Central Mongolia, Day Five

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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4594"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan/brooding-in-japan" title="A series of reflections about two years spent in Japan.  ">Brooding in Japan</a> (6)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-1232"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/cambodia" title="Just your standard Siem Reap/Ankor stop.  Four days in February, 2006.">Cambodia</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4593"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it" >Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it</a> (88)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-2223"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/chinahong-kongmacau/hong-kong" title="The most entertaining city I've been to in Asia.  When you're Chinese visa expires, this is where to come!  March 31st-April 6th, 2006.">Hong Kong</a> (4)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3035"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/iceland" >Iceland</a> (11)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-963"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/japan" title="I've compiled my entries over my past two years in Japan into an orderly group.    ">Japan</a> (33)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4595"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/capitals-tour-of-asia/japan-on-the-cheap" title="How to travel in notoriously high-priced Japan by living like a bum!">Japan on the cheap</a> (14)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3412"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/kyrgyzstan" >Kyrgyzstan</a> (9)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-278"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/mongolia" >Mongolia</a> (24)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4596"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/nanjingsuzhou" >Nanjing/Suzhou</a> (3)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4589"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/teaching-english" title="Thoughts and reflections about my time teaching in Japan.">Teaching English</a> (10)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4587"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/thailandcambodia" title="Entries from my February, 2006 trip.">Thailand</a> (12)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-4590"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/trip-preparationdeparture" >Trip preparation/departure</a> (5)
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<li class="cat-item cat-item-3401"><a href="https://blogs.bootsnall.com/Danny-in-Asia/category/eurasia-marco-polo-in-it/uzbekistan" >Uzbekistan</a> (10)
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Beijing (14)

Brooding in Japan (6)

Cambodia (3)

Capitals tour of Asia (24)

China (16)

Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it (88)

Hong Kong (4)

Iceland (11)

Japan (33)

Japan on the cheap (14)

Kazakhstan (3)

Korea (10)

Kyrgyzstan (9)

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Mongolia (24)

Nanjing/Suzhou (3)

Poland (4)

Shanghai (8)

Sweden (2)

Teaching English (10)

Thailand (12)

Trip preparation/departure (5)

Uzbekistan (10)

The three of us are officially sick of yak meat and I don’t care if I ever touch milk tea again. Since we didn’t hire a guide we eat like the locals who follow a tried and true rotation of rice with meat, noodles with meat, and buuz (meat filled dumplings). There is a squat toilet next to camp with the most beautiful view of the lake, but thanks to our diet of fatty meat we’re not enjoying the view as often as we would like. It’s always nice how quickly strangers make friends when put in 24 hour contact for a week in a foreign situation. It doesn’t take long eating this food for the jokes to turn to the bathroom variety. We are lucky to have found each other and it’s random how the trip finally came together.

Six days ago Danielle and I were on a search for other travelers to make our trip more affordable. Since our guesthouse wasn’t sending out a trip we started searching other Ulaan Baatar guesthouses for solo travelers to join us. We had no luck at Lonely Planet’s hotspot, the UB guesthouse, but Danielle managed to forget her new camel hair hat on the common room sofa. When she went back for it I told her to bring someone back for our trip and Winslow happened to be the guy sitting on her hat. It was fate.

Despite our unhappy stomachs Danielle has convinced us that bouncing around on horses all day would be a good idea. I figure I should ride one of these little Mongolian pygmy horses at least once while I’m here. It’s been eleven years since I’ve been on a horse and it’s only my second go at riding. Our guide Taogwaho leads us down to the lake and out into the black craggy lava field that hides countless lava caves and sink holes, in one of which sits a pond frozen solid. Three hours on a horse is enough to tide me over for the next ten years.

After a while the wet wipe baths don’t cut it anymore and we’re all anxious to get the layer of dust and grime off. Muugi number two is the family man feeding us and gives directions to the spring they drink from. We set out over the small hill behind camp with an army of children, two of which follow us for 2km toward the forested drainage where we expect to find water. The small boys finally turn back and we continue up and find a small stream. The three of us stake out our respective spots and have a quick washdown and then relax in the warm afternoon sun. Having worn the same clothes for days it is nice to strip down and check for ticks since the area is teeming with them.

On the way back Winslow and I hike up the neighboring ridge and enjoy the gorgeous view of the lake from the top.

At night Winslow and Shaga play chess and the younger kids end their camera shyness and pose for a shoot.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 3rd, 2007 at 1:21 am and is filed under Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Mongolia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Central Mongolia, Day Five

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