Mongolia? I have returned from Mongolia. I am a traveler so I went without too much thinking, without too much research (OK, none), and without too much expectation. I went because I hadn’t been there. I knew it was a land of nomads and that appeals to me a bit. A nomad, a wanderer, a traveler... there are those of us that have that desire to be an explorer. We know that the world is big and life is short and there’s a joy in discovery.
Our adventure began in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia. Luckily, it is called UB City for short, because I wasn’t able to pick up on any of the language that was part Chinese, part Russian and very foreign to my tongue. We stayed a couple of nights at a beautiful five-star property that did sound familiar, The Shangri-La Hotel. The total population of Mongolia is about 3 million, with 1.5 million living in UB City. But, there are about 30 million sheep in the country. We couldn’t wait to get out of the city and head to this vast countryside that really hasn’t been changed much by mankind in centuries.
Tourists are as far and few between as are the attractions. That’s OK, because we travel to these places to learn about the people and their way of life. For the most part, Mongols outside the cities live a nomadic lifestyle. A typical Mongolian family live in a ger, a wood and wool felt round tent. The Russian word for ger is yurt, and maybe that’s easier to picture in your mind. Felt walls are supported by wooden slats attached to each other like a lattice fence. These panels of fence expand into a circle topped by with a round, multi-spoke, wagon wheel to hold up the roof. The “wheel” is propped up by two poles and then the whole business is lashed to a small wooden colorful door which opens into the tent. The heavy wool sides and roof are covered with a waterproof canvas to keep out the cold and wet. The hole in the wheel allows light in and smoke out, yet it can be covered. The whole thing can be put up or taken down in less than an hour. I’ve spent more time pitching a pup tent.
These families follow the seasons and their animals which I began to consider the Big 5 of Mongolia: sheep, goats, horses, cattle and yaks. We saw lots of each. Lots.... and lots. The Gobi Desert in the southern most part of the country wasn’t the miles of red sand like I had in my mind; however there is the Khongor dunes, the most important sand mass of Gobi Gurvan Saïkhan National Park. Its area is more than 347,490 square miles. The Gobi is more an arid eco-system covered in small tufts of grass and scrubby brush until we suddenly came upon these massive red sand dunes, standing out from the plains. Here we climbed onto the backs of our two humped camels, plodding back to the camel herder’s camp just like explorers have done for thousands of years.
We ate Mongolian BBQ which tasted less like the HuHot Grill Restaurant and more like boiled meat in a cream can. Because it was. We traveled by 4x4 for hours and miles on nonexistent paths, more like four wheeling across a pasture than cruising down a road. Because it was. Our drivers honked at horses and dodged goats in their imported vehicles with steering wheels on the right and left sides, depending on where they came from. Driving was Nomadic style, just keep moving.
I smiled a lot, just to have the experience of being there. Knowing it would be tricky to explain what the adventure had been like. Now, true to my wandering self, I look at the map and think, “Where next?”
Patti Beth Anderson has more than 20 years of experience in the group travel industry taking people all over the world. Her motto is “I return with the same number of people I left with... not necessarily the same people, but the same number nevertheless. So no ‘crankpots’ allowed” She may be reached at 918-786-3318 or pb@goodtogowithpb.com.
Source:www.examiner-enterprise.com
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