We ate a simple breakfast and left our camping area around 9:30AM. We drove for about three hours along bumpy paths and stopped for lunch in a tiny village where there was service on my phone but not much else. We were at our driver's brother's house. They invited us into the family ger which was absolutely covered in flies. We were given a welcoming drink of warm fermented horse's milk. This was served to us many times during our tour around Mongolia and after awhile, I asked my guide to explain that I don't drink milk in hopes of not being wasteful and not being served. It was gross and I don't drink milk.
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| Google Maps couldn't determine our route |
The gers were owned by a family and they had a little boy who was probably about three years old. He was running around barefoot and looked as though he hadn't been bathed in months! He was unbelievably dirty! We had yet to come across running water and these family gers were scooping water from a big container which told me there was no running water there either.
We did come across our first mongolian toilet which was a pit latrine. In the city, they had regular toilets but anywhere else we went in Mongolia it was either a pit latrine or going in nature. And most times, the pit latrines were so stinky that it was almost more pleasant going in nature!
The lady of the ger, who was cooking us dinner, was doing it outside on the ground in front of an unused jeep. The front of the jeep shaded her from the blistering hot sun. Beside her was some goat skin lying out to dry. I guess that was our lunch?!
We were served goat meat noodle soup with no vegetables at all. I was starting to see a pattern. The soup was good but goats' meat is quite oily and that could be because they don't tend to cut the fat off of the meat. It wasn't uncommon to get big balls of fat in the noodle dishes or the soups.
After dinner, we were given some traditional Mongolian vodka. It was served warm in a shared glass that was passed around the room. I noted that the vodka was kept in a huge container that looked like it was meant for gasoline. I felt slightly concerned. The vodka had little to no taste, it was almost like water and I noted that our driver was drinking more than his share which didn't seem to bother anyone.
My recorded journal talked about some highlights of the day which was seeing two different groups of vultures. The first group was quite near the car. There were about 30 to 40 of them together and there were some babies in the group as well. I wasn't sitting near the window nor did I have my camera handy so I didn't get any pictures. They were huge and beautiful and it was awesome to see so many of them together like that!
After lunch, we made our way to a place called Tsagaan Suvarga or the White Stupa. We got there around 4:00PM and I was hoping we could've stayed for the sunset. Our guide needed time to prepare dinner, so staying late wasn't an option.
I wandered off by myself to take in my surroundings. It was gorgeous and sort of reminded me of the Rainbow Mountains in Zhangye, China. I wandered to the far side and found a small cave and then wandered to the other side before I noticed that no one in my group was around. I climbed up onto one of the small rock formations and couldn't see anyone except for my guide who was sitting down. Where was everybody?
As I started heading down the rock formation, my plan was to find a quiet place to sit but I noticed my guide waving to me. I went over and she told me it was time to go. I felt like we had just gotten there. I asked her where everyone was and she said they had already climbed up the escarpment. So up we went and my entire group was crammed in the van waiting. Really? We were in this phenomenal place and had just spent five hours bouncing around in the van and all of them were inside waiting? Like? Was I missing something?
We drove about fifteen minutes away to a set of gers that belonged to our tour company. The ger we were given had five beds. I was the last one in and everyone had already taken a bed. We were told we had two hours to rest before dinner would be served. So ... I was pulled away from a wonderful area to come to a ger with absolutely nothing around AND no bed for me to rest on? This is exactly why I don't book tours when I travel. I was slightly annoyed.
I went to the ger where my guide was to tell her there was no bed for me and while everyone was sprawled out relaxing ... like ... was I to sit on the floor? Or? I was told they would bring a bed in for me later. I decided to go for a walk on my own. It was either that or sit on the floor.
One of the first things I came across was a dead animal though I wasn't sure exactly what it was. I didn't want to get too close but it seemed to be a bird of some sort. I also noticed a lot of random bones around and goats' heads. I wandered around until almost 7:00PM when dinner was served.
Dinner was simple. We were served goat meat with rice and veggies and a cold salad. Finally some vegetables! I was learning that one doesn't go to Mongolia for the food. I suppose in an environment as harsh as it is, growing fruits and vegetables is probably challenging.
The four girls in our group were playing cards (which they did for most of the trip) which left the French guy and myself on our own. As the sun started to set, I wandered up a hill to watch it. The group followed me up there as did another group who was staying in the ger beside ours.
The sunset was pretty and I found myself wandering away from the groups and back to the gers. I am not used to being around people 24 hours a day for days on end, I guess. I went back to my ger where a bed had been moved in. My group returned and cracked open a bottle of vodka. They were socializing with the other group that was there. I opted to stay in the ger and keep to myself. I don't drink vodka and perhaps I was tired from the long drive. I was also feeling a little jipped and disappointed about the short visit at the White Stupa after all that driving so I called it a night.
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