Steppe, steppe and more steppe.

Mongolia is one of the stranger places I have been to in a while. A book I was reading put it into words quite well: if Genghis Khan suddenly appeared at a regular Mongolian home, he would know most of the customs, routines and jobs to be done in the ger (or yurt as it's also known). He would feel at home, as there have been only relatively small changes in the nomadic herders life in the last 800 years. Herders still live in the traditional ger, eat roughly the same food, dress the same, move several times a year, and depend on the cattle they grow. The most obvious change would be the abundance of solar panels and satellite receivers next to this ancient (but excellent) form of accommodation.

The past week or so has gone quite quickly, most of it on a tour south of Ulan Bator to the Gobi Desert. The steppe is a desolate, yet amazingly beautiful place. People say that Mongolia is the country of blue sky, but I would add that it is also the country of millions of stars. The night sky was something I have never seen in Finland, and not many times in my life. One of the best moments was going outside in the night, realizing that the dust storm has calmed and seeing the sky in its full glory, with the most vivid milky way I have ever witnessed.









Animals are an important part of the Mongolian way of life. It was interesting to spend every evening in a place with different kinds of livestock, with five year old kids handling yaks and horses with ease. Tasting some of the dairy products proved quite interesting as well, sometimes the experience being a good one and sometimes not. Fermented mares milk turned out to be surprisingly good, but some of the cheese produced would really need getting used to. Liquor, distilled from the mentioned mares milk also turned out quite nice, or as nice a 30% alcoholic drink can be. That was for sure the freshest alcohol I have tasted, as it was straight from the pot still.





Our 'trusty' vehicle for the tour was a Russian Uaz van, with a very good driver/mechanic. Even he had problems keeping the van together. The first four days went by without any problems (not counting odd smells or sounds, and the occasional look under the van), but the trip was almost too much for the van. On the last day the door had to be shut (and opened) with pliers from the outside so it would stay shut when the vehicle was moving, and there was a total of eight times when there was a 'unplanned stop' that required tools or then a crank handle to start the car. This just shows: the Russians were very smart putting in a crank handle on their cars. Maybe they knew how often they would be needing it.

Even with the marvel of Russian engineering, all on the tour ended well, and I had an amazing time. Now I'm back in Ulan Bator and planning my next move. Right now I feel I'm not ready to leave Mongolia, so I'm trying to figure out something fun to do. More horseriding and maybe some work (some kind of charity) is quite likely. But I will keep you posted.





Instead of a random fact generator, today we have some poetry.

Something blossoming
Compiled by LJ Kylänpää.
All text from household items come across by LJ Kylänpää on his travels.

So many colorful memories are flowing,
around garden full of beautiful flowers,
another dawning spring.

Herbs planted in spring eventually bear fragrant whiffs of joy,
Weather is unclouded, flying without wings,
Tomorrow is waiting for your smile.

Little flower, lets feel the clean cosmos.