Gorkhi Terelj National Park and area ....

Gunbaat Orgodol, front desk clerk at the Kempinski in Ulaanbaatar, offered to drive me to a most serene and beautiful place in the hillsides around the Hentii Mountains, along the Tuul River. I had earlier asked Gunbaat to arrange a driver and car, (there are no car rental agencies currently operating in UB, although some local outfits will happily rent you a car of some sort .... but it is still not a good idea! ..... A couple of Dutch tourists told me of a friend of theirs involved in a car accident a few years ago in UB, jailed until an argument was resolved determining who bore responsibility. I think he paid some kind of fee to get out of jail!! .... I read something along those lines in the 'Lonely Planet' as well ) ..... So, scratched off "rent car in UB and travel the countryside" off my to-do list"!! :) ....... Everyone in Mongolia is looking to make extra $$ on the side (the average wage is somewhere around $250 per month) ...... and in that vein, Gunbaat, who had been more than helpful with all kinds of information during my early days in UB (as Ulaanbaatar is called here by the locals and tourists alike) offered to drive me on his day off. He said he would not charge quite as much as their hotel driver :)

Must say though, the country generally is a safe one, and although, as I mentioned, I had at one point, naively contemplated driving on my own, it can still be a bit scary for a woman to go out into remote areas alone ........ so I was quite relieved, when he offered, as I had come to trust Gunbaat and enjoyed my conversations with him ...... he speaks English somewhat and understands way more ..... yeah!!! I crave a full conversation in English!!! ...... (oh heck, who am I kidding ....... at this point I will take any fraction of a conversation!!!) He showed up exactly at noon as prearranged, his car immaculate! It was quite obvious, from the fresh scent in the car, that he had just cleaned it prior to picking me up ...... Oh no, had my clean-freak compulsions and reputation followed me to remote Mongolia!!?? Had I undiplomatically at some point in my interactions with Gunbaat, mentioned that Mongolia is not as clean as I would have hoped, or some such thing???!! Please dear God, I hope I didn't!! ..... was poor Gunbaat trying to impress me, ensuring that I book him for the return journey back???? :) Well, it worked and I did!!!

After clearing out of UB and it's myriad traffic jams, the countryside was just mesmerizing in it's vast openness and clear blue skies ..... after the hustle bustle & pollution of Ulaanbaatar, this was such a blissful and welcome change of pace ...... such beauty, serenity, and hurray, someone to converse with in my own language!! I felt truly blessed and grateful .... it is invariably the little things that matter the most and warm the soul. We happily chatted as we drove along, Gunbaat sharing some of his life story. He left the little village of his childhood, like most young people in Mongolia, for opportunity. The nomadic herding lifestyle is something that may eventually disappear from the Mongolian landscape, hard as that is to fathom ...... more and more young people opt for the commercial life available in cities. Gunbaat started working at Kempinski Hotel some years ago as a doorman, and as his English skills improved, worked his way up to front desk clerk and floor manager. He hopes to eventually manage a hotel in UB and is taking English courses to ensure that it happens. Of course, he, like so many in the developing world, has a dream to eventually work and live in "America"!! ..... said with stars in his eyes ..... America, that golden land of opportunity! He is, I believe the oldest of four children ..... his father passed away last year ..... gentle soul that he is, Gunbaat became teary just in the telling ..... two younger brothers live with him while going to university and a sister, I think (translation problem here for me somewhat :) and her baby are in UB as well. His mother still lives in the small village of his youth in the Gobi Desert region and where she works as a seamstress. He visits once a year. I chanced to ask how old his parents were and he said, quote, "old" ..... his mother just turned 50 and his dad, he said was "quite old" when he died of throat cancer .... 56!! There is none of that North American nonsense of ..... "fifty is the new forty, sixty the new fifty etc. etc." business going on in Mongolia!!! They call the ages as they see 'em!! Bare in mind however, life expectancy is not quite what it is in Canada ........ I learned that for both sexes it is around 64 in Mongolia ..... The harsh conditions, a diet far too high in meat and dairy consumption, all contribute substantially to that figure .... that and the fact that way too many in the country smoke!! ..... I believe this is still a problem in Asia in general. North Americans and Europeans have more or less, long since quit these nasty habits, but the Asians continue puffing along, polluting their lungs.

There is a very short growing season making even root vegetables highly valued and of course, fruit is very expensive, having to be brought into the country from other parts of Asia or India. When you know this fact, you tend to really appreciate and savor every bite of kiwi, apple, orange, banana and the cherished wild cranberry/cherry type berries, only seen in the summer months. I have been offered these delicious little treats by many locals in the last few weeks. Mongolians seems rather proud of this one little tasty fruit that grows wild in their country.

But, meat and dairy are the Mongolian dietary staples! ..... that meat would encompass every kind of animal, and every part of that animal, from organs to ears, to feet ..... none of the animal is wasted!!! It is chopped and thrown into a large soup pot or grilled .... camel, horse, yak, goat, wild boar, sheep, cow and apparently, starting in late August, they roast marmots, fur and all, on open fires in the nomadic ger villages. I had originally booked a long 14 day excursion that would have taken me to a variety of different areas within the country, including touching on the Gobi but the tour was canceled unfortunately, but I may add here, maybe fortunately so!! It would have meant ten-hour days traveling on roads that are basically ruts in many areas, in a four wheeled Russian or hopefully a Japanese vehicle of some sort, ( long days sitting in vehicles, regardless of how remote and beautiful the scenery ..... hmmmmm, try to limit that kind of experience as best I can!!) sleeping in gers, eating local fare. Sounded like an adventure at the time of booking :) ...... would have been good for my weight loss :) ...... I was already practicing my Mongolian ....... "No thank you, I am vegetarian"!! ...... the gers are heated with coal/dung and wood, creating a somewhat smokey atmosphere inside ..... I have poked my head into several gers in the past few days as I hiked to the ger camps in the Terelj National Park on my morning walks. Smoke and diet aside, I have still decided to participate in that most quintessential of Mongolian experiences and sleep in a ger!!! ...... checking out the villages for availability today ..... It is still summer holidays for the children in Mongolia and many families come out to enjoy the "old ways" on their holidays, much as the handful of tourists like to do .... so pre-booking is essential!