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Friday 7 August 2009
The second part of our tour with Nomadic Journeys has been quite different from our time in the Gobi.The food has still been excellent but we are in much greener country with thicker vegetation - although still only low.There are also rivers and boggy river flats with the accompanying mosquitoes.We were even supplied with fly nets to wear!
We had four nights camping out in tents and walking during the day.Our gear was put onto yak carts for transportation from place to place.The weather has been good and only rained at night during our camping phase.One morning there was ice on the tents ut this quickly melted and evaporated once the sun came up over the hill.There were lovely, fast flowing, cold rivers to bathe in and do our washing - lots of screaming accompanied these activities.
After four days of walking, in circles I'm sure, we arrived at the ger camp in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area where we spent the next three nights.This camp is quite luxurious with pink curtains ling the walls of our ger, plenty of bedding and a really classy restaurant ger with heavy cutlery and white china crockery.
Beds are still hard but I have come to the conclusion that all beds in Mongolia are hard.It is a toss up whether the ger beds or the ground with questionable self-inflating mattresses is hardest - everyone has been complaining of bruised hips!
The afternoon we arrived at the ger camp there was a storm - not much rain but thunder had been sounding for a good part of the day. Luckily it held off while we were walking.Storms have been relatively frequent occurrence since we have been in Mongolia although most of the time there is not a lot of rain - just dark clouds, a bit of wind, lightening and thunder accompanying widely spaced drops of rain for a brief time only.
Zoe's 21st Birthday was our last day on the actual trekking with yaks phase of our tour.We were all surprised by a birthday cake with candles at breakfast.The cake was made of rice with hazelnut/chocolate spread, multi coloured sprinkles and thin slices or orange surrounding it and topped with 21 candles - totally acceptable for breakfast.Our camp cook, Tongah, had prepared and presented it beautifully.Our evening meal was in the luxurious surroundings of the ger camp restaurant and the celebrations continued.
Our first full day in the ger camp was spent catching up, washing and socializing.A few of us went for a walk to the river and sat with our feet in the icy water enjoying the babbling of the river and the expanse of hill surrounding us.The prospect of yet another wonderful meal brought us back to camp.
We had been told the food in Mongolia was primarily boiled mutton but this is not so.In UB there is a huge variety of international as well as Mongolian restaurants to choose from.In the countryside choice is considerably more limited and this is where instant noodles seem to preside over the dinner table.Many tour companies do not provide a cook but our one, Nomadic Journeys, provided an excellent ingredients and an excellent cook for the camping phase.She whipped up 4 course meals on a ger oven(fire box with a chimney and a huge wok on top) and a gas burner.The cooks at the ger camps were also well skilled in western and Mongolian food.We usually had a fruit or vegetable entrée with a light dressing, delicious vegetable soup followed by a main course of beef or chicken with rice or potato.Sometimes a desert of fruit or wafer biscuit followed.Everyone is complaining of not losing weight as expected.
We had planned go Yak rafting - I know the image that conjures up is quite amusing but the inflatable raft is put on the yak cart, everyone walks up river then rafts down ( the yak walks back with the cart).However, the day dawned cold and cloudy and besides many of the party were off colour so rafting was called off.Five of us went off on a herb collecting expedition - there are many medicinal herbs that grow in Mongolia and there is one that is good for upset stomachs.We climbed to the top of the nearest hill to camp, collecting as we went.We spent time admiring the view, watching a magnificent kite (bird) and just hanging out for a bit.We had covered about 9 or 10 kms by the time we got back with our bag of flowers that were made into a medicinal tea.This must have done the job because everyone was much better for the trip back to UB today.
We stopped off at a tourist attraction on the way back - We my have the big pineapple, the big prawn, the big banana etc but they are nothing compared with the big Chingiis - it is a huge metal statue of Chingiis Khan.You can go up inside his horse and view the countryside from his mane.
The tour finishes tomorrow morning then we have Saturday and Sunday in UB before flying back to Korea for 2 days with Hayley and Cheryl.
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