Matt and I had no idea what to expect in Mongolia except we knew we would be Couchsurfing in a ger (traditional Mongolian home). We also knew the temperatures were going to be horrendously cold. But we could sense that Mongolia would be the best part of our trip and boy, was that true.
Upon arrival in the dark, smokey Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city, the nice man on our flight helped us contact our Couchsurfing host and arranged a taxi to take us to our host's ger. We knew our original contact, Khishig, would not be home that night (true story: he was off in the countryside hunting to bring back meat for the winter), but we were greeted by his adorable wife, Oogi, their 9-month-old baby, Oogi's two beautiful sisters, and two large dogs that I'm positive wanted to eat me.
They welcomed us into their ger, offered us tea and gave over their bed for us. The wood-burning stove in the middle of the ger kept us sweating while we chatted and got to know each other. By this time it was very late and definitely time for bed. Oogi warned us as we went to bed with just a few blankets over us that we might feel cold in the night as the fire died out. Ooooooooh my! It got cold. I seriously think my teeth were chattering.
In the morning, Oogi loaded the stove with wood again and cooked us a tasty potato, horse, rice meal. We unthawed as we ate, deciding to put on more layers for the day exploring the city. Oogi's friend, Undra, came over and agreed to be our tour guide/errand runner for the day. She helped us exchange money, buy our train tickets to Russia, check our email; all the busy work humbo jumbo. Then she took us to the hot spots of Ulaanbaatar; the Winter Palace, the Genghis (Chinggis) Khaan statue, the Natural History Museum and....Cashmere World! Ok, so the stop in Chasmere World was just a desperate attempt by Matt and I to be inside and warm. Although, cashmere is one of Mongolia's top exports.....so, yeah.
Back at the ger, Oogi was busy organizing a trip to the countryside for Matt and I. When we got back with Undra she presented us with all the information. We would be able to go horseback riding and experience nomadic life. We were worried about freezing to death but decided we could not pass up this opportunity to be a nomad. Nakuu, our guide whose family we would stay with, arrived at Oogi's to travel with us. Nakuu didn't speak much English, but he had spent three months working in Korea and could speak a bit of Korean. Assa! This made for hilarious communication using a mixture of Korean and English and lots of laughing. Undra also joined our troupe as our translator and off we went to the bus station.
Three hours later after a whistle from the bus driver, the four of us get off the bus into pitch black wilderness. We stepped off the side of the road into deep snow to start our 1 km hike to Nakuu's family. Then out of nowhere headlights appeared in the field and screeched to a stop next to us. "My brother," Nakuu said. We hopped in, drove at 100 mph across the open field and stopped in front of two gers.
"Welcome to my home."
The pictures describe the experience better than countless paragraphs could. It was hands-down the coolest experience of my life. Out in the vast, open, untouched countryside, riding on a horse, taking in the breathtaking view with people who have opened up their home to you...you can't help but let out a big "wahooooo!"
We watched two horses be lassoed and killed. Then we helped make horse dumplings for dinner that night. Cruel? Absolutely not. These people work hard for their food, appreciate exactly where it comes from, and waste nothing. Something us Americans have completely lost sight of. We ate a lot of bread covered in butter, topped with sugar and drank a LOT of milk salt tea. We went sledding down the hill behind our ger on an old satellite dish and learned Mongolian wrestling. We milked goats and cows. We drank fresh yogurt and chewed lots of kurt (look it up). Hey Dorothy, we weren't in Korea anymore.
Oogi, Khishig (now back from the countryside), and two friends came to pick us up and bring us back to the city. It was sad to say goodbye to our new nomadic family, but I hope I can return there someday, preferably in the summer months. The ride back was in itself, interesting (never a dull moment in Mongolia). The back of the van was full of Khishig's sheep hides waiting to be sold. Every half hour or so we would stop along the road and Khishig would get out to try and sell the hides. He sold most of them. Also, our lane was snowy and icy so our driver kept driving (at high speeds) in the opposite lane, moving back and forth across the ice as cars approached....I stopped watching after a while so I wouldn't have a panic attack. Oh, and we had a shady run in with the police. Fun times.
The last day in Mongolia was spent visiting a temple, shopping for much needed goods like fleece-lined leggings, and karaoke in the city. Thank you Korea for bringing karaoke to Mongolia! Although that darn karaoke almost made us late for our train. We hopped on minutes before it departed, in typical Kelly traveling style. The first leg of our epic train journey had started!
Pictured: (back: Undra, Oogi, Khishig, Matt. front: Me, Oogi and Khishig's baby)
Next stop: Siberia (Irkutsk)
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