Gobi Trip Part 3 - Buddhist Monks and Tiny Wrestlers

Unfortunately the museum was closed on Sunday but the Buddhist ceremony we were allowed to witness was a good compensation. For a donation, our driver Baatra had received a small piece of paper and waited in front of the temple to enter with everyone else as soon as two young monks had given a signal with their conch shell trumpets. We took our places at the side of the wall and observed the fascinating events around us. The room was filled with the chanting of the monks reciting verses together. Sometimes a gong or drum beats would break the monotony of their voices. At the same time Baatra presented his slip of paper to a monk who started to read to him from one of the scriptures. When he finished, the monk made a note on the paper and Baatra went again clockwise around the temple. He touched all the scriptures on the shelves, bowed to the shrines and touched the walls with his forehead. Then we left the still busy temple. It was a very memorable experience for me to learn about a foreign culture that is so different from ours. A lot of things appear incomprehensible at first sight but they begin to make sense as soon as you try to change your point of view and try to see them from their eyes.

The rest of the day we spent riding in our UAZ van, except for a short stopover in Tsertserleg where we could stretch our legs while walking up the stairs to another temple. Even in this small town the smog caused mainly by the coal-burning ovens could not be overlooked. This made me wonder how long the untouched Mongolian nature will still be existing and if the people are aware how valuable it is. However, I don't want to start a discussion about global warming and pollution now. At twilight we passed the beautiful Chuluut canyon (hence the poor picture) and we finally arrived at the Khorgo Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park after a very gruelling off-road ride in the dark. Because of the darkness we were not able to see the supposedly most beautiful lake of Mongolia yet and had to wait for the next day. Instead, we spent another night with a game of Fish Poker and befriended a cat that had sneaked into our ger. And of course there is another toilet story to tell, this time we could not find it at all. The next morning with help of daylight we could finally find it a good ten minutes walk away nearly on the other side of the premises. At least this time it had a door!

A typical Evening for us in a Ger

It was a nice change not to get into the car right after having breakfast. I used this morning off to explore the neighbourhood and to finally sneak a peak at the famous Tsagaan Nuur. The first thing I noticed were unusual black stone piles. After I drew closer I saw that they were built along the shore. The lake was completely frozen over and covered with snow so it was hard to be distinguished from its surroundings. Tsagaan Nuur means "White Lake" and considering its sight and the fact that it is covered in snow until May it seems justified. To get a better view I decided to climb the small mountain next to our accommodation. Although the wind was freezing, I stayed there for a long time as I could not see enough of the landscape spreading out in front of me. There are these small moments when everything else seems so far away and all of your concerns suddenly seem insignificant because something so simple like looking at a lake gives you the feeling of perfect bliss. It's hard to put into words.

We still did a small tour in our van that day to visit some caves. They originated by the eruption of a volcano thousands of years ago. Most of them are sacred places where Shaman had build Ovoos. These are piles of rocks to honour the ancestors as you pass you add another stone or a sacrifice to it. We could even see the remains of a recently held shaman ceremony. We didn't want to waste the rest of the afternoon and went to visit a large rock a the edge of the lake. As the lake was covered with a thick layer of ice I wanted to take the direct way. The Spaniard did not feel so comfortable with it and so we walked around it. (Although I jumped up and down on the ice to prove that it was safe...) In the evening we had a little celebration because it was Baatra's  Birthday. We drank wine and vodka with our meal and introduced each new round with a loud  "Prost" while a poorly dubbed Korean soap was showing in the background.

Another highlight of our trip followed the next day, the Khorgo volcano. The 10km long drive to it was longer than expected due to the snow and the bad road conditions. After the short climb to the top we were already completely frozen because the wind was ice cold again. We only stayed at the tip of the crater a brief period of time as it was so cold despite the perfectly shaped cone of the volcano being quite impressive. The rest of the day was spent with a fairly long drive once more. Perhaps one can hardly imagine how tiring these bumpy off-road rides can get and we were really glad to finally arrive at the ger. Even though the sight of the toilet lessened the joy a little.

I spent the evening with teaching the Spanish guys "Mau Mau" (German card game). Only they didn't like the "Mau Mau" part of it and changed it into "Meow Meow". Baatra's little nephew had a lot of fun laying down the cards for me. Actually he threw them with all his might onto the small stool we used as a table and shouted something in Mongolian that of course no one of us understood. Another one of his games was pushing me over and pinning my head to the floor. At first it irritated me a little but Baatra told me that he really enjoys Mongolian wrestling and pretends to "fight" with me. Mongolian wrestling is a very traditional sport and popular. The most important competitions take place during the Naadam holiday.

Although I had slept well I felt tired and ill the next morning. After I stated that I was not hungry everyone was very worried and they took great care of me. As we started our journey I was wrapped in all of the jackets they could find and spare. I tried to rest laying down in the back seat but it was difficult not to slide off the bench during the bumpy ride. As we reached the Mini Gobi (small desert) in the early afternoon, I was feeling better already and able to go off with the others. The pattern of the reddish sand and the snow looked really great even though the rest of it seemed rather unspectacular. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the trudge through the mixture of snow and sand. In the evening a camel trudged through the snow for me while I was riding on its back although at first I was a little nervous about it. A camel suddenly becomes very intimidating if you are standing right next to it but we somehow managed to get along in the end.

On our last morning we had to get up early because the Spaniards had to get to the airport. After so many kilometers of driving the engine broke down on exactly that day. After Baatra had tried to fix it for over half an hour everyone got a bit nervous. He organized a car from Ulaanbaatar to pick us up but it would need some time to get to us. By a lucky coincidence one of Baatra's friends drove by and stopped to help us. We discovered that we had a replacement engine in the back of the van! After they successfully installed it we could drive on to meet the other car on the way. We arrived without further delay and were on time at the airport. Half an hour later I was back in my hostel and enjoyed a hot shower and my soft bed.

I still stayed a few days in Ulaanbaatar before I had to catch my next train. Despite the cold and the very flexible opening hours I got to see some things...