Last post from Mongolia
The train leaves in 4 hours, Jen and I are in the CBD tying up some last business. I have a 3 kilo package to mail home that's going to cost me $45, not too happy about that, it it has to go.
Naadam was interesting. They oversold tickets to the opening ceremony so Jen and I were forced to wait outside for 30 minutes as mobs of angry locals banged on the gates and scuffled with the cops. Just as things looked as they would get out of hand, we snuck in with a tour group of cranky westerners who had paid a lot more than us to come to Mongolia and see the show.
In the end, I felt sorry for them. The ceremony was pleasant, but not terribly exciting or moving. The other events also fell short of grand spectacle. Naadam is essentially a state fair without the rides, cotton candy and hype. It's not designed to be the Olympics or Commonwealth games-- basically, the locals show up to their event, compete without much fanfare and then leave. After the opening ceremony, most of the fans left as the wrestling matches began. It all happened so quietly that we didn't know if they were just warming up or if the competition had started. For us, it was an interesting bookend to our time here, but I was feeling very sorry for the westerners who paid big money to tour operators to come to Mongolia with Naadam as the central focus.
Better was yesterday's horse racing event, held outside the city in a nearby valley. Even though we arrived at te wrong time, between races, there were lots of locals hanging out, picnicing on the hillside and enjoying the country. We walked around, checking out the horseriders and kiteflyers. In the end, we wound up at a ger restaurant serving really tasty, greasy khoshoor (fried meat pancakes stuffed with mutton), chatting to a local guy who had started his own real estate development company. A very pleasant morning.
The train today heads to the border, we arrive tomorrow morning. Then, we cross via taxi into China and spend the whole day hanging around waiting for the plush sleeper bus to take us overnight to Beijing to meet some of Jen's friends who have done us the favor of booking a hostel room already. More updates from there.
Mongolia has be most excellent. I didn't expect to spend a month here, and now I fear that I'll have to cut short some adventures in Russia and Europe, but there's no regrets. Indeed, this is a place that I'd like to come back to, to travel for long distances in the countryside by horse, bike or self-driven 4wd.
Naadam was interesting. They oversold tickets to the opening ceremony so Jen and I were forced to wait outside for 30 minutes as mobs of angry locals banged on the gates and scuffled with the cops. Just as things looked as they would get out of hand, we snuck in with a tour group of cranky westerners who had paid a lot more than us to come to Mongolia and see the show.
In the end, I felt sorry for them. The ceremony was pleasant, but not terribly exciting or moving. The other events also fell short of grand spectacle. Naadam is essentially a state fair without the rides, cotton candy and hype. It's not designed to be the Olympics or Commonwealth games-- basically, the locals show up to their event, compete without much fanfare and then leave. After the opening ceremony, most of the fans left as the wrestling matches began. It all happened so quietly that we didn't know if they were just warming up or if the competition had started. For us, it was an interesting bookend to our time here, but I was feeling very sorry for the westerners who paid big money to tour operators to come to Mongolia with Naadam as the central focus.
Better was yesterday's horse racing event, held outside the city in a nearby valley. Even though we arrived at te wrong time, between races, there were lots of locals hanging out, picnicing on the hillside and enjoying the country. We walked around, checking out the horseriders and kiteflyers. In the end, we wound up at a ger restaurant serving really tasty, greasy khoshoor (fried meat pancakes stuffed with mutton), chatting to a local guy who had started his own real estate development company. A very pleasant morning.
The train today heads to the border, we arrive tomorrow morning. Then, we cross via taxi into China and spend the whole day hanging around waiting for the plush sleeper bus to take us overnight to Beijing to meet some of Jen's friends who have done us the favor of booking a hostel room already. More updates from there.
Mongolia has be most excellent. I didn't expect to spend a month here, and now I fear that I'll have to cut short some adventures in Russia and Europe, but there's no regrets. Indeed, this is a place that I'd like to come back to, to travel for long distances in the countryside by horse, bike or self-driven 4wd.
posted by Scottley at 8:30 PM
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