Day Seven 04.08.2012 Ikh Avzaga Khairkhan Uul

Up early this morning for a sunrise camel ride – Maam and her elder daughter accompany us and delight in taking individual photos as we sit in various stages of comfort aboard our ‘ships.’ 

The cows are milked by the time we return and because Jess joined us on the camels, everyone pitches in to assist with breakfast.  When we go to the ‘kitchen’ to say goodbye, Maam and her daughters are busy shaking the butter churns…the girls, aged about 7 & 10, are on their summer vacation and no time is wasted as they help with jobs around the home.  Their school is across the sand dunes so they stay with relatives during the school week, only coming home on some weekends during term time.

We leave this most special place to drive out of the Gobi, through the Juniper trees, across the Altan Amyn pass, where we pause for yet another “WOW” view, and out onto the open steppe. Green rolling plains become the norm with the ‘roads’ still showing signs of heavy rains.  Water is to be ploughed through, sloshed around or avoided, as a last resort!  Our drive takes us through narrow gorge passes as well as open plains and the “Freeway” – Graeme’s name for where you are ‘free’ to take any ‘way’ you choose, sometimes up to 20 visible options!

We stop for water at the same time as a local herder brings his horses to drink.  Sandag and Richard assist with the transfer of water into the trough and when the thirsty horses have had their fill, or rather when the herder tells them they have, they move away and we collect our water

The annual Nadaam Festival takes place every year in July in UB, but local communities often have their own celebration at another time which suits them better.  The celebration takes in the traditional sports of Archery, Horse riding and, of course, Wrestling.  Today we come across a family celebration with several hundred people taking part in wrestling (which we missed), horse riding and a game which I can’t remember the name of, but it involves contestants squatting on small stools and flicking ankle bones (from sheep or goats) from a special board (everyone brings their own in a little bag) towards a target on a frame some 5 metres away.  Some are very skilled, others just have fun.

Because the weather is again unsettled and our campsite is probably very wet, we stay tonight in a small town in 2 gers, again made available by a family.  Jess and Turuu have built a very good network of local folk who they support by using their accommodation when required, buying their products such as airac, and, as well as paying for the accommodation, sometimes give them staples like flour, rice, and oil as a special thank-you.  We eat at a local restaurant where we have fun with the menu and the locals.

Watering time



WOW view

Lunch under the awning

"Ankle bones"

Family Nadaam

Dinner in style

 

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

 

 

Day Five 02.08.2012 Gobi Gurvan Saikhan to Khavtsgait

Late start today, so we have the morning to do what we will.  Some walk, some wash bodies (again!) and find more laundry.  We have a leisurely breakfast before packing our tent and going for a walk up in the hills.  It’s another lovely day with high cloud and a very mild temperature. 

An early lunch before heading on along the gorge, out through a very narrow gap in the rocks…will the trucks really fit through?...yes, they will!!!...and out onto the plains.  We come across a stupa built by locals to commemorate the monastery once on this site, but destroyed by the Russians.  We explore the ruins and watch a lady from a nearby ger milking the horses.  The foals are tethered near the ger and the mares roam free, but return to their foals at ‘suckling’ time.  This is the opportunity for the herders to allow the foals to feed and then milk the mares for their airac (fermented mare’s milk) supplies.  We haven’t had an airac tasting yet…our drivers are the connoisseurs and they will let us know when the milk is right for the tasting, probably when we get to Bulgan in a couple of weeks.

The afternoon heats up and we are driving across, rather than parallel to, the dry stream beds created by mountain storms.  Makes for uncomfortable driving for passengers and requires skill by the drivers.  We are camping in another gorge tonight, but we must cross rolling desert plains, all green, and along the base of a mountain range before arriving at ‘our’ hidden gorge.  Small sand dunes are visible in the distance.  We turn into the gorge where evidence of monster rain greets us and the road is eradicated…it is now a large ‘delta.’  We pass 2 stationary tour trucks and go on to get first choice of campsite.  The camp site we used in 2009 is overgrown so we go on to a flatter area further up the gorge and set up.  It’s still very warm but we spend a pleasant evening, and “Dug” gives us our first ‘private’ toilet of the tour!!



Young Ibex from afar

Take-off

Khavtsgait

Day Four 01.08.2012 Gobi Gurvan Sailhan to Dungene Am

First thing this morning is to drive to a nearby town for fuel and bread – fuel available but no bread and then the very necessary water.  Our water is sourced from underground and dispensed at local water ‘stations’ – everyone in the village comes with their trolleys, trucks, horse-drawn carts carrying anything from a milk can to a variety of plastic containers of all sizes.  You may pump your own water or it is dispensed via a hose and supervised by an attendant.  Payment is made to a person sitting at a very small window in the ‘building.’  Water is of a consistently high quality and nothing needs to be added to make it potable.

The road again provides the morning’s excitement.  We find two families in their family cars, one Subaru and one Toyota, in the middle of the ‘road.’  Albeit 4WD’s, they are not having a great deal of success in passing through this section.  One is, in fact, ‘stuck!’  Everyone is out of both cars with shoes and socks off trying to work out how to solve this situation.  Turuu solves the ‘stuck’ one by simply backing up and pulling it through, while Sandag hooks up with the ‘waiting’ vehicle and pulls it safely through also.  We give the kids some ‘treats’ – notebooks & pencils, stuffed toys, hair bands – and have a lovely ‘chat!’  They travel between our trucks in convoy until we stop for lunch, again with a magnificent vista. 

Destination today is Dungene Am in the Three Beauties National Park.  Those of you who ‘travelled’ with us in 2009 may remember the story of the King with 3 beautiful daughters who all fell in love with poor herders.  The King banished them from the kingdom and this is where they remained.  We can see storm activity all around, and as we enter the Park, heavy rain is falling, but by the time we reach the uvoo at the top of a VERY steep climb, the sun is shining again.  We stop to absorb the view and notice hail that has fallen on some of the surrounding peaks. 

The ‘road’ has become a small stream as we drive through the gorge to our camp site – we are ‘camping high’ tonight, rather than along the actual stream bed, just in case there is more overnight rain, with the obvious possibility of flooded tents!  We disturb the local residents, small rodent-like animals called picas, who scurry around letting us know that we are not all that welcome...but they are very cute!!  Rain is still threatening so the boys roll out the awning attached to Sandag’s truck just as the first drops fall.  There is a small problem with one of the guy rope tapes needing stitching, so John’s repair kit strikes again and the problem is soon mended.

Everyone takes the opportunity to have their first ‘bath’ and do the laundry.  Folk disappear in all directions bearing bowls, towels and other paraphernalia to find a ‘private’ spot to perform the tasks at hand…not easy, but tyranny of distance is wonderful!!

Tonight’s moon-rise is sensational (possibly “full”) and we go to bed in bright moonlight…it’s still ‘daylight’ at 2.30am (not telling what we were doing up at that time!) and surprisingly mild.

Skink



Breakfast and milking time

Overview of campsite

"They're stuck"!!

 

Day 3 31.07.2012  Baga Gazrlin Chuluu to Ulaan Suvraga

Set off from the granite boulders on a misty, moisty morning, having packed wet tents and damp packs.  We move our seats around between the trucks for variety.  The roads continue to be challenging for passengers, but more importantly, for our drivers.  They cope with not only slippery tracks but also numerous wash-outs where the ‘road’ simply disappears!  We are surprised by the green of the Gobi…so different to how we remembered it in 2009 when the country was suffering from a protracted drought and a very severe winter when approx. 11 million domestic animals died.

We take time out at Gobi Oasis, a tree propagating program set up in 1978 by a not-so-young couple, with only limited local support.  The aim of this program is to restore indigenous trees to the Gobi area where they can be beneficial.  ‘Eternal Landscapes’ supports program financially – Jess donates something like 200,000TGR each year to help out.  We all plant a tree, dedicating it to something or someone important to us.

Then it’s off along the ‘main road of many roads’ – dubbed by Graeme as The Freeway – you are free to go whichever way you want…and if you don’t see one you like, you take off cross-country!  After kms of horrendous driving conditions, we come to a sudden stop, and Turuu announces, “We stuck!!”  His solution is to take his boots off, roll up his trousers, get out of the truck, AND ENGAGE 4 WHEEL DRIVE!!!  It seems it hasn’t been necessary until now…these guys are awesome!  Our truck is at a fairly precarious angle and Graeme has an ‘up close and personal’ encounter with water just on the other side of his window!  Sandag takes another route without incident.  Power lines are being put through this area and the many large trucks involved in this exercise are responsible for chopping the tracks up…more than one is bogged.

A break at the White Stupa, a magnificent coloured limestone outcrop and sands, some people walk around the base of the cliffs while others soak up the view from the top.

Camp tonight is in the open of the Middle Gobi adjacent to a camel herder camp.  John, aka “D(o)ug”, prepares our toilet in a nearby ‘depression’ some 10cms deep, but protected from view by a “large” tuft of grass…the most private place available.  No room for modesty in the Gobi!! There is a storm close by and we enjoy a great lightning show, but no rain falls on us.  However, just as we get into bed, the Gobi wind kicks in and we are lulled to sleep by sand tickling our tent.  The wind disappears as quickly as it came.

D(o)ug's Loo

Friendly gekko

Lunch

Add caption

We stop

Tree planting project

Day Two 30/07: UB to Baga Gazrlin Chuluu

Dream Hotel kindly store excess baggage and the trucks are loaded for our big adventure.  2 Russian Furgon trucks – one, driven by Turuu is carrying Jess and her amazing ‘office’…which is conveniently placed between the front seats and contains everything we manage to spread out in one room of our house!...Julie, Janine, Meaghan and Richard, while the other, driven by Sandag, has Graeme, Suzanne, John and Elaine on board.  Depart UB, stopping on the outskirts of town for fuel, importantly for the vehicles, but also en route snacks for the passengers.  Jess picks up bread for our lunch and off we go!! 

It is raining steadily but that does nothing to quell the  excitement of the passengers, and the air temperature is quite warm.  Jess tells us that we have brought the rain and are therefore blessed.  We leave the tarmac and head south=east to the Gobi desert.  The rain continues and the “roads” require very skilled driving to get us through some sticky situations.  We assume our vehicles are operating in 4WD, but when Sandag’s vehicle finally slips just a bit too far, he pops out and engages 4WD!  A few metres in reverse and away we go again across the rolling plains and into the hills.

"Road" to the Gobi desert

Two locals among the boulders






Camp among the granite boulders



There is heavy mist but the green of the Gobi is amazing. It has been the wettest season for many years but we can still pick out the blue, purple and yellow of wild flowers growing amongst the green. The herds are in great condition and sheep, goats and cattle graze happily, sometimes unattended, but often with small children on horseback keeping watch. It is school holidays and the whole family is occupied preparing for the winter. 

Because of the heavy rain, we go to Plan B for lunch. Turuu makes a phone call and we are invited to use the house of an acquaintance of his for our lunch stop. The hospitality of Mongolian people is truly amazing. This family allows us – all 11 of us – to occupy their kitchen to prepare and eat our lunch while they –grandpa, mum, daughter and her small baby – adjourn to the living room to watch the Olympics on their flat screen TV!! Most homes, even the herders gers, have solar panels, satellite dishes and often generators to power the mod cons. Richard has very kindly organised a cake to celebrate my birthday…a 3-layer sponge with marshmallow ‘icing’ and a large marshmallow dog on the top! A candle is lit and blown out and“Happy Birthday” sung…I must be the luckiest person in the world to have now celebrated two birthdays in this wonderful country!! Jess repays our hosts with a small gift of cash for the baby…and we leave them with half the birthday cake.

John and I are amazed to find that the lake where we had lunch on our last trip is almost dry in spite of good spring rain. Another lake provides us with birdlife for the photographers to feast upon. The rain is now intermittent and we cross a dry plain before heading back into the green and sight the great boulders that are to be our shelter for the night at Baga Gazrlin Chuluu. The rain has cleared and we pitch Vango tents, roll out silver tent liner mats and closed foam sleeping mats before adding our own sleeping gear. This is an honour for us…we are the first camping tour of Jess’s company, “Eternal Landscapes” and get to christen the new gear. John digs the toilet pit, we collect firewood and Jess and the boys prepare dinner…Turuu cooks on the first night because he likes us to have traditional Mongolian noodles as our introduction to his country…and jess doesn’t do it properly!!

The cool breeze kicks in so we layer up to sit around our small fire. Having has a lunchtime birthday celebration, it is a surprise when Jess presents me with a small copper bowl and a sky blue haddaq (traditional scarf) while John has a bottle of Chinngis Gold vodka! Vodka is poured into the bowl and is handed around for all to share…another traditional celebration...before we head for bed.

Birthday cake



Welcome to Mongolia!

Our arrival into Mongolia is three-fold…Meaghan arrives in Ulaan Bataar by train on 25^th July, Graeme, Julie, Janine, John and Elaine by air on 28^th July, and Richard, after missed connections due to plane delays, arrives on July 29^th.  The ‘fly-in’ group is welcomed at the airport by Jess, the owner of ‘Eternal Landscapes,’ and her lead driver, Turuu, who also has an interest in the company.  We settle in to our rooms at the Dream Hotel and ‘enjoy’ a tepid shower before hitting the sack…we left Geelong at 3.45am this morning, so have been ‘awake’ for about 23 hours!

After our hotel breakfast,…early arrivals get the boiled eggs... we (minus Richard who hasn’t arrived yet) wander around UB familiarising ourselves with our location, the main drag, Peace Avenue, and the traffic.  It seems that the green man showing on the traffic lights is merely a suggestion that it may be safe to cross!  We find Café Amsterdam, one of the most popular coffee shops in UB, after which a couple of souvenir shops beckon.  Lo and behold…lunch time!  Jess joins us for a drink at Bistro 40K and brings the news that Richard has arrived!  While Richard catches up on much needed sleep, Graeme heads for the Fine Arts Museum and Jess squires the rest of on a walking tour of some of the main historic and cultural sites and shares her amazing knowledge of this place. We collect Richard from the hotel and have dinner at The Granville, an Irish pub which really isn’t, but which serves great meals and provides us with our first memories as a group with our Tour Leader.  Jess gives us our instructions for the morning.



View from UB Sky Tower

The group gathers at Granville "Irish" pub

The party gathers at the Granville ‘Irish’ pub