Adventures in Asia: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

The Idre Guesthouse and Tour company is managed (and probably owned) by a lady named Mrs. Tsetsegee.S, who carries herself in such a way that she seems to be remarkably powerful.  Her employees treat her with incredible deference; even those who don't know English managed to refer to her as "my boss."  Anyway, when we asked Ms. Tsetsegee this morning if we could call a cab, she told us we should just use her driver.  So, I mapped out where we wanted to go, including where we wanted the driver to wait, and she quoted us a very reasonable price (about $7) and translated our plans for us to the driver.

Our first stop was a couple of kilometres up the road, the Gandantegchinlen Monastery.

The first building we entered here charges admission for foreigners.  

It houses UB's largest Buddha.

More interesting to me, however, were the countless smaller Buddhas that lined the three walls behind and beside the large Buddha.

There were also bowls with fire in them that worshipers were doing something with.  This particular ritual was not one I had seen elsewhere, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to photograph it, or figure out what exactly was going on.  Mongolian Buddhism is heavily influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, and this was the first place we visited in Asia where the Dalai Lama was honoured.

From this building we moved next door.

We were the only people inside, other than a monk chanting and ringing a bell for a lady (I assume this was some type of blessing).  We also saw this interesting scene.

We assumed our visit was done at this point, so headed back to the van.  Our driver was fast asleep in the back, and we decided to wander around the compound a bit more and let him nap, because there was more to see and we were in no rush.  We got to see this statue, which depicts a story that we saw illustrated all over Mongolia.  It's a story that comes from Tibet, and shows animals working together to reach apples in a tree.  The lesson, according to our guide, is that cooperation allows living beings to accomplish more than they can individually.

But the best part of the monastery was yet to come (although unfortunately pictures were prohibited).  The building we went into was not in any way remarkable, but inside some type of service was happening with about forty monks, most of whom were sitting in pews with books in front of them.  The service involved chanting, throwing rice, burning incense, and so on.  We felt a bit out of place at first, but other laity were inside (albeit all Mongolian), and many were sitting in pews along the walls.  An older lady smiled at me and moved such that I assumed she was expecting me to sit by her, so we sat down and observed the service for about ten minutes.  It was amazing.

Monks continued to arrive as we sat there, taking their places in the pews and joining in the chants.  Two elder monks presided over the service, and at one point one of them rose to wave incense sticks over the other monks, as well as the laity who were sitting down.  Many lay Mongolians were simply circling the room and then leaving, often bringing offerings of food or money, and pausing in front of various shrines.  Eventually we joined the moving line of people, and at one point observed monks "shushing" people for talking too loud.

By now we have literally visited countless Buddhist sites in Asia, but this was a unique one yet again, and really, really fascinating.  In terms of a chance to observe people practicing Buddhism, it was probably the best place we have been after Shwedagon in Yangon. 

Returning to the van this time we woke up our driver and headed across UB to the Narantuul Market, known to English speakers simply as the "black market."  Getting there allowed us to really experience UB's infamous traffic, but we arrived, eventually.

We were going to the black market out of curiosity more than anything, although if we had realized how great a place it was we may have gone with a shopping list!

Over and over we had been warned to be careful here, because it is notorious as a haven for pickpockets, but these warnings seemed to be over done to us, and we felt quite comfortable after a while. 

Andrea bought herself some socks, but other than that we simply "window" shopped.

Most of the market stalls are outdoors, although there is a large indoor portion as well.  I think it is probably the largest market I have ever visited, except perhaps for an enormous pazaar in Istanbul, Turkey.

Probably the most interesting section to us was the section selling ger parts and furniture, including stoves.

We ended up walking around here for almost an hour, and really it was only because we told the driver we would be no more than an hour that we left.  It was a really fascinating place to visit, but in retrospect I wish we had gone prepared to do more shopping, because it also seemed like a great place to buy things.

Our final destination with our driver was Chinggis Khan Square, UB's city centre, and the site of Mongolia's parliament.

Here we stumbled upon a bit of a world fair, featuring booths from various countries, and cultural performances.

We toured the square, and ate lunch nearby.

The Mongolian arms reminded me of the explanation our guide had given us about the Mongolian flag.

The arms are once again Tibet-inspired.  Fire, the sun, the moon, and yin and yang are all included in the arms, and the two pillars on either side represent China and Russia, in between which Mongolia is landlocked.  On the flag, the arms are set on the furthest right of three vertical stripes: red, blue, red.  The two red stripes once again represent China and Russia, with the one to the right (the one upon which the arms sit) representing Russia.  The fact that the arms are on the "Russia" stripe indicates Mongolia's closeness to Russia as opposed to China.  The blue stripe is for Mongolia, because it is known as the land of the blue sky.  Incidentally, the most impressive office tower in UB is on Chinggis Khan Square, and is known as the Blue Sky building.

From the square we walked back to the guesthouse, making a final visit to the State Department Store (this was actually our third visit, because we had gone here last night after getting back to UB!), and posing for a trick photo with a heavily-burdened camel.

Adventures in Asia: Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Mongolia

Today we woke up after another wonderful sleep.  We enjoyed both nights in the gers, much to our surprise.  Ger sleeping seems to combine the best of camping (fresh air) with home comforts (a bed, shelter).

We ate breakfast of eggs, sausage, fruit, bread and jam and then set out on a hike towards the Aryabal meditation temple or monastery.  We took a path up a hill and over a ridge and past some cows before descending into a valley, where the gate to the monastery complex is.  The monastery is set halfway up a mountain, and is a retreat for Buddhist monks from UB.  There was no one but the gatekeeper there when we arrived.

The complex includes several buildings, but a long pathway leads up towards the main mediation hall.  Countless posters line the path, outlining Buddhist principles.

There are also several shrines along the route.

It took us probably at least fifteen minutes to reach the top, what with stopping to read the signs and looking at the shrines.

Unfortunately the mediation hall was locked when we reached it, so we couldn't actually go inside.

 But we did look around, and went further up the hill to visit a shrine in a cave.

A handful of other tourists were arriving as we descended, so we felt lucky to have had it to ourselves.

Back at camp I went climbing up the mountain, climbing so high that Andrea could no longer see me to summon me for lunch.  Luckily for me our guide has an excellent whistle and upon hearing it I assumed I was being called back down.

Lunch was soup again, but this time with noodles.  During lunch our guide asked us if we would mind taking some other people back to UB in the van with us.  Of course we said no, so after lunch we were joined by four girls about our age who had come out to Terelj to spend the night and visit friends.

Now full, the van headed out of the park, stopping briefly at the 12 (100) (1000) Monks Cave (the number of monks referred to in the name differs, I guess).  The name comes from a story: in 1937, during the Stalin religious purges, monks were being slaughtered, and so 12 (100) (1000) hid in the cave for thirty days without food or water and yet all survived.  Our guide was convinced 1000 was impossible, and I'm inclined to agree; even 100 seems unlikely to me, although the cave is quite large.  Nonetheless it was a neat spot to visit, and using my cell phone as a flashlight, I made my way right to the back where, not surprisingly, there was another little shrine.

From the cave we drove out of the park and then further east along the highway to the Chinggis Khan Statue Complex. 

This massive statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback was built for over $4.1 million to commemorate some anniversary of the Mongolian state.  Frankly this place is a bit of a white elephant, but I suppose no tour of Mongolia is complete without a visit.  Perhaps somewhat like Alexander the Great in Greece, Chinggis Khan's importance to Mongolian culture is remarkable given how long ago he lived.  My sense is that he (as well as shamanism) represent aspects of Mongolian history and culture and identity that communism attempted to stamp out.

The statue includes an lookout platform above the horses head, allowing for a view of the surrounding landscape, and a close up of Chinggis Khan.

From the statue complex we drove west toward UB, making a single stop to allow me to hold a Kazakh's golden hunting eagle.

The bird weighs about thirty pounds, but thankfully the spread wings took a lot of the weight off my arm.

Actually, our guide said this particular eagle does not hunt, just sits on the arms of tourists.  But Kazakhs are known for hunting from horseback with eagles.  Most Mongolian Kazakhs live in the far western part of Mongolia, but just east of UB there is a Kazakh community that has mined coal there for generations.

From this stop we were about another half hour or so from UB, where our tour ended where it began, at the Idre Guesthouse.

Adventures in Asia: Khogno Tarna National Park, Mongolia

We began our day with breakfast served by our tour guide at the Idre guesthouse.  After breakfast we loaded up a van, and our guide, driver, and the two of us headed west out of UB.

Shortly outside of UB we stopped by an ovoo.  

The ovoo is a sacred cairn with roots in Shamanism, although our guide told us Buddhists build them as well (the ovoos themselves don't look very Buddhist to me, although these structures across the highway did).  

It is customary in Mongolia to circle an ovoo three times clockwise and add stones to the pile prior or during a journey, which we did.

After the ovoo stop our destination was the camp of a semi-nomadic family (they move camp four times a year) who live just outside Khogno Tarna National Park.  Khogno Tarna is about 300 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, but things take a bit longer on Mongolian highways, what with potholes and herds of sheep and goats and cows crossing the road, so it took about five hours or so, not including a couple smoke breaks for the guide and driver/scenic stops for the tourists and an hour stop for lunch.  

I think the landscape we drove through is properly described as steppe, although not as flat as I would normally think of steppe being.  Other than a couple of small towns, we saw very little development once outside of UB, although there was plenty of indications of human life, what with ovoos, ger camps, and herds of (mostly) domesticated animals, sometimes with a shepherd on horseback or a motorcycle.  There were occasional wheat fields as well, but mostly it was simply grassland.

Once off the highway the guide and driver had a bit of trouble finding the camp, but they did eventually and we pulled in.  They greeted the family, whom they had not seen since last tour season, and we were sort of introduced and certainly welcomed.  The family consisted of older parents (they looked very, very old, but we assume were perhaps only in their 50s) and their son and his wife (who we think are in their 30s).  The younger couple have children, but they spend the week at school in the nearest town.

The camp consists of an enclosure for some of their animals and four gers, two of which are dedicated for tourists.  There is also a storage shed, and a pit toilet with an old truck cab around it to provide some privacy (you can see it up on the ridge above the camp in the picture below).  They have solar panels which charge what look to be car batteries which are used to power a freezer, TV, and a light bulb in each ger.  The water tank on the trailer is filled at the well, about two or three hundred metres from this site, and never more than a kilometre or two from where the family camps.  You can also just make out a lone horse in the picture, which is the horse the men ride (the younger man also rides a motorcyle, but it seems the older man prefers the horse).

Inside the family's kitchen/living ger, we were served Mongolia's famous milk tea, which we later found out is typically salty, but was not in this case. 

While drinking the tea the older man presented us with his snuff bottle, an interesting Mongolian welcoming tradition.  We took the lead from our guide, who merely sniffed it rather than actually using the snuff.  At one point he reacted nervously as we passed it between ourselves, noting that the bottle is quite expensive.

After tea our guide encouraged us to explore on our own, telling us to come back to camp in about an hour and a half.

To the north of the camp is the Khogno Khan mountain range, from whence the park gets its name. 

The Khogno Khan mountain is a sacred mountain, but it is not especially impressive as mountains go (i.e., not especially high or imposing).  The granite rocks around the mountain represent the edge of the taiga, or boreal forest, landscape.  This makes the park's landscape very unique, because it is where the steppe meets the taiga.  Adding to the geographical allure, there is also a desert portion known as "semi-Gobi," which we will visit tomorrow.  

For now we headed towards the rocks.  

Walking around here we could see the family's cattle herd, which I would estimate at about 30-50 head.  We could see two herds of goats and sheep as well, but at this point it was not clear which one was our host family's.  Unlike the horses, cows, and camels, which all herd homogeneously, the sheep and goats in Mongolia appear to always herd together.  Both herds were made up of well over a hundred animals, and maybe as many as two hundred, including kids and lambs.

We didn't see the horse herd, but we did find a couple of horses that seemed very enamored with each other.

The rocks themselves were quite beautiful, as was the steppe to the south.

We returned to camp to move into our ger, which we had to ourselves, our guide taking another one, and our drive opting for his van.  

The family shared the remaining ger.  We also got to watch the older man return on his horse, driving five adult camels and one baby in from their grazing.  

He watered them at the well, and then they galloped into camp to eat from a trough.  

Here I played tug-of-war with the baby, a surprisingly large animal for only three months old.  

Once the camels finished eating, Andrea and I mounted two of them and the younger man got on the horse to lead us out onto the steppe.

We rode the camels for over an hour.  My camel looked relaxed and seemed to enjoy himself, but Andrea's had a bad attitude and scowled and made plenty of grunts.

The sun was getting low as we rode on the open steppe with the mountains to our north and the desert just visible to the southwest, and it was very, very beautiful.  

We also rode by a shrine that was awfully fascinating.  Our host paused here briefly. whether out of respect for the site or simply to let us view it, I'm not sure (our host family spoke no English, so the man and I communicated with our hands and body langauge).

The scarves come in five colours, and they are visible at every religiously significant site we saw in Mongolia (although they apparently are borrowed from Tibet).  The colours represent aspects of the world (e.g., sky, water, fire), but I haven't found descriptions to be consistent.  What did seem to be consistent was the popularity of blue over the other colours.

Besides the scarves, animal bones are common sights at the shrines, and here there were rows of skulls.

This shrine seemed to have a bit more of a Buddhist feel than some of the others we saw, because of the rack of prayer wheels.

On the way back to camp we passed the well, which a camel had returned to, presumably in hopes of finding more water.

Once we dismounted our camels it was time for dinner.

The daughter-in-law seemed to have made supper, which was hand-made noodles with some vegetables and mutton jerky.  We ate with the family and our guide in the kitchen ger.  We had been quite worried that food in Mongolia would be unpalatable, but this meal was actually very good, and I had a second helping.

Luckily for us sunset is quite late in Mongolia in May, so even though it was around 19:00, we still had two hours of daylight after dinner.

I still had not gotten enough of the camels, so I visited them first.

Next we headed towards the well, where the cows were being watered.

Then it was back to camp for a final check-in with the camels, which had now been tied up in a row for the night.

Mother and baby were tied up separately, just a little ways away.

It was still much to early to turn in, so next we headed up the ridge to meet the herd of sheep and goats, which the younger couple were jointly herding towards camp.

We joined in herding them, and made friends with a little orphan kid.

It was a great ending to an incredible day.