The Vagabonds Meet the Nomads July 9, 2006
We left the Novetel in Beijing at 6AM this morning and drove through the rain to the airport. After checking in, clearing Customs then Immigration we boarded the plane for the two hour flight to Ulaanbaatar, Outer Mongolia.
We stepped out of the airport into the bright Mongolian sun. The sky was blue and there was no pollution or humidity. We quickly decided this is a place we can enjoy. We have a guide, Moogie and driver, Toomai, and while we are here we plan to drive out into the countryside to do some exploring. Holly was here about four years and says that the hill country to the north is beautiful.
Moogie tells us he is a lawyer that works in the Public Defenders office. He’s 24 years old so I assume that requirements here are different. He also tells us that he guides for fun and to meet foreigners. He was working for the tour company before he became a lawyer and now considers guiding a hobby. I have a feeling that an active mind would look for outside stimulation here. He seems to be a very bright young man. He speaks English with a Russian accent which seems strange because he doesn’t speak Russia and he learned English from an American. My guess is he communicates to Russians here in English and picks up their pronunciation.
By accident we are here during the Naddam Festival. This is an annual festival that we hope to attend and learn more about while here, but it’s basically a celebration of the Mongol culture. The festivities include period costumes, live performances of Mongol music, traditional foods and the highlight horsemanship exhibitions.
This also happens to be the 800 anniversary of the founding of the Mongol State with other celebrations commemorating the occasion. They have a show planned with 1500 horseman dressed as Chinggis’ Kahn’s army that will stage a recreation of a battle, all very exciting and unexpected.
After checking into the hotel we went for lunch at “The Modern Nomad”. We had some traditional Mongolian dishes which although the food was good the service was a little slow. Traditional Mongolian food consists mainly of meat with a FEW vegetables served here and there. A T shirt at the Modern Nomad seemed to state their outlook on food; “Men eat meat, Animals eat grass”.
We visited Zaisan Hill, a monument to co-operation between Russia and Mongolia during WWII, which afforded us a great view of the city. We then drove the short distance to the Sukhbaatar Square in the heart of Ulaanbaatar, a large open area in front of The Government Building where the seat of the Mongolian government resides. From there we walked to the National Museum where we were escorted by a museum guide through the somewhat antiquated yet interesting exhibits.
We watched a cultural music show that featured musicians, singers, dancers, throat singers and of all things contortionists. The music was great and the contortionists amazing.
After a very nice dinner we are back at the hotel and looking forward to an early night after such an early start to the day. Other than the open spaces and clean, fresh, cool air what struck me about Mongolia are the close ties they have with Russia. Our guide speaks very highly of the Russians and the language is everywhere. I look forward to understanding more about the people and history during our stay here.
I don’t believe that we have internet connection for the next week but we will loog back on as soon as possible.
We stepped out of the airport into the bright Mongolian sun. The sky was blue and there was no pollution or humidity. We quickly decided this is a place we can enjoy. We have a guide, Moogie and driver, Toomai, and while we are here we plan to drive out into the countryside to do some exploring. Holly was here about four years and says that the hill country to the north is beautiful.
Moogie tells us he is a lawyer that works in the Public Defenders office. He’s 24 years old so I assume that requirements here are different. He also tells us that he guides for fun and to meet foreigners. He was working for the tour company before he became a lawyer and now considers guiding a hobby. I have a feeling that an active mind would look for outside stimulation here. He seems to be a very bright young man. He speaks English with a Russian accent which seems strange because he doesn’t speak Russia and he learned English from an American. My guess is he communicates to Russians here in English and picks up their pronunciation.
By accident we are here during the Naddam Festival. This is an annual festival that we hope to attend and learn more about while here, but it’s basically a celebration of the Mongol culture. The festivities include period costumes, live performances of Mongol music, traditional foods and the highlight horsemanship exhibitions.
This also happens to be the 800 anniversary of the founding of the Mongol State with other celebrations commemorating the occasion. They have a show planned with 1500 horseman dressed as Chinggis’ Kahn’s army that will stage a recreation of a battle, all very exciting and unexpected.
After checking into the hotel we went for lunch at “The Modern Nomad”. We had some traditional Mongolian dishes which although the food was good the service was a little slow. Traditional Mongolian food consists mainly of meat with a FEW vegetables served here and there. A T shirt at the Modern Nomad seemed to state their outlook on food; “Men eat meat, Animals eat grass”.
We visited Zaisan Hill, a monument to co-operation between Russia and Mongolia during WWII, which afforded us a great view of the city. We then drove the short distance to the Sukhbaatar Square in the heart of Ulaanbaatar, a large open area in front of The Government Building where the seat of the Mongolian government resides. From there we walked to the National Museum where we were escorted by a museum guide through the somewhat antiquated yet interesting exhibits.
We watched a cultural music show that featured musicians, singers, dancers, throat singers and of all things contortionists. The music was great and the contortionists amazing.
After a very nice dinner we are back at the hotel and looking forward to an early night after such an early start to the day. Other than the open spaces and clean, fresh, cool air what struck me about Mongolia are the close ties they have with Russia. Our guide speaks very highly of the Russians and the language is everywhere. I look forward to understanding more about the people and history during our stay here.
I don’t believe that we have internet connection for the next week but we will loog back on as soon as possible.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 5:26 PM
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