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Back from the ancient capital....
Jun. 29th, 2003 11:12 pmHello all my lovelies. I have returned from the ancient capital city of Kharkhorin. We had to get up very early, which sucked, especially since I slept about three hours the night before, just from sheer restlessness.
On the way to Kharkhorin, we got a flat tire, so we had to stop and hang out around the car. Since we were around some cows, I had to go over and investigate them. Two of the cows started bawling at me, and Jen was convinced that I was going to get trampled. Instead, the cows were just bawling for their calves, because they wanted to nurse them. After this, I walked around in the desert. I quite enjoy looking at (i just wrote "boys", but what I meant to write was "bones." There are so many cool bone bits around. I find decomposition quite fascinating and was poking at the bones, and dead animals with my boot. I also tried to herd the cows and was quite successful. Maybe I should just give up writing and become a Mongolian herdswoman.
The drive there was okay, but long. We were sadly disappointed by the ancient city. Basically, it is a pile of rubble. We stayed at this great ger camp, where we ate supper and played with the kids. We went for a long walk into the city, but it started to downpour during the walk. Our driver, who was very sweet, drove into the city to pick us up.
We were all pretty tired, and crashed out at about 10. We fell asleep in cozy ger beds, with a warm fire in the stove and rain falling on the roof. Sheer bliss.
I woke up in the middle of the night and had to go to the bathroom, so I wandered over. When I was getting ready to leave the bathroom, I could hear this panting outside, which scared the crap out of me. Dogs in Mongolia can be a real menace, and tend to bite first, think later. I was rather terrified that I would be locked in the bathroom. Finally, I peeked out the door. My captor was a sweet dog, who wagged his tail and licked my fingers. Still, I think I have a white hair from the experience.
In the morning, we went to Erdene Zuu, which is the oldest monastery in all of Mongolia. It was suitably amazing. A really cool Australian couple joined us on our tour. We saw a Buddhist ceremony, and many temples. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and spoke good English. Basically, I'm having a hard time describing the temples bcause the visit was just plain overwhelming. Plus, it's just awe inspiring to think that you are standing in the very place that used to be the capital of Asia. I really want to describe these to you (oh gentle readers), but I need to process it more.
I bought some Buddhist meditation cymbals at the museum. I have so many Buddhist statues now that my house is either going to resemble a temple or an oriental museum. Whatever, I'm fine with it.
After this, we went for a horseback ride. I haven't ridden in years, since I thought I was allergic. I'm not allergic to Mongolian horses, and am still a decent rider. However, Mongolian saddles suck. I'm surprised anyway in this country is able to reproduce.
On the horseback ride, we stopped to visit a Mongolian family. They invited us into their ger where they made us salty tea and we played with the kids and the goat. (I meant human kids and animal goat, just in case anyone is wondering) They had a little girl who was simply hilarious and we just kept on tickling her.
After this, we rode on and ended up stopping at "phallic rock." Phallic rock was a place where randy monks went to fornicate. The rock actually does look like a penis. When we rode up to it, Dorothy said, "You know, I realize that the size of these things tends to get exaggerated, but I really expected it to be bigger."
However, we did get a picture of us at this teeny little penis rock. Amusingly enough, they also sold small penis souvenirs on the side of the road by the rock.
The entire weekend was fantastic. Relaxing, fun, and I got a chance to bond with Jen and Dorothy. Very cool and smart ladies. Dorothy has spent so much time in China and now I want to got there even more someday.
In other wonderful news, it's possible that some of the geekcorps guys here may be able to fix my computer. Hallelujah.
I have to go shower now, because I think I smell like horse.
On the way to Kharkhorin, we got a flat tire, so we had to stop and hang out around the car. Since we were around some cows, I had to go over and investigate them. Two of the cows started bawling at me, and Jen was convinced that I was going to get trampled. Instead, the cows were just bawling for their calves, because they wanted to nurse them. After this, I walked around in the desert. I quite enjoy looking at (i just wrote "boys", but what I meant to write was "bones." There are so many cool bone bits around. I find decomposition quite fascinating and was poking at the bones, and dead animals with my boot. I also tried to herd the cows and was quite successful. Maybe I should just give up writing and become a Mongolian herdswoman.
The drive there was okay, but long. We were sadly disappointed by the ancient city. Basically, it is a pile of rubble. We stayed at this great ger camp, where we ate supper and played with the kids. We went for a long walk into the city, but it started to downpour during the walk. Our driver, who was very sweet, drove into the city to pick us up.
We were all pretty tired, and crashed out at about 10. We fell asleep in cozy ger beds, with a warm fire in the stove and rain falling on the roof. Sheer bliss.
I woke up in the middle of the night and had to go to the bathroom, so I wandered over. When I was getting ready to leave the bathroom, I could hear this panting outside, which scared the crap out of me. Dogs in Mongolia can be a real menace, and tend to bite first, think later. I was rather terrified that I would be locked in the bathroom. Finally, I peeked out the door. My captor was a sweet dog, who wagged his tail and licked my fingers. Still, I think I have a white hair from the experience.
In the morning, we went to Erdene Zuu, which is the oldest monastery in all of Mongolia. It was suitably amazing. A really cool Australian couple joined us on our tour. We saw a Buddhist ceremony, and many temples. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and spoke good English. Basically, I'm having a hard time describing the temples bcause the visit was just plain overwhelming. Plus, it's just awe inspiring to think that you are standing in the very place that used to be the capital of Asia. I really want to describe these to you (oh gentle readers), but I need to process it more.
I bought some Buddhist meditation cymbals at the museum. I have so many Buddhist statues now that my house is either going to resemble a temple or an oriental museum. Whatever, I'm fine with it.
After this, we went for a horseback ride. I haven't ridden in years, since I thought I was allergic. I'm not allergic to Mongolian horses, and am still a decent rider. However, Mongolian saddles suck. I'm surprised anyway in this country is able to reproduce.
On the horseback ride, we stopped to visit a Mongolian family. They invited us into their ger where they made us salty tea and we played with the kids and the goat. (I meant human kids and animal goat, just in case anyone is wondering) They had a little girl who was simply hilarious and we just kept on tickling her.
After this, we rode on and ended up stopping at "phallic rock." Phallic rock was a place where randy monks went to fornicate. The rock actually does look like a penis. When we rode up to it, Dorothy said, "You know, I realize that the size of these things tends to get exaggerated, but I really expected it to be bigger."
However, we did get a picture of us at this teeny little penis rock. Amusingly enough, they also sold small penis souvenirs on the side of the road by the rock.
The entire weekend was fantastic. Relaxing, fun, and I got a chance to bond with Jen and Dorothy. Very cool and smart ladies. Dorothy has spent so much time in China and now I want to got there even more someday.
In other wonderful news, it's possible that some of the geekcorps guys here may be able to fix my computer. Hallelujah.
I have to go shower now, because I think I smell like horse.
