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As the rain got thinner and I struggled to find some sleep, I would look up to the sky and be met with the most extraordinary spectacle: the sight of a million clear stars. Never have I seen such a sky: it was perfectly clear and every star could be seen with incredible precision. There was no light pollution to disturb the idea nor any other pollution to disturb the way. Nothing, the purest sky with the most amazing, unpolluted view of the stars. I decided to count them, in order to try to get to sleep (a lack of sheep, and fences for that matter, prevented me from using more traditional methods). After I got to star number 58, I lost track and decided that instead of chasing a sleep that was too elusive, I would just stare in amazement at the moving spectacle above me.

A big load of nothing

Degrubenc
2005-12-09 13:49:40

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hat, ate my bread, drunk my water, rummaged through my bags but did it with a smile. I offered each a pack of mints, courtesy of Rolls Royce but they did not seem to grasp the importance of Rolls Royce, nor did they understand that it was mint inside. In this ger, we also met a nice young man from Ulan-Bataar: he is a local teacher and could speak some English (I immediately named him Learny). Learny is on a 3 months assignment to the region. It seems that kids come every week for 2 days to this

ger to learn how to read and write and then they return to their gers and nomad lifestyles. Learny was great fun to speak to and he proved to be a useful source of information concerning the local customs and best places to eat and find leisure activities. He told us of a ger nearby the lake (3 hours ride), whose owner was also the proud owner of a boat. He suggested we go and have a chat with him.

After a brief rest and a cup of salty milk, we kept on moving. This was hours of riding through the vast plains following the shores of the lake, with the occasional chance meeting of wild horses or cattle and even sometimes of a ger populated with humans. In the early afternoon, after a few more exhilarating gallops, we reached the ger of the man with the boat. He seemed happy to see us and offered, in addition to the tea, to slaughter a goat for us. We declined his kind offer and merely asked about the boat. This was the occasion for Bene and myself to perform one of the greatest mimes in the history of “Mongolian - Foreign devils”

relations. It was full of actions such as rowing in the distance to be followed by an energetic swim and a good wash (something they never heard off). Our mime was so good that they quickly forgot the purpose of it and treated us as a roaming group of clowns, demanding more and calling all the distant neighbors to attend the circus. We got rewarded with salty milk. Soon enough we had quite an audience, some came by motorbikes, other by horse. They applauded us and kept asking for more. Eventually, the airag supply was broken into and there was laughter all round. We eventually got the boat, a small inflatable affair with two hand-made oars. Bene and I rowed to the middle of the lake and jumped in for a swim. It turned out that the lake is no deeper than waist deep. We splashed about for a bit and returned to our guides. They told us thereafter that they were most impressed with our performance: they have never seen anyone swim in the lake, and even more, wash in the lake. After another cup of tea, we made back for the horses and rode off for the horizon.

As evening came, we made a fire, put up the tent and prepared some food. Once all was ready, Stinky made it known that he thought it would rain again. In the light of this news, we assembled a quick parliament (Stinky and the horses excluded) and decided unanimously to pack up and ride to the nearest Ger and beg for accommodation, as we dreaded the thought of spending another night quite so close to Stinky’s feet. All was packed in the briefest of times - even Stinky was impressed - and made for the nearest Ger, about 3 hours away. We found shelter with what seemed to be another one of Stinky’s wife and three kids. Another quick dinner, much active discussion, a new bottle of Vodka and off we went to a resounding sleep. What a marvelous day indeed.