conservatories in Europe they managed to get the population up to 500 again. As we drove into the park, we saw a deer and a wild fox. Then we stopped at a sort of meeting spot. Other drivers were gathering there exchanging news. Apparently no przewalski horses have been seen that day and other groups were starting their way back. Luckily for us the rain had just stopped and we got out of the van and walked around a bit. Suddenly one of the drivers pointed at a group of what we had identified as rocks far off on one of the mountains and stated that that were the wild horses we were looking for. Very eager we tried to walk a bit closer. At that distance it didn't really make a big difference because we were lacking the right equipment meaning binoculars. Jane's magic box had a very good camera and with that we were able to see the horses a bit closer. They were really horses, not stones. After a couple of meters walking, we came across a trail probably used by rangers and while we were talking about how useful binoculars would be, we found a pair just laying on the ground. They were a bit muddy but otherwise in perfect condition. With that amount of luck and now the right tools we could spot the group of horses walking up the mountain. We also saw a group of wild deer and more horses. Laughing at this pot of fortune we returned to our van. As the weather turned and the wind blew away the clouds more animals came out of their holes. Mainly marmots and birds. Marmots are really adorable creatures basking in the sun or just poking their head out of their holes. We saw one returning to its baby's. During the drive out of the park we saw at least fifty.

With that stroke of luck in mind we made our way to UB. That is where our good fortune ended. The last hour of our trip we spend stuck in traffic. But in the end, we arrived back at our hostel with a basket full of new memories of a country so diverse and empty. Memories of incredible landscaped and so very interesting people and with the realization that running water and electricity are truly luxuries that cannot be found everywhere.