leaving on a jet plane....

Have you ever wondered if you could survive in temperatures of -17degrees? Well you can – provided you are wearing all your clothes, including scarf and hat, and are buried in two sleeping bags and a throw. All because Mr L fell asleep and let the fire go out!. The only part of my body exposed – my nose – was so cold I thought it would drop off. Thankfully at 6am the man came and restarted the stove and heat and body temperatures were restored. 

Sleep had been fitful not least because one of pesky dogs kept barking and spoiling the otherwise soundless environment we were in. We discovered later that there were wolves in the area and an ox had been killed. Good doggie!

After breakfast of eggs, some indiscernible meat and Mongolian  tea –warm milk with sugar and salt - the horses were saddled up for us. Now it may surprise you to know I'm not a natural horse rider, or particularly horsey, so you may wonder what an earth we were up to. But this setting was so beautiful it was the most natural & traditional  way to explore our surroundings. My athleticism was quickly challenged when I was required to put my foot into the stirrup which was set at a height my leg had not achieved  in sometime. However with some helpful hands, I was unceremoniously dumped into the saddle. Mr L got up without too much trouble although that was an achievement considering he was at this point wearing 7 layers of clothing!

We set off through the valley in the glorious sunshine (still well below freezing) occasionally passing other nomad homesteads with cattle, goats and horses roaming freely and the dogs running alongside us. Ama singing the occasional song as we rode. After about 1hr we stopped for a walk up a ‘little’ hill. I declined. The air was so cold that I was sounding like a 60 per day smoker every time I started to walk up any incline. Mr L managed it with ease and saw the remains of the ox killed by the wolves, as well as the circling vultures, Eagles and other birds. The dogs too got stuck into the ‘treat’. 

When they came back down we saddled up and continued our trek before heading back to the homestead where Ama prepared a hearty lunch of noodles, meat and vegetables- very tasty (once I separated the fat out) then we were invited into the family home to watch them make the vodka and of course sample the goods! Even more delicious hot! A couple of cupfuls  and our body temperatures were bubbling nicely. We also sampled some dried milk which tasted similar to parmesan cheese with less flavour. Nice though.  Then it was time to load up and head out.

Out  of the valley the more exposed areas had plenty of snow and ice which made the cross country part of the journey more of a challenge but Dando took it in his stride – even taking a phone call as he crossed the wide river. Mr L has a video I am sure he will share with you.

On the journey back to UB we stared out the window enjoying the scenery, when Ama asked if I would sing. To put in context the Mongolian’s like to sing. I scanned my repertoire. What should/could I sing; no place I'd rather be’?‘ reach for the stars’? I settled for ‘leaving on a jet plane’ . It was a surreal experience, singing in a car to strangers but Mr L smiled encouragingly and I got a round of applause at the end. 


So tomorrow we say goodbye to Mongolia and hopefully to the cold as we head to Hong Kong.