Adventures in Driving

We can totally make it!.... Then again, maybe not.

Driving here can be in turns frustrating or amusing. Though the total lack of road rules can (and will) drive you crazy, Mongolian drivers also share an optimistic belief that they and their car can handle any situation they find themselves in.  I suppose it's a survival mechanism.  The following pictures are just a taste of adventures in driving here!

Off-roading in the snow in a 15-passenger van.

I think this is the end of the road for us.

This could be awhile.

Parking spot!

In his defense, he probably thought jumping the sidewalk and going through a wall would be a short cut.

Might as well snap a picture while I've put the car in park....

Goats always have the right-of-way.

US Embassy to the rescue!  Taking an ancient mini-truck through a mud pit was probably not the best idea.

What passes for a major intersection somewhere in Khentii.

Chinggis Khan Country

Thanks to a confluence of American and Mongolian holidays, we were faced with a five day weekend this week.  We were having a hard time deciding what to do, but finally decided to head East, into "Chinggis Khan country" and try and find the mountain lake that the great man himself used as the site of his coronation.   As guides, we had our Lonely Planet guidebook (whose advice was, you need a driver who knows the place in order to find it) and our more helpful atlas of Mongolian Roads.  Since there are only 4 paved roads leading outside the city (one each North, South, East and West), much of the atlas is concerned with chronicling the dirt trails that serve as roads for the rest of this huge country.  They even have different levels of dirt trail ranging from 'kinda like a real road' to 'haha, good luck following this one.'  We packed plenty of food, all of our camping stuff, and just barely plenty of clothing and hit the road.  

We drove a certain number of kilometers past the last place with a name on the map and then started looking for a dirt turnoff from the highway that felt "right" enough for us to take it.  In a miracle of navigating, there was a small rusted sign that said "Khokh Nuur, 35km".  Hey, this will be easy!    As we drove further into the steppe and started navigating over the first mountain pass, my brain was flashing all of the warnings that my colleagues have given me about such adventures:  "Never go off the main roads without a GPS!"  We don't have a GPS.  "You should always bring a satellite phone."  Well, I have my Blackberry that doesn't work out here, does that count?  "Never move outside your front door without a spare tire and a jack."  We have a spare tire, but no jack.  I figured in an emergency we could just maneuver the car in this terrain so that the offending tire was hanging in midair and change it that way.  Since I've never changed a tire in my life this was a theoretical calculation, but it made me feel better.  Surprisingly, as we drove we got 2-3 more rusted signs  pointing out the way to us.  Most of them were too rusted to read anything on them, and one involved exiting the car to unravel it and determine which way the arrow was supposed to point, but this was much, much easier than we had envisioned.

One of the funniest moments was near the end when we were looking for a T-stop intersection which would mean that we were quite close.  This is how we were describing it, of course, but it actually meant that our current dirt trail dead-ended at the foot of a hill/mountain and we had to decide to circle it on the left side or right side....   We came through a little pine forest and saw the lake.  It's small, but nicely shaped and the Heart-Shaped mountain rose up right behind just as was described in The Secret History of the Mongols, and, more recently, Lonely Planet.

   We were surprised and a little disappointed to see that they are somehow constructing a big lodge building out at the lake.  How, and why, remain a mystery.  Remember, this is a challenging 35 km off of the closest paved road.  But, oh well.  The site was mostly deserted except for a few fisherman who were out there every morning and evening, and so we chose a nice campsite on one of the patches of green nearest the lake.  Mongolia is such a dry country that even being by a lake and a marsh made us a little giddy.  We spent two days camping, hiking, and relaxing.  Some of the highlights were taking a freezing dip into the lake after a run, having a marmot sighting, and enjoying the birds.

Marmot!

While at Khökh Nuur, we naturally had to hike everything in sight and take in the view of unending Mongolian hills.  On the top of Heart-shaped Mountain the coronation site for Chinggis Khan is marked with a large ovoo.  We walked around the ovoo three times and left rocks as we have been instructed on our past hikes in Mongolia, feeling we had to do this right if we were indeed at the very site where Chinggis Khan became leader of the Mongols.  

Being in Mongolia is interesting because there are so few visual remnants of history here.  As a nomadic culture, the ancient Mongols left no permanent structures, and even the more recent permanent history like Buddhist monasteries were largely destroyed during the Soviet period.  So going to a place like Khokh Nuur is as close as you can get to appreciating the country's past.  And I did feel it - there was something special about picturing the huge meeting of Mongols around the lake and thinking that they may have pitched their gers right where we were camping. 

Our first night of camping was uneventful, but the wind picked up the evening of the second night and made for a less-than-relaxing night.  Andy summed it up pretty well when he asked on Monday morning, "Did we land on the Wicked Witch of the East last night?"   We were still at Khokh Nuur, not Oz, but decided it was time to get moving towards home. 

The car-as-windbreak was not working as we had hoped.

We stopped by our favorite ger camp for one night on the way home, and enjoyed listening to the wind howl outside while we were snug in our ger. 

Secret History Ger Camp

The lodge at the Secret History Ger Camp

After choking on the smog in UB for the winter and much of the cold spring we get here, Alissa and I promised ourselves this week we would get out of the city no matter what this weekend.  We did, thankfully, leaving the haze and congestion behind.  We traveled north, my first trip in that direction of Mongolia.  There was some green in the hills as we zoomed by, rocking up and down in our 4Runner over the many bumps in the Mongolian roads that make a car ride feel like a journey on the Oregon trail with an SUV in place of the covered wagon.

We would not be disappointed on arriving at the Secret History Ger Camp.  It was more of a lodge than a ger camp, with some permanently constructed wooden gers that had cylindrical windows sticking up from the ceiling.  The shape and circular windows made me feel like I was staying in Bilbo Baggins' hobbit-hole from Lord of the Rings.

Our ger/hobbit-hole

The view from Secret History

View from the lodge balcony

Upon arriving we immediately set out for a hike on a trail behind the lodge that went up into a nice glen of birch trees.  Unfortunately we arrived well into the afternoon and still planned on getting a run in, so we had to head back down the hill without seeing how far our trail would go.  Another time, maybe.  But there were flowers and budding trees.  The signs of new life that come with spring we had yet to see any of, really, and it was difficult to contain our excitement.

A quick hike in the forest

In the birch grove

Proof there are flowers in Mongolia

The best part of the countryside this time of year, speaking of new life in the spring, was the many baby animals tagging along with the herds and flocks that populate the steppes.  Baby horses running alongside their mothers were fun to watch.  Baby kids and baby lambs were mixed in with the large flocks on the hillsides.  Cows roamed the gate to the ger camp as if on guard, giving dire looks to those who passed by while continuing to eat the grass, scruffy heifers and young bulls mixed in with the herd with stubby horns.

Cows guarding the gate

Baby horses tiring out their mothers

The Secret History Ger Camp picked a nice setting for their location.  With the birch forest behind them and many trails to explore they have trees and ready access to the steppes Mongolia is famous for.  The lodge is a great place to go in the winter to escape the pollution of UB and snowshoe or cross country ski.  They also have a nice restaurant, by Mongolian ger camp standards, complete with a menu to place orders from.  In most of my experiences with ger camp cuisine (which is limited), the camp serves up whatever they have prepared for dinner.  Ordering is not an option.  We had a nice steak dinner complete with Greek salads.  No black olives, unfortunately, but the cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes were pretty fresh and they did have feta cheese.  Not bad eating for the countryside.  I felt spoiled.  Breakfast the next day included an omelette and bread compete with coffee.  It was instant, but good for instant coffee.  And believe me, I can be picky about these things.

Morning and I am ready for my coffee

The main options for activities in the spring and summer at Secret History are horseback riding and hiking.  We opted for running since the Mongolia Half Marathon is in two weeks.  The steppes were great for a run, with great views of landscape to keep you in a dreamy state throughout, though difficult with many hills.  When we get back, I hope to do more hiking and maybe even some horse riding.  The staff were very nice, though their were not many English speakers.  Alissa was able to put her Mongolian studies to use on many occasions while I sat or stood nearby feeling dumb and mute.

While driving away and heading back to UB, we took as many pictures of the baby animals as we could.  One baby goat was separated from the flock and came bleating across the road in front of our car.  Lost and confused.  I could relate to the poor little bugger.  Our spirits dropped a little when we saw UB off in the distance, a gray cloud hanging over the valley.  At least we have some pictures and memories.  And we plan on getting out again next weekend.  It is only for a week.

Where did everyone go?

There they are, run for it! 

A flock on the steppes

Some horses get a drink and a bath

The smokestack that is UB

Welcome back!

May in Mongolia - Snowed in!

Most places the spring is a season of rebirth and renewal, or something like that.  The American saying, "April showers bring May flowers," comes to mind.  In Mongolia it is more like "May snowstorms hopefully bring green grass at some point in the future."  Yesterday we had what was probably our biggest snowstorm of the year, and the snow continues to fall today.  The temperatures are not so cold that the snow is sticking to the roads, but the hillsides and ground are covered everywhere you look.

This could be a time to fall into a funk of depression, but sometimes it is more fun to do the opposite.  I have actually been spending a lot more time in the kitchen in Mongolia than I ever would in the U.S., partly because I experiment making all the foods that are difficult to find here that I just buy off the shelf back home in the States. This deprivation inspired me to make salsa from scratch (without any jalapeños), which came out surprisingly well.  Sunday and Monday saw me mixing, cooking, and cooling to create homemade ice cream.  One of the worst things about Mongolia is how difficult it is to get much of any ice cream outside of plain vanilla and chocolate (do I ever miss American ice cream).

Homemade Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Yesterday, as the snow fell and fell and fell, I mixed, kneaded and baked up a wheat country loaf.  Served with garlic-infused olive oil with olive chunks, it was amazing.  Seriously could not talk while eating because I was too busy enjoying the mix of flavors as they assaulted my taste buds.  A real Ratatouille moment, minus the lightning (and the rats).

Country Wheat Loaf before baking

The finished product

Following the bread in the oven were some stuffed peppers to round out an amazing dinner.  I used some homemade sweet Italian sausage I get from a former coworker at the international school here.  He has started his own business, Khaan Deli - one American who is really getting into the business culture of Mongolia!  Here is his website.

Stuffed peppers piping hot out of the oven

Not a bad day for being snowed in.  Now I just need to wash all those dishes at some point.

Alissa enjoys some homemade bread

Thai food in Mongolia!

This Friday we were in need something a little different.  The temperature had just dropped at the end of the week after a beautiful spring weekend.  Snow covered the ground outside our window.  The ridgelines were white in the distance, reflecting the sun blindingly into my eyes.

Escape.  That is what we need.  Escape to a sunny paradise - like Thailand!  Unfortunately for all the wishful thinking filling my dreams whenever I peaked out the window at the snowy mess below, I could not think my way there.  So instead we went out to Thai Express, a pretty nice (for Mongolia) Thai restaurant in a mall overlooking the city of UB.

The city looked pretty drab below us, but the tom yum soup and fish lakhsa eased our pain a bit.  We will see warm, sunny days once again.  Eventually.  In about a month.  I hope.