Day Six – 03.08.2012 Khongoryn Els

John, Richard and Suzanne rise early for a walk/wander/photo opportunity, as is their wont most mornings.  Another hot day is brewing.  Crystal clear running water through the gorge means that the opportunity to undertake more ablutions of a personal and/or laundry type are too strong to resist for some, and John finds an ibex skull, complete with horns…Turuu estimates, by counting the ‘ring growth of the horns, that it was about 10 y.o.  The sun climbs over the range and creeps across the campsite, illuminating one tent after another,  Jess continues to provide endless hot water for cups of tea, and Janine and Meaghan, who have been feeling poorly, seem to be better today.

Again an early lunch before heading through the gorge en route to Khongoryn Els.  Sand dunes appear, just a tease at first, and then we are driving along the foot of the big dunes, part of the 3% of Mongolia’s desert that is sand dunes.  There is a ‘green’ belt between the road and the dunes, fed by a stream and which allows herders to feed and water their stock and grow some food.  A huge, commercial ger camp, with permanent facilities blots the landscape, but we soon see our destination for the night. 

Our hosts, Bassankhuu, his wife Maam and their 2 daughters welcome us, and we settle into our ger – girls in one, boys and Elaine in the other.  Turuu and Sandag are well known here and Jess has also become their friend, so we are invited into the family ger where Maam and the girls serve traditional milk tea and nibbles, all made by Maam.  We thank them by serving our leftover vodka in my ‘birthday bowl.’  The ger is furnished with the basic needs of a family, including a small shrine, family photos, a small TV set, sofas that may turn into beds (or they sleep on mats on the floor), and a keyboard.  Cooking is done in a small ger nearby.  We are persuaded to entertain, so a version of ‘Waltzing Matilda’ rings out before the elder daughter reluctantly plays for us.

There are 4 ‘homestay’ gers here…an opportunity for herders to make a small supplementary income to help them over hard times, and/or assist with educating their children, who, for the most part, must stay away from home during the week, or for a whole term if distance is an issue.  2 other trucks arrive with mostly Koreans on board…they go camel riding while we have dinner, providing some entertainment along the way.

After dinner, the children join us as we drive the foot of the dunes…to climb, take photos of the sunset, or just be…John, Julie and Richard climb while others choose to remain at the foot and enjoy.  Baasankhuu comes along with his guitar, and after sunset, he is joined by our drivers to serenade us, caressed by a gentle desert breeze under a Gobi moon and a million star sky.  The children sleep in the truck and I lay back to be transported by the moment in one of my favourite places in the world.  Thank you for letting me be!

Homestay Khongryn Els

Summit of sand dunes

Sand dune serenade

Khavtsgait



Our "Hidden Valley"



Inside family ger