We didn't spend too much time in Ulan Bator. It's a busy city with constant traffic jams and power stations built far too close by causing a permanent haze over the sky, in what is otherwise a pristine country. The city is interesting enough, but only a quick stop while we purchased some of Mongolia's fine cashmere (it's expensive!).
The last part of our trip was mainly spent at Terelj National Park, a national park only about 60km away from the capital. This park is quite a sight in the autumn time. I spent many hours aimlessly hiking around, and really enjoyed taking in the scenery. On one of the hikes a friendly cat joined me, following me around for about two hours before deciding it was bored.
Our first night there we spent with a nomad family. Again no running water, but satelite TV. Lhama, our host, wore makeup, jewelry and high heels as she shoveled shit around and milked cows - quite a site. We helped her make dinner, tsuivan, a stir-fry stew thing with vegetables, flour based noodle like things and horse meat. It was quite tasty, and pretty easy to make. We drank plenty of milk tea, and watched as she made an uncountable number of things out of milk - my favorite being butter, which was the tastiest I've ever had. We slept the night in a ger, and woke up freezing cold as out fire had died down over night. This was the first time this family had tourists stay a night, and I think both we and the family were pretty happy with the result.
The next day we stayed in a ger camp, also in the national park and quite nearby. It was more comfortable, but definitely didn't have the same feel as staying with the family. As with the Gobi, we didn't really "do" a hell of a lot at Teralj National Park, but had a great time absorbing in the quietness and peacefulness of the place.
The last stop on our trip was a visit to a Kazakh family in the burbs of UB, because we could. Again this was the first time that this family had a tourist visit. They were a very nice family. So nice in fact that they had won "family of the year" a number of times. Again we peeled and chopped and helped make a noodle soup for lunch. At one point the man of the house walked in with traditional Kazakh costumes and told us to put them on for some reason. He was having a good time at least.
I left Mongolia very happy and relaxed. This was a place that was not only a beautiful landscape, but unlike many places in the world, it's occupants also knew that. The Mongolians take great pride in their country and are always looking to protect it and its inhabitants. Luckily for me, they are more than happy to show you around too.
The last part of our trip was mainly spent at Terelj National Park, a national park only about 60km away from the capital. This park is quite a sight in the autumn time. I spent many hours aimlessly hiking around, and really enjoyed taking in the scenery. On one of the hikes a friendly cat joined me, following me around for about two hours before deciding it was bored.Our first night there we spent with a nomad family. Again no running water, but satelite TV. Lhama, our host, wore makeup, jewelry and high heels as she shoveled shit around and milked cows - quite a site. We helped her make dinner, tsuivan, a stir-fry stew thing with vegetables, flour based noodle like things and horse meat. It was quite tasty, and pretty easy to make. We drank plenty of milk tea, and watched as she made an uncountable number of things out of milk - my favorite being butter, which was the tastiest I've ever had. We slept the night in a ger, and woke up freezing cold as out fire had died down over night. This was the first time this family had tourists stay a night, and I think both we and the family were pretty happy with the result.
The next day we stayed in a ger camp, also in the national park and quite nearby. It was more comfortable, but definitely didn't have the same feel as staying with the family. As with the Gobi, we didn't really "do" a hell of a lot at Teralj National Park, but had a great time absorbing in the quietness and peacefulness of the place.
The last stop on our trip was a visit to a Kazakh family in the burbs of UB, because we could. Again this was the first time that this family had a tourist visit. They were a very nice family. So nice in fact that they had won "family of the year" a number of times. Again we peeled and chopped and helped make a noodle soup for lunch. At one point the man of the house walked in with traditional Kazakh costumes and told us to put them on for some reason. He was having a good time at least.
I left Mongolia very happy and relaxed. This was a place that was not only a beautiful landscape, but unlike many places in the world, it's occupants also knew that. The Mongolians take great pride in their country and are always looking to protect it and its inhabitants. Luckily for me, they are more than happy to show you around too.
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