Sept. 27 continued- We had finished our first few days in & around the Gobi sleeping in a nomad's ger, and camping on the open range. Night 3 was again an adventure in it's own special way.
We drove back north to DG to stay in a hotel so that we could pick Lufzan up from the airport in the morning. With some help from Lufzan on the mobile phone, Bam found the better of the two main hotels in DG. It was called the Devshil, and was supposedly better than the other choice across the street. We honestly couldn't tell the difference from the outside. Bam set us up in our room and went to his nextdoor to freshen up before dinner.
Now. J3 have been in some truly divey hotels/hostels in our days, and this one was at least top 3. But it wasn't the facilities- it had a bathroom, bed with matress, blankets, etc. What was a bit unsettling was the fact that everything either was broken (window, walls) or smelled (toilet, hence the half-used incence sticking out from a hole in the bathroom wall). In addition, everywhere we looked, we saw stains only CSI-UB would be able to describe. Yes folks, this was the better hotel of the two.
We decided it was too far to turn back now, so we locked the bags & the questionable deadlock, and met Bam downstairs to go to dinner. Dinner was at a "club" nearby called Mineral Bar, which was a small place with about 8 tables/booths, English dance & hip-hop, & Mongolian music, and dim lighting with disco lights flashing back & forth across the small dance floor and our dining table as well.
Dinner was typical- we couldn't read the menu, Bam couldn't find much useful in the phrasebook- but we finally found a way to order BEEF! It was served with noodles, veggies, spices, etc. and was very tasty! We tried 3 different types of Mongolian beers- one lager, one fruity, one dark, and they were all mighty tasty. One notable was the red lit door, and the green lit door. No 70's movie references, please. We had had another long day, and the beer & beef soon told us to hit the Devshil and catch some winks.
Sept. 28- In the morning, Jason snapped out of his slumber by washing his hair in the sink's freezing cold water. JJ didn't dare- she stuck to a strict wet-wipes diet. Bam brought Lufzan back from the airport and the fab 4 ate brekky in our room- bread, jam, coffee, & sardines (only L&B of course).
We went to the bank to pay the next installment of our payment (since there is NO ATM in DG!). Yes, according to Lufzan, DG has a population of over 50,000 people in the winter- in summer they move north to chill out in their gers- but no ATM. In fact, we often saw the pop. estimate more like 12,500...maybe that's the summer pop? The bank lady processed our transaction, we paid Lufzan, and we were off for another day of adventure. Our 3 hour bumpy drive had one other silver lining- it gave Jason more time to learn the Mongolian music on L&B's tape. Yes, after 3 days of driving in the desert for 10 hours a day, listening to the same tape, it starts to grow on you, even if you just mumble the sounds trying to sound Mongolian. Lufzan likes to sing, and so does Jason (in case you HAVEN'T heard of the Slack Daddies), so this ride was filled with music. Wish we'd taped it....
Around lunch time, we arrived at a ger stop in the middle of the steppes, where we had lunch with 2 ladies that Lufzan told us he stops at every season. They welcomed us in and this time L&B cook the meal of beef, veggies, & noodles. It was fantastic! We hung out with L&B & our new friends Erdentstetsek & Baigaionaa, and Lufzan shared a small bottle of vodka with the group, each one of us taking a small cupful and passing it to the next. The bottle didn't last long at all. <<Another Mongolian tradition is to dip your ring finger in the vodka before the first drink and flick it in the air, then touch your forehead, basically showing your respect to the gods. J wanted to splash a little on the floor for his dead homies, but that went against the strict traditions of visiting a ger.>>
A two hour drive later, we arrived on the crest of a hill before we noticed the herd of camels lounging in the afternoon sun with their two owners. Lufzan had called ahead & booked a ride for us. We rode about an hour along the trail enjoying the view of the surrounding hills, and getting some good closeups of the beautiful dental work in those big mugs of theirs.
Another hour drive later, we ended up at a camel breeder's ger camp (2 gers) and set up for the night. They had the typical amenities- ger, stoves, bathroom (the land surrounding the gers), satellite dish & solar panel. <<Notable- Nomads often have sat dish & solar power. They have more reliable power than most Mongolian towns. Lufzan told us that once, 3 large villages had no power for 3 months. So, the village folk would go out to the nomads on the steppes to catch up on news & current events...and maybe to charge their cell phone batteries!>>
Another great meal of beef & veggie soup cooked by L&B, tea & wine, and then we moved on to a mean game of poker. Jason went on a hot streak during Texas Hold'em & took the boys for a small fortune (about 5 dollars!).
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