Articles
The Land of The Grey Sky
July 01, 2009 03:40PM
July 2006
I've been lied to. "They" say that Mongolia has, on average, approximately 260 sunny days per year. In fact, it's rained over half the days I've been here. Hard rain, cold rain. And that's the other odd thing - fall has begun. Fall actually begins right after Naadam ends, which means that summer lasts about a month in Ulaanbaatar. I've had to replace my chartreuse shoes (thanks for the "compliments" on them, you all know who you are) which have developed holes in them from walking on gravel. Haute couture is just not designed for rough terrain.
So, this past weekend, in the driving rain, three dozen of us sped over pockmarked roads to Kharkhorum, the ancient capital of the Great Mongol State. After seven hours of driving in a Soviet-era van packed with twelve people and luggage, we stopped for one hour to see the city's monastery. Then we turned around and started for home. After night fell, we camped in the wet steppe, built a fire in the scrub and thyme, and drank Bolor vodka and airag (fermented mare's milk). I hate vodka and hate airag even more, but I swore to the Mongolian men with us that I loved both beverages equally (just trying to be friendly!) . A half hour after my declaration, I was carried off by no less than four people to my tent, where I repeatedly claimed I would soon die. The next morning, those same Mongolian men were in hysterics when they saw me, hugging a large bottle of water and nimbly eating walnuts, the only edible food available.
Seven hours of bumping along, and our van's axle cracked and fell off. Without a better plan, and with no car service in the steppe, our driver simply hoisted the muddy axle into the van, and off he sped. I sat in the front seat, breeze blowing full of that ubiquitous thyme smell, next to a famous writer, and for the next few hours, listened to someone else's story.
Comments
- Grace CaslowWow...sounds like quite the unexpected adventure! I've always wanted to travel to Mongolia :)
7 months ago
