We just got back from a 9 day tour of central Mongolia and the Gobi with a guide and driver, staying with nomadic families in gers(yurt) along the way. It was a great way to see this absolutely beautiful country. So much to tell, but I’ll try to go over some timings quickly.
First some beautiful scenery shots which need few words-
Nomadic life – It was truly amazing to see first hand the way of life of the nomadic people who have more or less have lived the same way for hundreds of years. Other than a few technological additions (solar panels, Korean dramas!), they have lived in the same gers, herded their livestock In the same ways and ate the same food for so many generations. They move their households at least 4 times a year, always following what’s best for their animals in spring, summer, winter and fall. The nomads definitely have moving down to a science. The close relationship they have with their animals is striking, they are companions, food, clothing and currency. They don’t have many worldly possessions so livestock is their net worth. I almost made the faux pas of asking a nomad how many animals he has, fortunately I was intercepted by our guide who explained that nomads don’t like to share the size of their herd, it’s akin to asking someone in our world how much money they have on their bank account, something I didn’t think about before but totally makes sense. They work hard everyday and live a simple but happy life. Family. Herd. Nature. All you need really! Well maybe a bottle of vodka every now and then ha! By the way it was really fun sharing vodka shots with the nomads and learning about their drinking customs. Always offer with your right hand. Downing shots will make you less drunk than sipping, cold vodka will make you drunk faster than warm. Who knew? Mongolian shots are more like triple shots, and they don’t even start drinking until their 30′s!
Cashmere goats are now my favorite farm animals ever. We were lucky to visit the country in springtime, when so many baby animals are being born. We even watched a goat giving birth! They are just the most adorable sweet things. So soft and fluffy, constantly exploring and climbing on absolutely everything in sight. They really liked my white down jacket and Greg’s yellow shoes that they were always trying to nibble them. Waking up by their “meeeeeeeh”s are just the best alarm clock ever.
Shit’s different out here – originally I wanted to devote an entire blog entry to this topic, but then thought it might be a bit much. This topic really does fascinate me. Mongolians enjoy an especially close relationship with nature, with animals, and with the resources that they consume, which brings us to the topic of dung. Dung here isn’t thought of as a dirty and disgusting thing. It’s here, it’s everywhere, so get used to it. Direct your gaze downwards Almost anywhere in the countyside you will probably see at least three types of dung from different animals. Dung is super useful! It’s used as fuel instead of wood to heat stoves in their gers, since dung is plentiful and wood can be hard to come by. A dung burning stove is efficient, since it’s pretty much just dried compressed grass. It surprisingly doesn’t smell bad at all, just a grassy sweet smell almost incense-like, and it kept us warm many nights. it’s even used to smoke meat! (Did not get to try)
Dried dung ready for the stove
Human toilet. Enjoy the wind beneath your bum.
The full camel experience – During the tour we’d definitely experienced a wide spectrum of how camels are used in Mongolia. During our one free day during the tour, I stalked a herd of pasturing camels for half a day. They are the chilled out Rastas of the farm in contrast to the hyperactive goats. They hang around with half closed eyes looking regal and blissed out while chewing, chewing, endlessly chewing on seemingly nothing? We rode camels, drank camel milk and camel yogurt(good, vey tart), ate their meat in a pasta ragu(good), had the dried meat in “tea”(not so good). In the end I have to say I prefer them away from my dinner bowl, but to the nomads, they are an essential part of their culture and diet.
Drinking camel yogurt from a silver bowl, I mean how else would you eat yogurt?
In all it was an amazing eye opening experience and I still regret that I didn’t kidnap a baby goat in my backpack.
Never enough baby goat pictures.
