Rain riding and buuz making at Terelj National Park

Friday, August 13, 2010
(Written in my journal on Friday, August 13.)

We're at the ger camp right now in Terelj National Park. Steph, Kristy and I are sitting in our delightfully warm ger. This morning we had breakfast (eggs, rolls with sausage, bread) at 8:30 at San Hotel in Ulaan Baatar before departing at 9:30am with a stop for laundry and a supermarket. I was impressed with the selection at the market, much better than Beijing and am excited to get food for the train (I know that sounds silly, but its great knowing you have a options when you are on a train for a couple days). From there we began the drive to Terelj passing by small gers and villages. A herder on the side of the road with his animals was moving to his autumn location, according to Nemo. Close to Terelj, a site for Shaman offerings hugged the road. You must walk around clockwise three times and put an offering on the pile for your wish to come true. I asked for sun and warmth since the weather today is cloudy with rain showers. It really started raining as we drove into the ger camp and we were all throwing on our ponchos before exiting the van.

The camp has about 20 gers and is much more luxurious than I expected. Our ger has three beds, a small table and a rod-iron stove which is keeping it nice and warm inside. The toilet rooms, which are about 25 meters away, have Western style toilets with toilet paper! (After you've travelled for a while, toilet paper becomes a luxury item.) At 1pm we met in the dining room for lunch; also wasn't expecting much but we had a four course meal.
(Written on Monday, August 16 on the train. I've taken the part which reflects the activities for the rest of August 13.)

I think that now is the perfect time to catch up on my journal. I've done the 15th and I'm sure I started writing the 14th on my netbook, so I think I'll finish the 13th, day at the ger camp.

Lunch consisted of a starter plate with salami, cucumbers and tomatoes, followed by a hearty potato and beef soup (which I thought was the main course). The main course was beef with mashed potatoes and rice after which they served a jelly roll. It was all delicious but uncomfortably filling. The rain had stopped, so after an hour of relaxation, we went horseback riding. The horses didn't move very fast and mine kept getting hit on the ass with a stick by one of our guides. The scenery was spectacular - rolling green hills, pine trees, enormous rocks - with a partially cloudy sky. We rode through the cool breeze (and slight drizzle) for about an hour to Turtle Rock. There was a gift shop ger to stroll into. After a couple minutes in the art ger, the sky opened up and it started pouring, so we all ended up huddled in the art shop purchasing various gifts. I decided not to buy anything but appreciated not getting soaked. We must have been there for 30 minutes before venturing out in the diminishing rain.
My saddle was soaked, so I asked the guide to dry it off for me. My bum (yes, this is the word I used in my journal; the Australians must be rubbing off on me) got a bit wet as I mounted the horse. Oh well. The rest of the ride was gorgeous, similar to the first half in terms of scenery, but it rained a bit and the horses continued their slow walking pace with occasional trotting. When we dismounted, Nemo and Denise were waiting for us. Nemo took us on a walk of the surrounding area. He pointed out a Buddhist meditation retreat, Aryapala, high high up in the rocks on the mountain. It looked impossible to get to. Apparently, monks go there to meditate for up to two weeks, taking no food with them. Four painted heads of gods donned the rocks below the retreat to ward off evil spirits. We then hiked to the top of the hill for amazing views over the Lord of the Rings like landscape.
As soon as we got back to the ger it was time for our buuz making lesson. The dough, simply flour and water, was kneaded by five volunteers until it was firm but soft. I got to help cut the dough into pieces. I started with an oval shaped dough ball and had to flatten it while creating a hole in the middle by turning it in circles and making a large hallow circle, like a ring. Broke that into two small snake like pieces before cutting the dough into inch size pieces and flattening them like coins. The next stage involved using a rolling pin to make flat round circles with a bit more dough at the center. Then the filling (meat or potatoes and onions) is placed at the center of the dough, you pinch the top together then the two sides. Done!
When we finished with buuz making, they served the first course for dinner, some type of potato-egg salad, followed by our delicious buuz. We sat around the table after dinner, drinking and talking. Nemo told us about Mongolia and some traditions. Turns out he was a doctor for five years but the salary was only 15,000 T per month (that's less than $15). As a driver he started making 75,000 T a month. Makes you wonder how they have any doctors in Mongolia. Some bad jokes and a few drinks later everyone left the table to return to their gers. It was 10:30pm and Steph, Kristy and I were all tired. Bed for us. Bruce, Liz and Susie had the party ger - Fi, Denise and Rod joined in the fun as well as six Mongolians who were also visiting the ger camp.

Saturday morning we didn't need to be at breakfast until 9am. Kristy had gotten food poisoning and had a miserable night in the bathroom. Fi had a bit too much fun in the party ger and had a horrible hangover. Already wrote about the 14th on my netbook, so now the only thing I have left to write about is the first train journey and the half day in UB. I made some comments on the train so let me refer to my notes.
(As I mentioned earlier, I had to journal about the previous days and so there is a bit of writing where I explain what I'm going to write about. I thought it would be funny to include it since that's how its written down but for the purpose of the blog, I wanted to keep things in chronological order.)