Ger-To-Ger

We arrived in Ulaan Batoor, Mongolia after a long but peaceful train ride, the first time we ever (accidentally) travelled 2nd class and had almost a whole compartment to ourselves. The moment the got off the train, we saw a throng of people holding up cards for their guest house. We spotted the one that we had made our reservations at : Idres Guesthouse. We actually arrived at UB several days ahead of schedule, but apparently the guesthouses come out every morning to get customers. We were promptly escorted to a waiting taxi and were whisked to Idre's Guesthouse. We settled in and walked around Ulaan Baator a little , exploring and finding out about tours. More about this in another post.

The next day, we departed Idres Guesthouse and began our long car trip out to our first 3 day "Ger-to-Ger" outing. Ger To Ger is an organization that runs homestay style tours in cooperation with Mongolian herders. They try to practise culturally sensitive tourism and have a cultural orientation session for all their customers. The programs that they run are designed to provide the host herders with a supplemental income. The idea is for tourists to be able to both experience the beauty of the countryside as well as the culture and lifestyle of the nomadic herders of the Mongolian steppes.

A ger is a circular tent-like structure, with a hole at the centre for ventilation and sunlight. Layered and carefully constructed, the gers provide good insulation and can withstand strong winds. The ger's door always faces south and within, altars, beds, family items and furniture are placed according to tradition and positions of honor. For example, the 12 o'clock position is where the altar is placed. Guests, elders, males and females are seated in according to positions of honor and there are taboos against leaning on the support columns and pointing your feet at the door or the altar. The ger can be quickly collapsed and set up and is particularly suited for the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongolian nomads.

We had initially planned and booked a 8 day trek up to the Blue Lake. However, we arrived early in Ulan Baator after fleeing Russia, and we were unable to bring our initial plan to an earlier date, so we decided to take 2 shorter programs instead. The first one is a three day two night program to the region of Elsen Tasarhai, in the centre of Mongolia, southwest of Ulan Baator.

We piled into a hired private car and headed out of the city. The road was good at first but we soon encountered large sections of road that were apparently under repair. Our driver was diligently avoiding large potholes along the road. Sometimes we detoured off the road altogether. About three quarters into the journey, the driver had to get out in the middle of the barren landscape to change a flat tire. It was rather hot.

We completed the ~250km journey in about 6 or 7 hours and bundled ourselves out of the car at our first stop. We had arrived at the first ger, the residence of Mr. Idersogt. We sat down and tried to avoid all the cultural taboos that we had been told about during the orientation at the Ger-To-Ger office, but things went quite well. We were served bootsog, or Mongolia cookies, which were made from milk via various fermentation processes. The result was a variety of cookies with various levels of sourness. We quickly found out which cookie shape corresponded to the least sour taste and strategically relived the plate of those particular ones. We were also refreshed with hot Mongolian milk tea. This tea is a weak tea with milk and salt, forming a salty drink that helps keep the body hydrated. I certainly didn't pee for a while. Soon, we were served lunch : potatoes with salted rice, along with koumiss and delicious fresh yogurt (with sugar). Our search for authentic Mongolian food was over - this was the real deal.

After lunch, we watched our host prepare the yak cart and hitched up the lucky animal. We clambered aboard and headed west towards the dramatically named Swan Lake. The name was given because there are sometimes swans there. Cool. We travelled across the dry terrain, sparsely covered with closely-cropped grass. There were flocks of sheep, goats, horses, and cows over the sloped steppe, doing their best to crop the grass even closer. They seemed to be doing a good job of it too, judging by the quantity of brown processed grass lying everywhere.

We spent some time at the lake playing with the large numbers of frogs and tadpoles and just resting at the waterside. Then, we jumped back onto the cart and we were off. Back at the ger, Mr. Idersogt motioned for us to jump on his motorcycle. He ferried us to the next ger in two trips, somehow managing to transport three backpacks and Andrew on his bike. We bade his farewell even as we started to get to know our new host and his family. As dictated by traditional hospitality, we were once again served tea and mongolian cookies. One of the family was a 5 year old boy who was very playful and soon warmed up to us. We joined him outside for some football. Playing outside on the Mongolian steppe in the late sunset was quite amazing. I watched the herders herd the animals into the pens for the night and did my part by waving menacingly at sheep that were thinking of bolting from the main herd. After that was done, we were served dinner. There was more Mongolian fare with rice and stir-fried mutton. Over dinner,we had some awkward social time with the family due to the lack of a common language as well as poor phrasebooks, but we managed to survive until it was time for bed.

The next morning, we were served breakfast. This included curd with cream that was served with sugar. Our host's sons then took us out and set us on two camels and a horse and we set out at a slow walk. We were headed out to a rock formation that had been made into a worship site. But first, I had to learn how to stop bouncing up and down on the camel! Ouch. It took me several experimental movements and quite some time before I managed to settle down to a less painful ride.

And then we sped up. The beat completely changed and I was submitted to more jolts before I managed to match my movements with the camel. Finally, after almost 2 hours of this, we arrived at the rock formation. We took our time and climbed around the rocks and got a good eyeful of the landscape. We rested and an hour later, we set off again. We moved quicker this time, and by the time we got back, I was sore all over. We had lunch and had some time to sit around the ger and rest before the camels were once again trotted out and we headed out to the third ger.

By the time we reached the third ger, I was completely exhausted and aching all over. We were also getting tired of the social awkwardness that we had been going through at every ger due go the presence of the language barrier. Gratefully, we were given a lot of personal time at ghe last ger compared to the previous two (where we were stared at for almost all the time). The food that was served to us was more familiar and less dairy based. So, left to our own devices, we managed to get to sleep early.

After breakfast the next morning, we all got on horses and headed out to see the nearby sand dunes. The horses were Mongolian horses and are shorter than normal. It was rather different from riding the camel and we had to relearn how to move our bodies. We got to the sand dunes after about 45 minutes of slow riding and spent an hour climbing around the dunes and watching the sands move in the wind. After that we headed back over to the Swan Lake and met a few herders there including our guide the previous day. We had some fun drinking vodka and trying our hand at the art of Mongolian wrestling. Horse riding + wrestling = ouch.

We headed back to our ger and this time we urged our horses into a gallop and we raced back. The feeling of the wind rushing past as the hooves pounded the ground flying by was amazing. We flew up the hill back to the ger with ease. That is, until I got off the horse. Ouch again. Our driver pulled up to the ger just as we rode in. We sat down to a quick lunch of delicious soup (cabbage, meat, yum yum) before we set out on another tiring 6 hour drive back to Ulaan Baator.

The Ger to Ger experience was unexpected but very enjoyable. The time that I spent there observing and participating in the lives of the nomads was interesting and enlightening. It was quite tiring and difficult at times, but I definately do not regret our foray into the life of the Mongolian nomad. However, I must say that I was glad to return to the comforts of our hostel in Ulaan Baator.

-ky