the Mongolian life

Natalie and I spent three days exploring the Mongolian countryside and it was quite an adventure. We slept in gers and participated in some of the daily chores of the nomadic famlies that housed us.

We left from our guesthouse on Monday in the "strong Russian van" and our driver, Ultzi.

Our first day we headed to Terlj national park where about 80km north of Ulaan Baatar. Here are some pictures from our drive up there:

Emily in front of Turtle Rock

a grazing camel near the road

there are still signs of winter!

twin yak calves

there were lots of bones and skulls on the ground

The first night we stayed with Darlima and her family in their traditional ger.It was really beautiful!

the ceiling - blue for the sky and orange for the sun

inside the ger

We arrived just in time for lunch - Sheep face! EW! We did managed to choke some down (without choking out loud). Natalie declared it the grossest thing she's ever eaten. It was up there for me as well, but I think the live bee larvae in Thailand was worse.

Ultzi picking the meat off the skull

(which you can see on the cutting board and in the bowl)

I had a lot of fun helping with the chores which included feeding the baby goats out of a sheep-horn bottle and getting up early to help milk the cows.

Helping Darlima feed the babies

she loves that milk out of the sheep horn bottle!

in the morning I helped make Mongolian biscuits for breakfast!

And, of course, we had to "play dress up" before leaving. I wore my del - the traditional Mongolian coat and Natalie borrowed one of Darlima's.

in our dels in front of the ger

Day two was a very bumpy ride (strong Russian van = NO shocks! and Mongolia = NO roads!) South towards the Gobi desert.

a change of scenery

more camels - and calves!

the "strong Russian van" near the Gobi

a local woman collecting the dung on the steppe to burn in her stove

(surprisingly it doesn't smell bad at all when burned!)

Our second night we stayed in another ger - this one MUCH dirtier than the first. I don't think they owned soap of any kind! It was really awkward at first because we don't think they were expecting us. But, we played with the kids and made the best of it. Here are pictures of their children. Aren't they cute!?!

This family also herded sheep and goats. I even got to help herd them on horse back. Unfortunately, Natalie has that picture on her camera, so I'll post later. Here's a cute mother/kid picture:

Here we got to see them brushing the sheep for their cashmere wool

Day three we drove to the edge of the Gobi desert to see/play in the sand dunes before heading back to the city. Here I am in front of the sand dunes. Natalie has all the pictures of "play time" including a video of me rolling down one of the dunes. I'll have to post that later! :)

What a trip.

Yesterday I was quite sick - probably from the stay at the second ger. (Washing my hands back at the guesthouse the water was BLACK, despite the wet wipes and disinfectant gell.)

Today I"m off to Irkutsk, Russia and to see Lake Baikal. Natalie left early this morning to head back to Thailand and meet up with Andrew again. Our journies continue!