Trapped in Outer Mongolia
Trip Start
Jun 15, 2007
1
95
156
Trip End
Ongoing
Loading Map
Ulan Bator,
Mongolia
Friday, September 19, 2008
Anyway, we arrived in Mongolia at 1.30 where Steve's friend Rhiannon came to meet us at the station. The only way she recognized us was by Ed's yellow hair! We went back to their flat and freshened up and got to know both Rhiannon and Tehmi a little bit before we all went out for dinner - Irish pub! and then to a leaving party for a friend of theirs. I love that we were meeting all Steve's friends while he was not there!!!
Monday morning arrived all too quickly and we were up bright and early to go to the Russian Embassy to do the whole visa application thing, yet again. However, the lady took one look at us and told us that we were British and so she couldn't help us. "British people make Russians get their visas in Russia and so we do the same to you. It's your problem." And that was pretty much our whole conversation. Fabulous! Now we were faced with the task of sending our passports home to get the visas and paying 400 pounds for the privilege. Obviously this also meant that we couldn't leave Mongolia. It gets better!
Although really it was all good. Steve arrived home on Monday afternoon and then the party really got started! It was so good to catch up with him, and he was a superb guide showing us the sights of Mongolia and taking us to some great restaurants. We got a true taste of Mongolian life while we were staying with Steve which was fantastic. He had a leaving ceremony, put together by the students, at the school he has been working at over the last 12 months. It was incredible as they had put so much effort into it for him. They put on a fashion show, they sang songs, they danced, they did music performances using traditional Mongolian instruments, and they gave him some amazing gifts including a traditional Mongolian Dell (robe and hat), which looked awesome but will be very heavy on the return flight home! They also made Steve do a speech and a song and dance himself - Enrique Iglesias! Now that was funny! Seriously though, the effort that went into the show was spectacular and it was obvious that the students will really miss Steve. A few days later he was invited to one of the students Ger's, which is a Mongolian tent kind of structure but much stronger and home to a lot of Mongolians. There are no showers or toilets so it is completely back to basics but they manage fine and live happily. Family life is very important to them. Anyway we went along with Steve to the Ger and the students had put on another leaving party for him. They had cooked lots of food and passed around Iraq, which is fermented horse milk but all Mongolians love it. As Brits and Ozzies we were not so keen but it is rude to refuse so we had to be seen to participate in the drinking. I was bale to get away with just a sip each time I was passed the bowl, but Ed and Steve were not so lucky and were made to drink half a bowl full each time. I am surprised they were not ill! Then there was lots of singing which was wicked. The students had amazing voices and even tried to sing English songs, which was cool as they speak very little English themselves. We were all a bit sad to leave that party, but especially Steve. He will miss all this I am sure.
Earlier that day we had visited a Monastery where we saw Monks preying and eating lunch. We walked around the whole Monastery in a clockwise direction and spun all the wishing kegs to release the wishes held inside. That is a fun thing to do as it is so traditional for the Mongolians, and has to be done clockwise for superstitious reasons. It was a pretty spectacular Monastery too with a huge Buddha in the centre.
While we were in Mongolia, Steve arranged a camping trip for us to the country. That was fantastic. The three of us went off to Khan Khentii, stopping off at the big Chinggis Khan statue on the way, and then stopping in at a Ger, where we were offered milky tea and tasty Mongolian bread. Then we headed down the hill and set up camp by the trees and not far from the river. The first night we spent there alone, going for walks along the river, playing cards and drinking vodka. It was lots of fun, especially all the visits by the Mongolians coming to "share" our vodka! Every so often a different Mongolian would come down to our camp, on the same horse each time, and sit with us, waiting for vodka! We soon ran out and realized we should have bought more! But it was fun while it lasted! It was hilarious when we offered one guy some pasta we had cooked and he accepted but then as soon as he tasted it and realized there was no meat in it he put it to one side and just concentrated on his vodka!!! Each of the Mongolians that came to see us played cards with us, and we learnt a new Mongolian game. Somehow, every single time the Mongolian would win! It is amazing how well you can communicate with someone when you don't speak the same language!
We also inherited a dog from one of our Mongolian visitors! He came down with a guy on a bull and then never left the entire time we were there. He was our little guard dog and was very cute! He did leave when we left though, deciding that the guy on the bull was ok after all!
The second night we were joined at camp by Rhiannon, Graham, Gans and some other Mongolians. We walked up to the top of the hill and watched the sun set both nights, while drinking vodka (Rhi had brought more!) and playing our Mongolian card game. Camping there was freezing but lots of fun, and at night we built huge fires to keep us warm and cook our food. It was camping at its best and a beautiful setting for it too. The trees are all changing colour now and so the colours are beautiful.
On the way back to the city we came across a truck carrying hay bales that had got stuck on a hill and couldn't go up any more. We couldn't get past and so we all had to get out of the van while the driver drove up the embankment and past the truck. He made it safely so we were all very pleased that we could continue on our way. We don't know how the truck managed to get out of that situation though!
The day after we returned from camping, Ed and I moved into the UB guesthouse across the square from Steve's apartment. We needed to be out of the way so that we could all clean the apartment and have it ready for the three of them to leave on Wednesday to fly back to Oz. We were sharing an apartment now with Mike and Andrea who we met in Beijing and took the train to UB with. We all went out for dinner that night before those guys headed on into Russia. We were still stranded with no passports!
Steve took us to the Black Markets in UB too, which were interesting. We had fun looking at all the "antiques" and playing with the logic puzzles, which of course we felt compelled to buy! Getting back from the markets was a challenge! We were packed into a minibus like a tin of sardines. Somehow they made an 11 seater bus carry 18 people, all sitting down in various places on the bus, obviously not all in proper seats. And when there was a traffic jam the driver would just drive on the pavement rather than wait in the queue. So different from UK driving! And the horns are used lots over here too. It seems crazy that people blow their horns at each other when it is clear there is nowhere for anyone to go and blowing the horn will not achieve anything. It is really funny to experience driving so different to that of England. I'm sure we will both be more patient drivers when we go home, or else we will use our horns far too much! It remains to be seen which way it will go!
On Steve's last day in Mongolia we helped him to clean out his flat and sort stuff out and then we went for a Chinese meal and to his leaving party. We all had far too much to drink and didn't get to bed until it was almost time to get up. That is the sign of a good party I think! But we all managed to surface on time and we went to Steve's apartment to wave him off. We were very sad to see him go, especially as we were still stranded in Mongolia, only now we would be stranded alone. But thanks for an awesome time Steve! And remember Xmas 09!!!
The last 2 days in Mongolia were spent wandering around and chasing passports. I finally got to see Sukbaatar Square, as I had missed it previously too!
Friday dawned and we were at last able to get our passports back and so we booked a train and now we are off to Russia to see what adventures we can have there!
