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Back in UB City (as it nicknamed by the young, hip Mongolians, yes, there are some...:)
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
hello, back again - forgot that I had another night here before Beijing! Anyway, my first day in UB city was okay, but the second was fabulous and much more my style - we were picked up by our local guide and visited a Mongolian Monastery where we were lucky enough to be there when quite a big ceremony was taking place. The building was your typical Buddist temple style, but the ceremony itself was really different from the Thai ceremonies - there were around 15 monks in the centre chanting from ancient scriptures which were oblong, quite big and in the old Mongolian language. In the centre were 3 of the top monks who appeared to be leading the chanting whilst all sorts of cymbol bashing and other triangle things were going off. All through the ceremony people were coming and going, passing pieces of paper to the monks and others were sitting in benchings with their beads. I later found out that the paper told the Monk what problem that person was having and the Monk would guide them to which scripture they should read to solve the problem - sounds like a plan to me!! The climax of the chanting led to everyone getting up and rushing to the front to touch some idol that was inside a glass case, then a long sacred scarf thing was thrown around the crowd and everyone seemed anxious to touch it or touch someone who was touching it - the monks then starting filling up something with what looked like bird seed until it overflowed then another layer was added on. While this was going on everyone started passing forward money and this was placed into the container holding the tiers and incense was then wafted over it - more loud music and even louder chanting followed until finally it was over and the crowd then proceeded to walk around the monks until they got to the alter and they all said some sort of prayer and gave another offering before leaving - we were allowed to walk round with them - the guide had said it was okay, just dont turn your back on the alter, so hopefully I didnt upset anyone - it was really interesting and felt lucky to have been able to experience it. We then set off on the bus for the national park, the name of which escapes me, but sure you dont care...:) It was the bumpiest ride I have ever had - they definitely need to improve their infrastructure if they want to encourage more tourists! The scenery was beautiful, really mountainous and totally different from Russia - we arrived at our Ger camp - the Ger was simple with a sink (which flowed into a bucket in a cupboard underneath), 4 beds, a table and a wood stove in the middle. The toilet was outside in a shed and I was really surprised to see a flushing toilet and thought - how briliant - in the middle of no-where!? On closer examination, it looked just like a flushing toilet, but the u-bed thing had been cut out and it was actually just leading to a hole in the ground - pretty smelly - but you get used to it! We then went to visit a local Mongolian lady who lives in the old traditional way. We had to bring her some gifts of food and she took us into her Ger and gave us some cheese she had made herself, some curd (which was disgusting, so I put it in my pocket when she wasnt looking), a cake thing and some absolutely disgusting milky tea which she made directly from the cow we watched her milk. They all milk their cows in the old traditional way, so we saw the calf suckling, then she removed the calf and got some milk for herself - very cute! Her Ger was simple but comfortable - was interested to see the bucket of cow dung she used to keep her fire burning - well there's plenty of it and cheaper than wood! Apparently everyone does it and its quite the thing in Outer Mongolia! She had a tv but no running water, but I suppose everyone has their priorities! She didnt speak English, but was interested in us and what we did at home so we spoke to her about her life and our lives for an hour or so through our guide. We then headed back to the Ger camp and went straight to the bigger Ger which was the restaurant and we had a nice meal, although the meal I got was completely different from the one I ordered, but you just have to go with the flow :) After dinner, no tv so we played a game of knucklebone with our local guide, which is a Mongolian game and is a bit like our jacks but made of sheeps knuckles, it was fun and passed the evening with a beer or two! The Ger was lovely and toasty by the time we went to bed, which was good as it was freezing outside - they actually come in through the night to re-light the fire. Breakfast was weird as it was a combination of what they thought we would like ie illuminous coloured breakfast cereal (!?), beetroot and eggs - filled a hole anyway. Back to the city and a museum, which was okayish and now back at the hotel we had on the first night and just had another amazing shower and not looking forward to getting back on the train - but its only for one night and most of the time will be spent clearing Chinese immigration. Overall, Mongolians are much more friendly than the Russians and some of them actually smile, which is refreshing, but it is a really poor country and many unsavoury types hang about looking for pick pocketing opportunities. There are signs everywhere warning you to protect your belongings - so it does make you a bit wary! Its a funny mix of old and new culture, not long out of communism, so quite a lot of interesting history. Well, think thats about it and another early start tomorrow at 0620 so best head off. Speak to you from China! xxx
- comments
Elizabeth Your updates are great. Glad you're enjoying it. All thinking of you here.
Donna Very interesting I would have loved to see the ceremony. I wonder what Bejing will bring? Take care Donna x
Moira Viau What a great experience, really interesting.It makes you appreciate all that we have. Love, Moira