The Frontiers of Mongolia

I have spent the last 3 weeks driving on my home away from home truck named Zara through northern and central Mongolia. Once again I have been awed by another unique and incredible country. I am already plotting future journeys here and I haven't even left yet.

To understand my journey there are a few basics about Mongolia that need to be explained. A large portion of the population here live a nomadic lifestyle herding flocks of sheep, goats, yaks and horses. There are 30 million livestock compared to a population of 3 million. A typical family will live in a traditional ger (aka yurt) which is a round wooden structure covered in material and heated by a central wood stove. The families will move their ger 2-4 times a year taking their animals to different grazing areas and to locations where they can survive the harsh winters. Almost all of the land in Mongolia is unowned and therefore there are no fences and no restrictions on where you can set up your ger. It is a difficult concept to wrap your head around coming from a culture where land ownership is so important, but incredible to see. There is very little farming so the traditional diet consists of lots of dairy products and meat.

The people are extremely friendly as the nomadic society relies on the kindness of others to support travelers by offering food, shelter and directions. There is no such thing as knocking in Mongolian culture so you can enter someone's ger simply by shouting out "hold the dogs" to announce your arrival. There are very few paved roads in Mongolia so a lot of travel is done on bumpy, ever changing dirt roads. In some places there are multiple trails all diverging which makes navigating a bit of a nightmare especially across many of the areas where there are rolling plains and no features to use as landmarks. Road signs are almost nonexistent as well.

The other pivotal tool available to the nomadic people is the Mongolian horse. Horses are everywhere and when they aren't being ridden they are allowed to roam free with the rest of the other livestock. Horses, and nowadays motorcycles are uses for herding and for transportation. Just as kids in Canada learn to skate as soon as they can walk the kids in Mongolia are learning to ride horses as soon as they can. Many times we would see kids who couldn't be older than about 5 or 6 out on their own on their horse, sometimes even bareback. Many times a younger sibling would be clutching onto the back.

Our journey took us through some incredible landscapes with a mixture of bush camping in the middle of open expanses and staying at tourist Ger camps which are essentially like campgrounds except you stay in gers and eat meals in a central restaurant. These were a nice break from camping as you could usually get a hot shower. Swimming in lakes and rivers, visiting hot springs, hiking anywhere and everywhere were all part of my daily routine.

I can describe the endless miles of rolling green hills and massive blue skies interrupted only by the occasional patch of gers and roaming herds of livestock, but you need to come to Mongolia to truly experience it. The pink sunsets, the ever shifting weather that always seems to end in a rainbow and the brilliant night skies were the icing on the cake.

In the northern region we visited a stunning lake and hiked in the nearby mountains. I rode horses a couple of times to try out the Mongolian mode of transport. I met a local herder while out wandering the countryside and we had a conversation without any language. I slept outside under the stars as often as I could. There is nothing better than staring up at a completely clear sky that is full of brilliant stars. We visited the gers of some local families, climbed a volcano crater and petted some reindeer that belonged to a family. To top it off we visited a number of ancient ruins and museums and Buddhist monasteries.

On top of all of the amazing experiences the food was fantastic. We ate almost every kind of animal that was available in the markets sheep, yak, beef and for the first time in my life I ate horse. The strangest thing I tried was marmot. Some locals prepared it for us by scooping out the insides and filling it with hot rocks to cook it. The hair is then burned off the outside and just like that you have a fully cooked marmot. The skin is extremely thick and chewy and has a thick layer of fat, but the meat inside was juicy and delicious. Traditional Mongolian food is heavy on meat and dairy since so few vegetables are grown here. Dumplings come in two types, fried and boiled and are delicious meat filled treats. Noodle and dumpling soup with meat is delicious and can also be eaten for breakfast. The most common drink that is found everywhere is fermented mare's milk. Not my favorite as it is like drinking slightly soir milk. Other dairy products include yougurt, a type of whipped cream, curds and cheese. The most interesting product that comes from milk is the local vodka. Who knew you could make vodka from yogurt.

Now that I am back in Ulaanbaatar I am trying to plan some further Mongolian adventures. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Photos are finally up to date at:
https://plus.google.com/112392129776163836192