Mongolia

Today I'm writing from Ulaan Baatar - supposedly the coldest capital city in the world. Although Nicole had some desire to ride horses in Mongolia, we didn't really have any firm plns upon arrival. Within a couple hours, however, we were signed up to take a five day journey into the middle of the country with two Dutch travelers. Didn't get much of a chance to see the city on our first day since we spent most of it preparing for the trip. Generally speaking, though, the city is fairly dismal. Most of the buildings are run down and the roads are in bad shape. Although there are some people in the city that wear tranditional mongolian clothes, most of the people are noticeably stylish - much more coordinated (in the Western since at least) than we've seen in the rest of Asia. As I said, we didn't spend too much time walking around - especially after we talked to two different people at our guesthouse who had been robbed.The next morning we piled into the van with Stephan, Reinier, Dava (our translator), and our driver (can't remember his name). The van was Russian made, specifically chosen because it breaks down frequently. Well, not exactly. It does break down a lot, but it's easy to fix so they guesthouse prefers the Russian vans over the popular Japanese vans which are 'impossible' to fix. We soon learned first hand about fixing Russian vehicles after the driver pulled over to repair a leaking gasket on the oil sump 50km into the drive. Our driver, 'one of the best mechanics around,' cut a new gasket out of a used innertube and we were back on the road in minutes. I use the word 'road,' loosely. Pavement is used occasionally, but rarely serviced. Actually, driving off of the paved road was a smoother ride most of the time. As a result, the 'road' is wherever the driver decides to go. Which, when you're driving in an old Russian military van, is pretty much anywhere. We were prepared for long days of driving, but the bullride it turned out to be was much more punishing than either of us expected. Average speed for the trip was probably around 15 mph.The first day of driving put us firmly in the middle of nowhere - one of many Mongolian steppes. We arrived at the first homestay, a cluster of three gers, around 8 pm and the family prepared a beef-noodle dinner while we settled into our first night in a ger - Mongolian for yurt. The simple dome structure is a really cozy sleeping area, but the complete lack of electricity and running water wouldn't be very comfortable for long term living. In the middle of all the gers we stayed in was a wood stove for heating and cooking, as well as two support posts. The center of the ger is sacred and should not be crossed - we were asked to always walk around the ger in the clockwise direction. At the center of the roof is a whole for smoke to escape and represents the Sun and Moon. Entrances to the ger always face South and a small Tibetan Buddhist shrine was usually set up in inside on the North wall. To pay respect to the shrine we were told to sleep with our heads towards the shrine and our feet towards the door. Aside from learning about the ger, we also spent a good amount of time star gazing - probably the most stars we've been able to see since being at sea.The second day of driving was even longer and more violent than the first, but we survived. The second nights accomodations were similar to the first, except that the family didn't expect our van so they let us stay in they're ger. Kind of awkward to feel like we were kicking someone out of their own house, but they didn't seem to mind. That day was Stefan's birthday so we threw a ger-party with as many people as we could round up. The party consisted of, at various times, Mongolians, French, Americans, Dutch, Belgians, beer, and vodka. The Mongolian beer we bought came in 2L plastic bottles - looked a like a giant water bottle except brown. Although it looked a little scary it turned out to be the best beer I think we've had in Asia. Adding to the ambiance, we drank out of small bowls since the Mongolian families didn't have any cups. The family avoided the party for the most part, but occasionaly they'd pop in with a big grin on their face and say,"Vodka?" We were more than happy to share.Perhaps needless to say, we slept in the next morning. The weather took a decidely nasty turn for the worse and we were hesitant to ride horses in the morning. By about ten we mustered up the courage to brave the cold, but only after we piled on as many layers as possible. We were loaned some traditional Mongolian dels, but it was still bitterly cold - especially for our hands and feet. The hourse ride was initally a bit of a disspointment. The horses were pretty old and uninterested in moving. In fact, Reinier decided to walk and was actually faster on foot than we were on the horses. From the camp we rode about an hour to White Lake - frozen solid and, it seemed, even colder. It was kind of fun to walk around on the lake, but it was hard to enjoy the moment. Fed up with riding, we convinced the horse guide to let us walk the horses back to the camp. Walking the horses was really more like dragging the horses and after about half an hour the guide convinced us to get back on the horses. He figured out that we were sick of the cold and helped us motivate the horses up to a trot by smacking them in the ass with a thick rope. Trotting was much faster and a more fun, although a jarring, ride. After lunch break hudled around the stove and a short nap it was warm enough to hike out to a nearby volcano. The weather had cleared up enough to enjoy some impressive views of the country.Fortunately the next days drive was relatively short and it was much easier to enjoy the scenery. It's berthing season right now, so we got to see full sized and baby goats, yaks, and horses. That night a Mongolian throat singer gave us a personal performance in our ger. The singer played three different traditional instruments while singing: a morin khurr (horse fiddle), a short harp, and a flute (obviously didn't sing while playing this one). The perfomance was really impressive - the songs were mostly about various animals and Ghengis Khan (a popular guy in this country).Our final day was a short ride back to Ulaan Baatar. Along the way we stopped at a small sand dune ('mini Gobi') and the original capital of Mongolia - now a temple. We've seen a lot of Buddhist temples, but the imagery in this one was much more violent than anything to date. Interesting contrast to the rest of Asia. Today we bought train tickets to Irkutsk for tommorrow afternoon so we'll be in Russia by Friday.