Back from Terejl, bound for Beijing

After a shower and shave I walked down Peace Avenue bound for Sukhbataar Square. I had planned to spend the next day in a nearby national park in a traditional ger and stopped by a cafe recommended by Ed to set the plan in motion. I sat down and ordered buuz, a meat dumpling billed as the national fast food of Mongolia. They were out. I ordered a French breakfast. I ordered an English breakfast. My waitress nodded.

I looked around the cafe for tourist literature. A woman emerged from the kitchen and I asked her about booking trips to the park. She said the woman in charge of that wasn't in that day. She'd be back tomorrow. I thanked her. I ate my eggs and toast and thought about what to do.

I walked to the square. Along the way I bought postcards and stamps. Knowing I had but three days in the country, I needed to get cracking. In the square, I took pictures of the government building. I decided to walk back across town to visit the Gandantegchinlen Khlid, the largest Buddhist monestary in Mongolia.

Monks strolled the grounds. Visitors fed the pigeons. Children aggressively tried to sell bird food. I walked up to the main temple and entered, circumambulating the temple to turn the many prayer wheels that lined the main chamber.

Coming out of the temple, I ran into M&£151; and J&£151;. We had met in Irkutsk. I was arriving just as they were leaving, and again, I was seeing them as they were about to embark for Beijing. We caught each other up on our travels, and they mentioned they were staying at the same guesthouse as me. They had booked a trip to Terejl through the guesthouse and had nothing but good things to say about it. They also mentioned and Englishwoman on the same schedule as I, and said she was looking for people to round out her party. I thanked them, bid them bon voyage, and returned to the guesthouse.

There, I told the proprietor about my desire to see Terejl. He said to meet at 9:45 in the morning at the office and things would be arranged. I thanked him and went to visit the National Museum of Mongolia.

In the morning, a group of five had gathered in the office. At 10, we boarded a dilapidated van and began the 80km journey into the northwest. We stopped along the way to put oil in the engine.

The ger (a large round tent) was set up in a valley right by Turtle Rock, a large formation that appeared as though a turtle were peeping out of its shell. A number of tourist camps dotted the plain. Just to the north, a number of stables and corrals had been set up, but the animals were out to pasture. We ate lunch and were took on a horseback ride around the area.

Afterwards, we relaxed in the ger. A fire was lit in the stove, and the ger quickly warmed. As night fell, the cows returned from pasture. I hiked a bit up the surrounding mountains for the view. A dog from a neighboring ger joined me, pausing and then running up ahead whenever he saw me continue my journey.

A light rain began to fall and I returned to the ger. We had dinner and sat enjoying the fire. Outside, a horse whinnied. Dogs tussled. Night fell. We all turned in early. One over-eager member of our group piled wood on the fire and soon the ger was stifling. I couldn't sleep. I unraveled myself from my sheets and sleeping bag and waited for the fire to die out.

In the morning the ger was cold. Outside, the sky was clear, the day crisp. The sun cast long shadows across the fields and lit the yellow pines on fire. We breakfasted on bread and jam and then I took a hike across the valley to a nearby meditation center. The dog joined me, running up alongside me or across my path, sniffing out this and that.

At the center, the dog ran off behind a building. I climbed the steps and surveyed the impressive surroundings. I walked back down and followed another road continuing around the valley. The dog was nowhere to be seen. I walked back around to Turtle Rock, and then back through our camp. I climbed to a small pass behind our camp to see the next valley and then returned to camp for lunch.

A car picked us up at 2. In Ulaan Batur, we hit traffic and inched our way back to the guesthouse. I took a shower and shaved and then walked back along Peace Avenue towards the square. I had hoped to tour the Natural History Museum but it had just closed. I stood on the steps trying to decided what to do. A Mongolian couple entered the museum and I paused to see if they'd be treated differently. The walked out seconds later.

I walked behind the government building and then back down the square along the other side. A wedding party was posing for pictures in front of the statue of Ghengis Khan. Kids ran around the square in their wedding outfits chasing balloons. The sun cast long shadows across the square. The sky, a clear blue, seemed to go on endlessly.
Posted by eku at October 2, 2008 8:37 PM