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25 May 2010 | Deluun Sum, Mongolia (47.9828, 90.6611)
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The reason we came to this remote corner of Mongolia was to visit the eagle-hunter. But before playing with the giant bird we had to take care of some household chores and drink vast quantities of salty milk tea.
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Arriving at the nomadic eagle-hunter’s home, we noticed the satellite dish and solar panel. It powered his portable TV and mobile phone so I guess that is keeping with his namesake.
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As honored guests, the mother fetched us some fresh milk. She just mixes the goat, sheep and yak milk together for extra flavor.
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We also needed some water so we drove down to the local creek and scooped some up, careful to keep the floating bits of sheep dung out of it.
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Finally, we were ready to make some salty milk tea. We each drank about eight glasses of the stuff that day.
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Our guide had to make a phone call so we walked up to the top of the hill to get one bar of reception.
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You might have noticed there are no trees around to use for firewood. This is why there are piles of dried dung (behind the goats), which gives everything a nice smoky flavor.
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As the Mongolians say, I am taking pleasure in the great outdoors toilet. Cannot imagine doing this when it is -40°F out,
you might lose a vital appendage.
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Spending a day helping out with chores has again reaffirmed our respect for these people who live through the harsh winters here (if you wanted to see for yourself, check out Kelin, a great movie depicting Kazakh culture that has not changed for centuries). Now that we have partaken in the ritual tea drinking, we are ready to meet the last feathered family member.
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Hi Rob,
You sure know how to keep the suspense going. It's an art form for you now isn't it ? Looking forward to meeting the eagle hunter in your next series then.
Did I miss your story/pics from China, or haven't you posted them yet ? Maybe it's a massive undertaking and I need to be more patient. Or, have I been asleep ?
Glad to see you made it out of China alive (and well ?). Good thing you didn't get a State Department job yet, or else you might have been considered a spy.
Q: When you travel to these remote reaches, do you take gifts with you ? If yes, for example, what would they be ?
Eight glasses of goat/sheep/yak milk ? No wonder you had a visit with the great outdoors facility. Watch your cholesterol level (go up) ! !
Great pic of that remote stream. Aren't there water wells in that region ? If there is water on the surface, it seems likely it's underground as well. Do they boil their drinking water ?
Thanks for the tour !
Best,
Hello Sam,I have not posted about China yet, soon. It’s after Mongolia, which I should go through pretty quickly this next month.We typically do not like to give gifts out to people on the street, especially kids. If we know that we will be staying with someone, a friend say, we will bring something from home. For example, when we stayed with our friend in Shanghai, we brought him hot sauce from the states. He loved it. We also gave his parents some flowers, just a token of appreciation and nothing expensive. For guides, we don’t even tip. We mostly print up pictures, buy them drinks or take them out to dinner. We have learned that few cultures actually expect something more than just thanks and appreciation. Heart disease in Mongolia was out of control. Not to mention the rate of giardia from contaminated water. It is bad there, even with boiling the water.Rob
Rob – With virtually constant "sheep dung" floating in their natural raw water, how on earth do they keep from being constantly sick? Surely the dried dung paties don't heat the water & tea to a high enough temp to kill the resulting pathogens! So do they simply have a great deal of natural resistance? How about the infants, who lack ANY natural resistance or immunity until about age 5?? In that environment, it's just really hard to fathom why they aren't all – at least – constantly suffering from "Montezuma's Revenge"! Keep well.
Hi James,Giardia is a rampant there. Rasa and I both had it. One PCV we spoke with had it 11 times during her service. Luckily, the medicine only costs about 30 cents. But still, it’s a miserable experience. Not sure about the death rate there but I bet your right and it is high.
Hey Robert Hope your travels are good.looks like a blast!..I am an organic farmer and have been growing only heirloom varieties…I am always looking for lost heirloom varieties..Do you come across any farmers markets?…I would love to procure some seeds to add to my collection..just let me know what the costs would be…take care,,,
Olivares Family Farms….
Hey Fred,We live off the farmer’s markets when living in a place. And many do have unadulterated local strains. I am actually an avid collector of chili seeds but the biggest problem is bringing them back into the States. To get seeds through customs you need all sorts of import papers and permits. I would be happy to bring stuff back for you but I think the cost involved would be far greater than just buying them from a local supplier. On the other hand, my next contract might take me to either to Afghanistan or Tunisia. Afghanistan would have some great fruits and poppies. Tunisia is known mostly for its grains, nuts and dates. I can let you know what I find in the markets and if you are interested we can explore export options back to the States.The 20-year reunion is coming up soon!Rob
Hey Bob I think thats cool you got to spend time with an eagle hunter. I have a friend in PA that hunts with a golden eagle also. I dont know if Jeff told you but I am getting into falconry also and hope to have a red tail hawk next year. I hope the rest of your trip is great.
Hey Mike,It is good to hear from you. Mongolian were very much into birding. It is where all the falcons are caught and exported to the Middle East. Quite sad really because they are critically endangered there. As for the eagle, it is very similar to a Golden Eagle but I think a bit bigger. Also, I met someone there who just got a Fulbright scholarship to study eagle hunting in Mongolia. Pretty sweet.Good luck with your hawk, they are all impressive birds.Rob
You finally got us back online! My hero.
Well almost everything is online. Your picture gallery is still buggy!
Yea, I know. I am working on that and a 1,001 other little annoyances. Time is not enough…