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A glimpse of nomadic life: Packing

Posted on June 30th, 2010 in Asia,Mongolia by robjkentjr

25 May 2010: Altai Tavan Bogd National Park, Mongolia (48.6670, 88.7242)
After driving on what seemed to be one of the worst, never-ending roads ever (averaging about 50km every 90 minutes), we finally arrived at our camp.  This turned out to be a serendipitous day because this family was in the process of packing up their home and the next morning would be moving from their winter camp to summer camp and we were invited to join them!
As we arrived in camp, this herder rode up on his majestic looking horse with its mane blowing in the wind.
As the full moon rose, I climbed the mountain to look down on this family’s winter camp home, nicely sheltered by the mountains.
After suffering enough in the , I retreated to the warm interior for dinner and some more salty milk tea.
The next morning, the family was awake at 4am to start packing their ger and belongs for the move to summer camp.
Even the family cat needed to be packed up, but it did not seem too happy about its treatment.
Getting to summer camp involved crossing a major river.  It reminded me of playing Oregon Train in school; kind of scary if you think that your entire could be washed away in an instant.
Then they rode off into the sunset towards the lush valleys of grass recently uncover by the melting snow, satellite dish and all.
We followed along as they encountered each obstacle and got a real feel for what is involved to be a nomad (funny enough, comparing our lives to theirs, Rasa and I feel like modern day nomads).  The next task was to set up the new home, which Rasa and I happily helped with.
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Altai Tavan Bogd National Park

Posted on June 25th, 2010 in Asia,Mongolia by robjkentjr

The National Park was our first stop on the tour prepared by Blue Wolf Travel.  We ultimately spent two months in country but touring Western Mongolia with Canat was the highlight for us and I do not think anyone could have done a better job of showing us the true culture and character of this region; a once in a lifetime journey.
As I approached the herd, all the camels watched me with indifference.  I was definitely more excited about seeing them than they were me.
The snowcapped Altai Mountains reflected in Hoton Nuur (Lake).  Just on the other side of those peaks is China.
An ancient Trukic stone face statue.  It is also a marker for a grave.  Its poor head fell off and it took three of us to lift it and put it back in place.
These kind gentelman were nice enough to catch us lunch.  They were pulling arm-length fish out of the lake by the half-dozen.
During lunch, this absolutely amazing and wizened character just appeared on horseback, asked us for our fish guts, put them in a plastic bottle, tasting them first, and then rode off into the distance.  Surreal.
The wildlife was also interested in our leftovers.  This Kite dove for a piece of fish lying in the water.  For this one shot, there are 1,000 great attempts of just grass and water.
An ancient petroglyph of a horse and hunter that might very well have been a portrait of the man we just encountered.
Since trees are a finite resource, dung is the fuel of preference for cooking.  The only problem is that everything cooked with it is left with a very peculiar aftertaste.  Let’s put it this way, Rasa could’t finish her tea.
Entering the park was just the beginning of our amazing encounters.  The real highlights for us are coming next week, especially helping the nomads move from their winter home to summer camp.

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