A Week in Ulaanbaatar and Uncomfortable Horses

Hello all, welcome to my second post which I have finally managed to find the time to write.

So where to begin...

Well all of us new VSO guys started our in-country training (ICT) on Monday the 17th. I must admit that I had not been looking forward to it at all but once we got going it was pretty good, and there was free coffee which always helps. The first week of ICT basically involved sitting in a room and learning as much as possible about Mongolia as well as how to avoid beeing mugged, getting a disease or being trampled by a yak. The sessions usually lasted for from about 9:30am until 2:00pm and I will save you the boring details save to say that there was a hell of a lot to take in.
One of first things that I have learnt in Mongolia is that it is never going to be famed for its culinary delights. Mongolian dishes are not what you would call varied, and that is an understatement. The first gastronomic delicacy that I was privaleged to try was Buuz (pronounced butts). Buuz are essentially incredibly greasy lumps of meat wrapped in equally greasy pastry type stuff. Interestingly, "incredibly greasy" could be used to describe any Mongolian food. Also, if you don't like meat then you are in the wrong country. One of the volunteers ordered vegetable soup and it may as well have been renamed "meat in oiley water with a small piece of cabbage floating around in it". Another kitchen wonder is Huushur which is a small slab of meat wrapped in some other kind of pastry and deep fried. Cholestorol is clearly not a concern in Mongolia. I swear that the grease and oil that I could have drained from it would have filled a tea cup. Thankfully there are a variety of different international restaurants in Ulaanbaatar.
The week passed fairly quickly and featured social events for all the volunteer orgs in Mongolia and a pub quiz. Being made a permanent member of a pub quiz team was not one of the things I was expecting from Mongolia. When the weekend rolled around I was stupidly happy as there were a couple of trips arranged. On Saturday 22nd all the new vols plus Doug (the country program manager), his family and a few of the older vols hired a bus and headed for the countryside. I had a bunch of idyllic images and preconceptions about what it was going to be like and unbelievably I wasn't let down.
We were going to visit the family of one of VSO Mongolia's staff who were still living the traditional life in a ger. The drive out provided a glimpse of nice scenery but it was nothing compared to the view that we were treated to once we arrived. Stepping off the bus the first thing I noticed was the silence. Its not often one gets to experience true quiet and sadly my moment was cut short as soon as we started moving. Taking a step seemed to awake an army of crickets who immediatly began chirping and never really stopped. Still, it was nicer than traffic noise. The family inhabited two gers and we were invited to sit inside and shar some food and drink. Gers are pretty awesome. There is a whole load of etiquette involved. The main thing is that you must always walk clockwise around the ger. There are plenty of other "rules" ranging from not tripping on the threshold to not holding your cup by the rim.
As amazing as ger life is, it's nothing compared to land surrounding them. I've never been in such open space. Africa has plenty of plains but there are always tree's to break up the view. The Mongolian steppe is completely devoid of trees and bushes and its effect is breathtaking. Vast expanses of flat land extend up to distant mountains and hills. Dotting the land are ger settlements. The other thing you notice are the horses. I've never seem so many in one place. Most gers have a group of them near-by and they huddle together, possibly for warmth, possibly to play a game of cards without the humans knowing. They are not the healthiest looking animals in the world but that is due to the lack of a sufficient food supply.
There were Mongolian herders constantly riding here and there tending their flocks of goats and sheep or just galloping off into the distance as eagles soar overhead looking for prey. I was lucky enough to be able to be able to have a go at riding one of the horses and part of me wishes I hadn't. Pain seems to go hand-in-hand with horse riding! Especially where wooden saddles are concerned! It was amazing to canter off accross the plain though. What an experience! My imagination ran away with me and I pictured the mongol horde setting off on a trail on conquest and destruction. Then I rememered I was merely sitting on a boney horse that sounded like it was struggling to live. No matter, it was still awesome.
The afternoon was capped off by seeing a veritable stampede of a massive group of horses (there must have been around 60) accross the steppe. Their owners were desperately trying to reign them in but we had to leave before we got to see who won that contest.
The following day myself, Aki (an existing Dutch VSO), Leah, and Andrew (both new Australian and both new) headed off to climb Mt. Chingeltei which is apparently the highest mountain in the north at 2000m. Granted that isn't too high but the weather was atrocious. The wind was howling and the rain blew in sideways. Naturally I didn't have a water-proof with me and so I got soaked. It was worth it in the end though as the weather cleared up and the view from the top was amazing. At the top there is a massive mound of stones with a large wooden pole sticking out of the top. The pole is wrapped in blue material with prayers written on. It is known as a Ovoo and it is a shamanisitic symbol. Shamanism is one of the leading religions in Mongolia and its quite intriguing. For example, one custom which we all partook of is that every time you come accross an Ovoo you must circle it three times and throw another stone on or leave an offering. There was money from all over the world at its foot and I found it remarkable that no one had stolen it.
The whole weekend was amazing and I am glad it was because we started language school on Monday and I doubt fun has ever been used to describe it. But that is another story for another day.

Thanks for reading my second post, I hoped you enjoyed it. More next week!