Mongolia

Lin in perfect attire for camel-riding - fabulous fake-fur hat from the Black Market in Ulaan Bataar

Thursday, 5 November

Sarah and I just returned from judging the first and only international omelette speed-eating competition on board train #24 from Ulan Bator to Beijing, in the middle of the Gobi desert. The competition was the brainchild of a Slovak man and his Estonian friends who are traveling with us. Somehow they commandeered people from 12 different countries to participate, but the dining car didn’t have enough omelettes so soup was used for the first two rounds of semifinals, with the final four contestants downing a bottle of beer for the grand prize of a camping shower, which was won by an American.

Lin in the Vastness of Mongolia

We boarded the train at 7 this morning, and all day watched the vast empty Gobi fly past the windows with occasional dunes and camels. We can’t quite believe our stay in Mongolia is coming to an end – a stay so rich and full we did hardly any writing.

We left Irkutsk nearly two weeks ago and wound up sharing our compartment on the overnight train to the Russia/Mongolian border with a Russian police officer from Ulan Ude who was just returning from a vacation in Vladivostok. He bought us tea and snacks and then showed us photos of his trip before we all went to sleep. This was our first train segment in a second-class compartment because platzcart (third class) was sold out. We arrived at the border the next morning and luckily ran into one of our friends who helped negotiate our taxi ride through the confusing Russian and Mongolian frontier. We thought we had hired a taxi to take us to the Mongolian side but he dumped us before taking us across the border and we had to wait in the bitter cold for a vehicle that would take us without ripping us off too terribly.

Men Playing Pool in Market

It took about four hours to clear all the formalities, and the most striking thing was that every Mongolian official wore a facemask because of the H1N1 flu virus, whereas none of the Russians had. We also had our temperatures taken by a special sensor and were encouraged to buy masks for ourselves. We declined, but Mongolia appears to be hard hit by the virus; during our stay a state of emergency was declared and all restaurants began closing at 9:00 pm and performances and public gatherings canceled. A large percentage of people on the streets are wearing face masks, and we heard that 100 new cases of the flu were occurring daily, with several deaths so far.

Changing the Bogies

It is now 10:20 pm and our train has crossed the border into China. Because the gauge of the tracks in the former Soviet Union and Mongolia is 3-1/2 inches wider than the standard gauge used elsewhere, our entire train is now in the bogie shed, each car on hydraulic lifts – it is a fascinating process as the bogies are rolled out and replaced. The cars are arranged in two rows next to each other, and suddely Sarah looked across who should she see but Anya, our photojournalist friend from Lake Baikal, leaning out the window taking pictures!

More Vastness

Mongolia was one of the most interesting and unusual places I’ve ever been. As we drove south from the Russian border to Ulan Bator our eyes got dizzy from the impossibly endless landscapes. Miles and miles across the valleys the road looked like the thinnest silver-grey piece of tinsel, but then we’d go over a rise into another valley that looked like it would also go on for days. Snow-dusted mountains cradle the steppes in the even farther distance, and I was mesmerized.

The Shepherd who Came to Lunch

As throughout Mongolia, we saw shepherds on horseback tending herds of horses, camels, sheep, goats and yaks. About 40% of Mongolia’s population of fewer than 3 million herd the many millions of animals, the country’s economic backbone.

We spent most of our time in Ulan Bator at the Golden Gobi Guesthouse, and indeed many of our friends from Russia wound up there.

Our Farewell Party at the Golden Gobi

The city itself is a delightful amalgam of traditional customs and modern shopping centers, heavy traffic and Buddhist monasteries. We enjoyed the Ghinggis Khan Iris Pub, a Czech restaurant, Mongolian fast-food mutton-filled dumplings, and a French bakery. Sarah and I both got haircuts at the Destroy Hair Salon, where my stylist was raised in Brno, Czech Republic.

From the Museum of the Victims of Political Persecution in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

Gandan Monastery in Ulan Batar Containing a 26 meter High Buddha

Shopping for Dinner at the Food Market

But the main draw of Mongolia is the countryside. Along with Kate, whom we had met in St. Petersburg, and new friend Jackson Chan from Hong Kong, the highlight of our stay was a 5-day trip around Central Mongolia. We set off early the first morning with a driver and guide in a sturdy Russian minivan, essential for the mostly off-road driving over rugged terrain and through icy rivers. Each night we stayed in gers (yurts) with nomadic families and shared their traditional food; we rode camels and horses, explored Genghis Khan’s headquarters at Karakorum, visited the oldest Buddhist monastery in Mongolia, and never tired of the hundreds of miles of wild, barren landscapes.

With our First Host Family at the Ger