At Lake Khovsgol Nuur we
enjoyed a welcome break from driving, some camp fire cooking and the odd yarn
or two as well as ………
…..some unusual neighbors. This one, half cow, half yak
During the ‘Bronze Age’, burial
monuments made of large standing stones with rock art depicting deer and other
animal carvings were used. They are known today as ‘Deer Stones’ and number
around 700 in the world of which 600 are to be found in Mongolia. An onsite
Russian archaeologist confirmed that this specimen is still standing unaided
after 3000 years…. No I wasn’t going to push it over either
Heading west was the same story;
follow the GPS reading and well……. which track? As one becomes corrugated and
eroded just move to the side
But the corrugations caught
up with us again and fatigue resulted in number three broken spring – to my
dismay it just let go on a smooth piece of track. This time the top front
hanger spring which would have been a mission stopper if I hadn’t brought a
spare [photo compliments of Cheryl]
We replaced
the broken spring on the spot….. well it was the third time. Further down the
track we found a welder in a small village where I struck up an arc for the
first time in a few years
Northern Mongolia is home for
marmots. They grow to a standing height of 50-60cm and can weigh up to 9kg.
This fellow was warning his warren of an eagle and a vulture who were both
standing over the warren waiting for an unsuspecting resident to exit
We replenish our water supply by whatever means, pumping from fresh streams or from town water supplies. In most cases Mongolian towns don’t have water connected to the houses and supply is provided from a central bore. In this case the bore pump pressure was greater than our intake could handle but I was well aided by enthusiastic local helpers
The journey westward continued
through changing landscapes including heavy forest to…..
….to wide open flood plains
with rugged mountains……
….. to drier areas….. but
always, one is not far from Mongolian horses
Unfortunately the country is
littered with empty vodka bottles most of which are broken and lie at mountain
passes, river crossings or just along the way
We stopped to photograph
snow capped mountains and a large mob of goats when the herdsman rode over to
share a friendly chat……
……with not a word in common we
discussed many issues including that cigarettes are bad for your health
When this herdsman was passing
our camp with his horses, I admired his lasso which resulted in him giving us a
demonstration of his skills. He never missed either!!
Have you milked a cow? Bet you
haven’t milked a mare? Mare’s milk is a staple part of a nomad’s diet from
which they also make ayrag, a fermented low alcohol drink
At
another camp our digital camera provides much entertainment
On towards NW Mongolia and
surprisingly a large area of sand hills with starkly beautiful rugged mountains
as a back drop
I read somewhere that this area
is the most northern latitude where sand hills are found. Something to be
verified by later research
Finally up and over a pass at
2,500m and………
…….on to a little North Western
border post between Mongolia and Russia
After
7,663klm in SE Asia, 7,443klm in China and 5,015klm in Mongolia (including a
northern side trip to Lake Baikal in Russia) we cross the border again into
Russia on the 9th August, five months to the day after leaving
Singapore but this time to head west for Europe
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