Next impression: variety. We saw grassland, thinly-vegetated flatlands, red-rocked semi-desert, sand dunes, mountains, gorges and stream-filled lush valleys. From the intense dry heat of the south we drove into the mountains and found ourselves in cloud, where, after almost a day of continuous rain, it really started to feel like Wales. We had the stove on in our mountain ger, while in the desert the heat radiated up from the ground and we were leaving doors and flaps open to cool things down.
Next is lack of infrastructure. For the whole trip except a day and a half we were on dry tracks, not paved roads. The road from Ulan Bator to the Gobi's main town in the south is not paved: there is no road as such. Driving through the mountains was just like trying to off-road a jeep directly through a valley: we were fording rivers frequently, and the bridges that did exist looked pretty rickety.
I was expecting the gers in remote areas to be very basic. But I was surprised that the Gobi town, Dalanzagdad, didn't have any plumbing system at all. Most of the town consisted of fenced compounds each containing two or three gers, a dog and a latrine. Plenty of space was required between the latrine and the living quarters, so the compounds were quite big. There was electricity from overhead pylons, but apart from some downtown buildings (including the public showers that we visited) no running water or sewerage. The whole thing had the feel of a shanty town where people might have just come in from the desert and set up camp. It all looked very closed: if you looked down a street you just saw a dirt track and fences running continuously down each side. Very little in the way or signs and landmarks made navigation very difficult.
Having said that, we found by accident that we were in Dalanzagdad for the annual Nadaam festival, and this was a lovely colourful affair. The whole town was there for the opening ceremony and parade, many in traditional Mongolian dress, and everyone in really good spirits. We saw the three Mongolian traditional sports - wrestling, archery and horse racing, the skills that enabled Genghis Khan to conquer most of the continent. There was a big music concert in the evening featuring some famous Mongolian singers. People came to watch from miles away, some arriving on horseback. That's a great way to ensure you get a good view. And all that in a town with no plumbing. Pretty good stuff.
Finally, the people. I was with two Dutch people (they're everywhere!) two Finns and a German, and it was fun. We would be given a ger to ourselves next to the host family's ger, and we usually had a chance to say hello although conversation was limited! Our sturdy little van which got us through some incredibly bumpy journeys was looked after by our driver Tsomo, who gave it a clean inside and out every night to battle the dust. It appeared that he had to change three of the tyres in the first two days, something that didn't seem out of the ordinary. He and our cook, Zula (not the right spelling) slept in the van each night while we had the luxury of the tent. Zula conjured up a hot filling meal every lunchtime as we parked by the wayside in the middle of nowhere. And she did a lot more than cook, acting as a guide a lot of the time also.
I would say that Mongolia's the most different place I've been. As well as its vast open spaces and natural beauty, it has a culture that's really unique, and has retained its identity despite being sandwiched between the two giants, Russia and China. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who can get by without a flushing loo.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
No comments:
Post a Comment