I woke up on the train from Beijing at 11:30am. Suffering from a brutal rice wine/vodka hangover and opened the shade to find everything completely covered in snow! Luckily it was only a fluke occurrence, and it melted shortly afterwards. The train arrived in the capital Ulan-Bator (everyone who speaks English calls it UB), which is kind of a shithole. Of course I had know idea what I was going to do in Mongolia. That quickly changed when I stopped for a slice of cake and met Tilek, who was working at a bakery. We decided that I would go and stay with his family on the other side of the country.
Because I had a few days before my flight, I decided to do some kind of tour in between. The first day I went horse riding with another guy from the hostel. It was really fun, except the guide's sattle broke and he really hurt himself. Thankfully we had two bottles of vodka to drink that night, which also helped me sleep on the crowded floor of his Ger (round fabric tent). The next day was more horse riding, and I moved in with another family, who lived in the middle of nowhere (the scenery pic was taken from the top of a hill nearby). That night I helped them vaccinate sheep by tackling them and carrying over my shoulder to the 'veterinarian' (see video). Back at the Ger I learned some Mongolian kids games, all of which involved using a box full sheeps' ankle bones in some way. The next day I helped them build a new latrine and tried to help them in getting a satellite signal. Because the whole thing was running off a car battery, I convinced them (through charades of course) that we should take the whole operation up to the top of the hill. Assuming that I knew what I was talking about, they carried everything up, only to lose the signal completely. I was called over from trying to fix the satellite dish to watch the eldest son make a small cut in a sheeps belly, then reach inside and disconnect its heart from its lungs. After watching it suffocate to death and get skinned, I was called into the Ger for lunch. On the table, a big pot of sheep stew... that was the only meal I didn't take seconds. That evening I headed back to UB and prepared for my flight.
Because I had a few days before my flight, I decided to do some kind of tour in between. The first day I went horse riding with another guy from the hostel. It was really fun, except the guide's sattle broke and he really hurt himself. Thankfully we had two bottles of vodka to drink that night, which also helped me sleep on the crowded floor of his Ger (round fabric tent). The next day was more horse riding, and I moved in with another family, who lived in the middle of nowhere (the scenery pic was taken from the top of a hill nearby). That night I helped them vaccinate sheep by tackling them and carrying over my shoulder to the 'veterinarian' (see video). Back at the Ger I learned some Mongolian kids games, all of which involved using a box full sheeps' ankle bones in some way. The next day I helped them build a new latrine and tried to help them in getting a satellite signal. Because the whole thing was running off a car battery, I convinced them (through charades of course) that we should take the whole operation up to the top of the hill. Assuming that I knew what I was talking about, they carried everything up, only to lose the signal completely. I was called over from trying to fix the satellite dish to watch the eldest son make a small cut in a sheeps belly, then reach inside and disconnect its heart from its lungs. After watching it suffocate to death and get skinned, I was called into the Ger for lunch. On the table, a big pot of sheep stew... that was the only meal I didn't take seconds. That evening I headed back to UB and prepared for my flight.
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