Sept. 25- Lufzan & Bambulai met us at Suzanne's place, and after a little prep & pep-talk, we started our trek (J3 & Bambulai) to the Gobi from Ulaanbaatar. The plan was to drive to the Gobi and fly back. This would allow us to test the "life is not a destination, but a journey" theory once more. And Lufzan had agreed that it was probably only necessary to drive to/from the Gobi once...unless you're a guide, of course. Also, our schedule was tight due to the Ulaanbaatar-Beijing itinerary.
We quickly realized that our trip would be a once in a lifetime adventure from the first moments. We literally got to the outskirts of UB within 5 minutes, and were on dirt roads from then on. It was at the edge of town, while filling up with petrol, that we had our first use of the Mongolian jurlong (bathroom), which was the typical outhouse with slats of wood for a floor, with a strategically placed opening between two of the boards. We also quickly encountered our first owoo (also ovoo), one of the thousands of shaman rock pile shrines that Mongolians have erected over the centuries to mark a sacred place or important pass. Along with rocks, blue plastic or textile strips, empty water & vodka bottles, & animal (we hope) bones are often added to the mix. After circling 3 times clockwise, & adding a rock of our own at each pass, we were back in the jeep bumping along southward again.
Our jeep is a standard Russian issue from the 50's, called jaris in Mongolian, complete with retro padded ceiling, no seat belts, spare petrol can we could smell immediately, and as you can imagine, shocks to remember forever. Let's just say it was a bumpy ride! Not to mention the driver side door flew open about once every 20 minutes. That and the bumps kept Bambulai busy all day long! Lufzan had said the jeep was 6 yrs old when we had asked, but we guessed his English numbers still need some work. But the adventure had begun and J3 and Bambulai had nothing to do for 2 days except learn Mongolian & English respectively, and head south asap!
We made another stop to get water from a well in the middle of the plains, and visited with some folks tending to their horses & cows. After a drive thru some pretty interesting rock fields, we stopped for lunch near a religious site. Here, hundreds of Mongolians were waiting in line to get a glimpse at some sculpture covered in a dark sheet with a hole in it for viewing. It was surrounded by a circular wall, about 30 feet in diameter. So the line made the circle and led out into the plains. Inside, next to the shrine, were two areas with more gifts to the gods (we presume)- one with all bottles of airag, which is fermented mare's or sometimes camel's milk (usually stored in re-used water bottles) and vodka bottles (some empty, some not), and a pile of cookies, candy, etc on the other. Some folks were donating and some were partaking in the feast, although we cannot say we saw anyone taking a swig of vodka. Maybe that's off limits.
Outside the circle, there was also a large rock on which people would rub their money, hats, as well as themselves apparently in order to gain some cleansing/ blessing from the shaman & gods. We never could get the perfect translation from Bambulai, but through our chat in Mongolian & English, we got the idea.
It was at this stop where we got our first taste of airag, which Bambulai bought from a stand next to the religious site. It was served in a re-used water bottle, and if in a nomad's home (ger), would typically be served in a cup from their large metal or plastic barrel which they store it in. Airag is definitely an acquired taste. But if you block out the sour, unpasteurized, lumpy, and "from a horse" parts, it's not too bad.
At some point in the next few hours of driving over miles & miles of flat, barren landscape, we entered the Gobi, although there was no large billboard or sign like at Yellowstone National Park or anything. In fact, the scenery doesn't really change at all from UB. <<Interestingly, Mongolians consider that there are 33 different Gobis. And the most famous part- sand dunes- makes up a mere 3% of the total territory, which is 1600 km from southwest to northeast and 800 km from north to south.>>
After a few more hours of jeep action Bambulai located a few gers in the distance. <<A ger is the name for a circular traditional nomadic house made of animal pelts/leather & a frame of wood or metal. These days, the materials are usually more advanced, but the design is the same it's been for centuries.>> Bambulai hit them up for dinner & lodging, and they immediately agreed to put us up for the night. <<We learned that out on the steppes (plains) of Mongolia, the typical lodging is a ger.>> Before our departure, Lufzan told us that in most areas of his country, the nomadic locals will offer their homes and feed you, and they ask nothing in return. Tourists usually bring items to give in return for the hospitality, like matches, cigarettes, pens & pencils, paper, balloons, crayons, etc. He told us that since the Gobi trek is more touristic, the locals along that route do expect a little money for their hospitality (although still only a few dollars). We brought goodies to give the children of our hosts- crayons, balloons, etc.
<<Mongolian nomadic traditions- While nomads are traditionally hospitable, opening their doors to any and all passersby, custom dictates a rather strict set of rituals to follow when visiting a nomad home. Visitors must cross the threshold through the low door, move clockwise, and take their seats on the left side, feet pointing away from the shrine at the back (but not at anyone else). The hosts will first offer the traditional fare- tea or airag along with an assortment of snacks. It is impolite to refuse anything offered, so at least a taste or smell is appreciated.>>
When we entered our first ger, the lady of the home (Amarment) immediately started making tea. Tea here is made with milk (the not-so-fermented type) and tea leaves. The standard cooking pot is a large wok-shaped pan placed on top of the central cast-iron stove, in which the fire is produced from dung. Yep, there aren't exactly many trees around, and coal is expensive and rare, so Mongolians use what is easiest to come by. And as we had already noticed, if dung were pennies, Mongolians would be a rich people!
While Amarment started dinner, we had some tea and our first taste of some bitter, dried yogurt sweets, which are another staple food for nomads. We tried our best to enjoy the experience, but we have to admit it would take years of living in the steppe to acquire a taste for these treats. We noticed Amarment grab a large leg of dried mutton from a shelf, and proceeded to chop it up. Then she made dough, and we realized (with a little phrasebook work by Bambulai) that we were having dumplings for dinner! Hey, we love dumplings, so we were excited. During prep-time, Batamunk (dad) showed up on his motorcycle (the most common transportation) and they showed us photos of a man & his wife & kid. We soon realized that it's Batamunk Jr who lives in L.A.! We were then offered snuff, a tobacco powder, which we smelled politely and returned to Batamunk.
Dinner is served. Aaaaahh, MUTTON. Mutton is basically lamb, but tougher, unbearably smelly, and with much more fat content. Our first few bites of the dumplings were tasty (mutton as well as onions, some spice, and maybe potato). But the flavor- and more importantly, the smell-is so overwhelming that it gets to you quickly.
<<We would realize over the next week that the problem wasn't the mutton meat itself, but the fact that every dish had an equal amount of mutton fat to mutton meat. The fat is quite valued here, but we spent most of our meals picking it out- and trying not to get grossed out. The smell of mutton fat, which they also use for cooking, permeates everything. Everything starts to smell and taste muttony, and even the old bills definitely emit a muttony odor.>>
After dinner, we did language study a bit more with Bambulai and went outside to gaze at what was the most amazing starry sky since New Zealand, noticing that the big dipper was much bigger than we had ever seen! Then we hit the sleeping bags for our first night in the Gobi, since we would be getting up before dawn the next day to get on the road early.