Western Mongolia

I have really been procrastinating about writing this final post about Mongolia. Part of it is that I feel I can't think of a way to be concise and the other is that once I finish this post Mongolia is a finished chapter in my journey that I wasn't ready to be finished. Given that my next big adventure is starting up tomorrow it is now or never so here goes nothing...

My final trip in Mongolia took me to the far western reaches of the country. I flew into the city of Olgii, a dusty frontier town surrounded by massive barren peaks. Just to give you an idea of how remote Olgii is, if you take the bus from Ulaanbaatar, the capital, it is a 50 to 60 hour non stop ordeal assuming that you don't have any major breakdowns. That was one flight I was more than happy to pay for. The Western area around Olgii is fascinating culturally because the area is inhabited mostly by people who originally came from Kazakhstan. The main language is Kazakh, all of the TV is programming is from Kazakhstan and most kids head to Kazakhstan to attend University instead of Ulaanbaatar. The area became predominantly Kazakh after the Soviet Union sealed the borders where the Kazakh herders used to freely pass between Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Those that were in Mongolia were forced to remain.

For the first part of the trip a friend and myself set off in a Land cruiser with a Mongolian driver who spoke no English or Kazakh and an English speaking Kazakh guide who only spoke a bit of Mongolian. It made for interesting communication between all of us. We drove through the spectacular countryside with the main goal of reaching the mountain range that separates Mongolia from Russia. The area was beautiful with high snowy mountain peaks and we camped beside a massive glacier for two nights. Unfortunately the one day of bad weather coincided with our planned day to hike up to the top of one of the peaks. In the morning as we set out it looked like it might clear up, but as we switchbacked up the steep trail things got worse and worse. My friend Kris and I battled on through winds so strong that I was being knocked off balance with every step I took. The snow was painfully blasting us sideways on the face and the clouds were so socked in that we couldn't see anything around us. We admitted defeat just before we reached the final exposed ridge which was disappointing, but the safer option. Other than that we had gorgeous sunny days to explore the pristine rivers, lakes, hills and even ancient petroglyphs in the area. It is not often you get to experience scenery like that without massive crowds of people so I cherished every minute of our time in such an incredible area of the world.

Through a series of very fortunate coincidences the second part of my trip had me joining some friends from Poland, a mother and her two kids, who are traveling around the world for a year, to stay with an eagle hunter and his family. In this small region of Mongolia there is a long tradition of training eagles to hunt that is handed down from father to son. It was an amazing experience and one of the highlights of my entire trip.

The family we stayed with were incredibly welcoming and kept us very well fed. We drank Kazakh milk tea 4-6 times a day and ate goat meat in various forms every single day. On our very first night we were welcomed with a special meal which involved eating the goat's head. We ate everything including the skin, eyes and brain. The next day for lunch we ate the stomach. I loved every minute of these new food experiences. The Kazakh style of eating is also interesting and everyday we ate from a communal dish in the middle of the table. No individual plates or bowls. You just grab your spoon and dig in with everyone else around the table.

During our time there we learned about eagle training and had some opportunities to have the eagle land on our arm while holding out meat for it. The eagles are massive so it was a terrifying and exhilarating experience to be holding the eagle with your arm shaking because of the weight as it swallows massive pieces of meat in mere seconds.

We rode horses all over the area. Checking out petroglyphs, picking local berries and visiting other families. We met another eagle hunter who along with his son was featured in the BBC documentary series "Human Planet". I can't wait to get a chance to watch it.

Our stay also coincided with 2 different horse races and a wrestling event in the nearby village. We were so fortunate to get to experience these. The horses are ridden bareback by the kids and the speeds are impressive. There is a lot of honor in owning a fast horse and most people have the medals their horses have won prominently displayed inside their gers. The wrestling is also quite impressive and is over as soon as one person touches the ground. It can be over in a matter of seconds if you aren't paying attention. Events like these also mean it is time to celebrate which means drinking vodka shots. Let's just say that I have no desire to consume vodka for at least a year after the celebrations we were apart of.

The other great thing was being apart of the daily life. Collecting water from the river and hauling it back to the ger, helping stack grass for the winter in big piles. Learning to catch goats and tie them into a line for milking and then milking said goats. Spending the evenings playing card games, watching intense chess matches and listening to the evening radio report which broadcasts relevant local news to all of the far flung nomadic families.

Then there were the fun times playing soccer with the local kids with piles of manure marking goal posts. We even got some of the men to come out and play. There was the special event of riding cows bareback. My turn saw me make a pretty spectacular fall right into a pile of poo, but it was all part of the fun.

It really was a spectacular way to end my time in Mongolia and it made the process of leaving all the more difficult. After almost two months I still wasn't ready to go, but sadly my expiring visa meant I had no choice. I will return because I have been to nowhere else in the world that compares. The wide open spaces, people truly living off of the land and the hospitality and kindness I was shown have made Mongolia my favorite country that I have ever visited.