Kheavenly Khentii brings khappiness: a short August adventure in pictures

The western portions of Khentii Province are some of my favorite parts of Mongolia.  In August a small group of adventurers journeyed through the winding valleys, mountain passes, and marshy floodplains in search of archaeology, history, and birds.  Here is our story in pictures:

[My thanks to Karolina, Robyn, and Marie for sharing their lovely photos!]



Day 1:

On the road in beautiful Khentii

Stopped at a burial on the way to Khukh Lake

Mongolia Inside & Out 105: What (not) to wear

Welcome back to the Mongolia Inside & Out series!  This post will focus on appearance and dress in Mongolia, as I've found it too difficult to tease apart the more abstract concept and the more concrete practice when it comes to talking about what (not) to wear here.

A version of this post has been sitting in my drafts folder for several months.  I realized recently that I had wasted a lot of time and energy writing a very judge-y indictment of the fashion choices of other foreigners in Mongolia, which is simply not the tone I want to take in this series nor how I want to interact with my fellow human beings.  Sure, it can be cathartic or amusing to recall Mongolian friends' and colleagues' reactions to white-guy dreadlocks, or to bemoan the American journalist who wore rumpled hiking clothes to a one-on-one formal interview with the President of Mongolia.  But that's the stuff of summer evening carp-sessions at a beer garden with other expats, not fodder for a series where I aim to provide useful information and hard-won experience for those coming to Mongolia for study, adventure, or permanent relocation.  I prefer to use my knowledge for good in this series.

And, just like Cookie, I learned those things the hard way

Let me offer some recommendations for several distinct sets of 'foreigners' coming to Mongolia, because where and how you plan to spend your time will dictate what you want to wear:

5 Days of July: Day 5 - Returning through ruins and rock art

On the morning of our fifth and final day adventuring through Central Mongolia, we woke at dawn and quickly got on the road east towards Ulaanbaatar.  But we were in for a surprise - a surprise camel attack, that is!

A huge herd of camels swarms the Millennium Road on our way from the Orkhon River to Khar Bukhyn Balgas

This was the largest camel herd I'd ever seen, made all the more surprising because we weren't in 'classic' camel territory.  Two of the herd still had saddles and packs on their backs, which means there were probably two camel herders somewhere to the south about to get their own unhappy surprise upon realizing they'd be in for a long walk to get their rides back.

Short summer coats make the Bactrian camel look like practically a different species compared to winter time

5 Days of July: Day 4 - Nostalgia

[All photos courtesy of Kenny L. and Reade L. - thank you again!]

The morning of our fourth day began rather abruptly.  If you will recall the post on Day 3 of 5 Days in July, you will remember that the night before we camped just over the hill from Kharkhorin soum center, hoping to get away from the boisterous danshig crowds at Erdene Zuu monastery.  Alas, we were not the only ones with this bright idea, meaning that throughout the night headlights would blaze through our tents, vehicles would rumble by, and small parties of celebrating Mongolians would set up their tents a bit too close to us for comfort.

Everything's peaceful by this point but check out all those tents in the background.  For rural Mongolia, this is unprecedented!

I was awakened that morning by shouting: our driver, Nandia, and the voices of several Mongolian men.  Bleary and startled at the same time, I couldn't decide whether to leap out of my tent to assess the situation or to feign ignorance/sleep (I decided on the latter for about 10 minutes).  I soon realized that, as annoying as all the early-morning shouting was, a group of Mongolians had gotten one of their vehicles stuck in the mud and were attempting to persuade Nandia to tow them out with his furgong.  Given the struggles his furgong had already gone through, Nandia was reluctant, and demonstrated that his furgong wasn't up to the job by ostentatiously taking out all of his tools and meticulously tuning up the vehicle.

Nandia opened up the engine bloc of his furgong to make some repairs and to let our visitors know that he has more important things to do that pull them out of the mud

But our human alarm clocks were a friendly bunch, chatting with me and Kenny about our group, one short and stout man asking for a photo of himself with the tall and slender Ty, and sharing their boodog from last night as I made American gambir, which we shared with them.  They miraculously pushed their vehicle out of the mud and took their leave, undoubtedly heading for the danshig Naadam grounds outside of Kharkhorin for the day's festivities.

Our visitors eventually managed to free their massive truck and trundle off over the hill.

After a leisurely breakfast surrounded by other campers, we headed off to the Naadam part of the danshig naadam about 10km east of Kharkhorin.

5 Days of July: Day 3 - from lus along the Orkhon to a tsam dance at Erdene Zuu

Well, well, I'm still posting about stuff in July and it's already the first week of October - oops!  Now, back to those 5 days of July...

[All photos courtesy of Reade L. and Kenny L. - thank you!]

A brief flashback to our second night: Kenny noticed an unusual-looking ovoo near our campsite.  This ovoo consisted of a base of larger dark stones piled with small light-colored stones near a tipi-like stack of wood and a small circle of white stones.

5 Days of July - Day 2: Yak attack!

The second morning of my 5 Days in July began with a calm, rosy sunrise over the rolling hills west of Khujirt.  (All photos courtesy of Reade L. and Kenny L.)

Good morning, Uvurkhangai!

Following on last summer's traditions, I made American gambir (no eggs, no milk pancakes) for breakfast on one of the propane cook stoves.

Making American gambir for breakfast out of the back of the furgong

But the morning was rushed in order to get to the yak festival for the opening ceremony, which supposedly began at 11am.  We had hours over very rough roads between us and our destination.  Luckily we traveled through some of the most scenic countryside in Mongolia, the Orkhon National Park:

Overlook at the entrance of the Orkhon National Park

5 Days of July: Day 1 - Camels and Kittens

2015 has been a busy summer largely spent in Ulaanbaatar.  To break up my urban routine, I organized a 5-day vacation out to the 2015 yak festival in Bat-Ulzii, the danshig in honor of the 380th anniversary of Undur Geegen Zanabazar, and the site of my first archaeological expedition to Mongolia, Tamiryn Ulaan Khoshuu.  I thank Kenny L. and Reade L. in advance for their gorgeous photos in this and subsequent 5 Days of July posts!

Day 1 was focused on getting out of Ulaanbaatar (about 2 hours behind schedule, but who's counting) and covering as much terrain as possible.  It was a sweltering July day on the long road west.  Our furgong - decommissioned Soviet army van - was like a sauna on wheels.

The sweaty drive from UB to points west

About 4 or 5 hours from UB, we broke up our journey with some camel riding in the sand dunes of Elsen Tasarkhai on the border of Bulgan and Uvurkhangai provinces.

View of the Elsen Tasarkhai sand dunes and the mountains of the Khungun Tarna Protected Area in the distance

We arranged to ride with Bilge, the good-natured patriarch of a camel herding family that lives near the sand dunes in summer.  When we rolled up to their encampment, no one was home.  A few minutes later, a parade of camels and riders loped along the flat towards us:

A Bactrian camel with a summertime coat and carpet saddle.  Temee is 'camel' in Mongolian.

Mongolia Inside & Out 104 - Alcohol

Last time in Mongolia Inside & Out, readers were treated to an info-dump of tips for dining in Ulaanbaatar along with some general comments on Mongolian cuisine.  In the 103 post, I alluded to alcohol, particularly with recommendations for good beer in the capital.  But alcohol in Mongolia merits an entire post of its own.

Chinggis: world-conqueror and premium-quality vodka

A few words on drinking alcohol in Mongolia:

Every country has its own drinking culture, or numerous drinking subcultures.  Mongolia is no exception.  The production, exchange, and consumption of several kinds of alcohol are significant components of Mongolian society.  Official visits to someone's home, religious celebrations, national holidays, graduations, weddings, and office parties all involve vodka or some sort of alcoholic beverage (often airag, fermented mare's milk produced primarily at the household level).

What to drink:
But it's not all bad news: drinking culture in Mongolia includes a lot of merry-making, singing, jokes, and bonding.  But what do you drink when you're in Mongolia?  The primary alcoholic beverages you will encounter in Mongolia are the Big Three: vodka, fermented mare's milk, and beer.

Vodka  (arikh)

This photo is appropriate for my Mongolian vodka consumption experience on several levels

National Naadam 2015: March of the Nine White Banners

July 11th marked the beginning of the National Naadam celebrations in Ulaanbaatar.

MIAT, the Mongolian national airline, wishes the Mongolian people a happy Naadam.

While I find the National Naadam to be a bit crowded and touristy for my taste, I was fortunate enough this year to escort the nine white banners of the Mongolian state from Parliament to the National Stadium for the opening ceremony.  On a bright Saturday morning, I raced over to Chinggis Square (originally Sukhbaatar Square), where the honor guard carried the nine banners out of their home inside the Government Palace to be marched through the city center to the stadium.

A military band waits in Chinggis Square just south of the Government Palace to provide music for the entrance of the nine white banners

The nine white banners head south from the square, carried by mounted honor guardsmen and mobbed by eager crowds

 The nine banners derive from the time of Chinggis Khan and the Mongol Empire, when hair from the tails of white horses and black horses were used to make the nine white and nine black banners, respectively.  The nine white banners were used for times and missions of peace, whereas the nine black banners were used for war.  During most of the year, the two sets of nine banners are housed inside the Government Palace, and the banners play important roles in state ceremonies for the modern nation-state.

Police and military personnel flank the honor procession as crowds march with the banners through the city

Mongolia Inside & Out 103 - Eating and drinking (mostly beer) in Ulaanbaatar

Welcome back to the Mongolia Inside & Out series!

The 102 post discussed the ger as an important part of Mongolian society and culture, along with a suite of related customs, themes, and ideas that shed a little light on the bigger picture (Mongolia).  This time let's take a peek into food, drink, meals, and dining in Mongolia.  Most of the 102 post will focus on experiences in the capital, which can be treated separately from dining in the rest of Mongolia (with some notable exceptions), as I plan to do a future post on the types and preparations of traditional food once I have better pictures.  For now:

Sustenance and succulence in Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar has undergone seismic shifts over the last 10 years in terms of the food and beverages available in stores, markets, restaurants, and bars throughout the city.  For these and more practical reasons - hey, you'll need to know where to get a good salad in UB after weeks in the countryside, trust me - I think Ulaanbaatar merits its own post.  Especially in the last 2-3 years, travelers and locals now have a decent variety of good options to choose from when they're out on the town or looking to buy groceries.

The Way Things Were, 2005-2007:

I remember when finding a few tiny green apples at the store was a rare treasure, and all ice cream seemed to be bland, freezer-burned, ice-encrusted, vanilla pre-loaded into wafer cones stored loose and unwrapped in a freezer bin along with unpackaged meat.  Now you can get local greenhouse-grown spinach and cherry tomatoes, corn chips, cocoa powder, imported European cheese, a plentiful variety of fresh-baked breads and pastries, and tofu without breaking a sweat.

I remember when there were a handful of good non-Mongolian dinner options, practically no coffee shops (yes, Millie's served good coffee, but that is not a *coffee place* and they roasted their own beans because where else were they going to get coffee?), and Cafe Amsterdam was pretty much your only choice for breakfast (unless you wanted to break your budget at Kempinski or eat at 11am).  Now you have so many choices that I can barely remember what it was like 10 years ago: sushi, Korean hotpot, vegan, Indian, Turkish, Chinese (and Xinjiang!), French, Mexican (we'll come back to that one), fried chicken, Japanese bakeries (yes, I mean bakerIES, plural), and on and on and on.  I remember being really excited to get real hot chocolate in 2007.

Just recently someone complained on UB Foodies - a whole Facebook community devoted to the city's food scene - about a cappuccino that had too much foam.  Ok, I'll take off my bifocals, put away the Werther's Originals, and get back to the heart of the post.

Because I've seen many a visitor struggle with getting a decent meal or finding a particular food item while in UB, I'm going to spend a significant chunk of this post attempting to rectify that situation.

Naadam 2015 - Arkhust adventure

This year I made it my mission to attend a real countryside Naadam.  While the National Naadam celebrations in Ulaanbaatar draw the tourist crowds through sportsmanship, pomp and spectacle, and celebrities (this year Steven Segal was in attendance), the small Naadam celebrations held at the county- or soum-level have a community atmosphere and amateur appeal that I find charming and accessible that I find lacking from the national celebrations.

Arkhust, about 120km southeast of Ulaanbaatar, is a lovely little county seat not far from the train line running from the capital city to Sainshand, Erlian, and China.  The town is nestled against rocky hills that ring the Nagal National Protected Area, which shield the residents from the bitter north wind and provide a scenic backdrop in contrast to the expansive steppe to the south.  After calling the soum cultural center, I decided that Arkhust would be the ideal balance of proximity, rural countryside feel, local scale (we were the only non-Mongolians there), and hospitality.  The opening day of the Arkhust Naadam was to be held on July 9th, just before the celebrations in Ulaanbaatar.  Armed with some directions and a desire for a real Naadam experience, off we went on Thursday morning!

Drought: June and July are usually the rainy season in Mongolia.  As you can see, the steppe lands are yellow and brown even in early July.  This lack of lush vegetation is already negatively impacting airag production in the area.  (Don't worry - the lovely Naadam organizers in Arkhust gave us some airag anyway)

As we crested a hill on our way to Arkhust, our vehicle startled a herd of tsagaan zeer (Mongolian antelope), which raced away as if pursued by a large predator:

Mongolian antelope are indigenous to the steppe region and supposedly a common sight in the eastern provinces.  Despite 10 years of traveling in the Mongolian countryside, this was the first time I'd ever encountered these animals.

At the Arkhust Naadam, community members were decked out in gorgeous deel - the Mongolian national outfit - in all kinds of patterns and colors, accented with belts and hats:

There were almost as many attendees on horseback as on foot.  While many if not most of the kids on horseback were jockeys, some were just here to enjoy the festivities, like this young boy:

Mongolia Inside & Out 102: Introducing the ger

Welcome back to the Mongolia Inside & Out series!  Last time I shared the 23 things I think everyone should know about coming to Mongolia.  At the end of the inaugural post, I made a grandiose claim about this post: that it would be dedicated to introducing Mongolian culture and customs.  My hubris knew no bounds!

Pictured: no bounds within which to contain all my hubris

As I struggled to draft a comprehensive yet introductory post on the topic, I found myself returning to the Mongolian ger each time I considered almost every relevant subject.  A full essay on Mongolian culture would invariably come up short; although it's tempting (and I was sorely tempted) to cram everything one knows into a single piece of writing, the end result always suffers.

As an alternative, let me introduce a number of key aspects of Mongolian culture through one of its defining features: the ger.

A typical Mongolian ger

The traditional dwelling of mobile or nomadic Mongolians is the ger (pronounced "gair'), called yurt elsewhere.  Ger refers both to this specific kind of dwelling and to the concept of "home" in general.  A UB urbanite will speak of his/her ger and mean an apartment or townhouse.  A traveler will see the classic white mushroom-like ger almost everywhere in Mongolia, although some ethnic minorities dwell in other abodes (a topic for another post).  There is a ger inside the Parliament house in which the most sacred ceremonies and high-level meetings of the Mongolian state take place.  Luxury tourist resorts have opulent ger outfitted with snow leopard pelts and embroidered wall hangings.  Most ger in the countryside have solar panels to power TVs, radios, charge cell phones, and even power the odd refrigerator.  In Ulaanbaatar, the eponymous ger districts are crowded with once-mobile dwellings permanently nestled together on the dusty slopes around the city center, cheek-by-jowl with solid buildings and winding dirt tracks.

Mongolia Inside & Out 101 - Welcome to Mongolia!

Welcome to the first post in the Mongolia Inside & Out series!  I hope you'll find this and subsequent posts interesting and useful for your future travels to the Land of Eternal Blue Heaven.  Let's start with the basics of coming to Mongolia for the very first time.  I'd say that there are 23 preliminary points to cover.  Let's begin!

Before you leave for Mongolia:

1.  VISAS: Know the visa requirements for a) your citizenship and b) the purpose of your visit (study vs. tourism vs. business).  If you're an American citizen entering without prior arrangements, you'll automatically receive a 30-day tourist visa. 

Wow, that is a terrible and blurry picture of my old tourist visas!  I mean, I intentionally blurred this image to prevent passport fraud.

PRO-TIP: extend your visa to 90 days by visiting Mongolian Immigration within 7 days of your arrival.  This only costs a few bucks (official form you fill out on site, a passport photo) and a tenuous connection to Mongolia (name and address of your guesthouse and/or travel agency in Mongolia).  Do not wait more than 7 days or you will be fined!  The fines vary depending on who's working that day - I am not joking, this is how "official fines" often work in Mongolia - and you will need to pay in cash (Mongolian tugrik, or MNT).  Mongolian Immigration is currently located just east of the airport along the main road into Ulaanbaatar before the space age-looking red and gray stadium.

Registration form at Mongolian Immigration: helpfully written in both English and Mongolian

2. BOOK ONE NIGHT: If you make no other plans before setting foot in Mongolia, plan ahead to spend your first night in the country in a guesthouse or hotel.  Unless you plan to go straight from the airport to rural Mongolia or you are joining an expedition team, you'll be glad you made a few arrangements in advance so that your arrival is as smooth as possible.

3.  JOIN A TEAM, EXPEDITION, OR PROJECT.  I find most people who've had extremely positive experiences in Mongolia come as part of a field program, a research expedition, a volunteer expedition - something that requires them to work as part of a team on a shared goal in the Mongolian countryside alongside international and local volunteers or staff.

Team work from the very beginning: 2005 expedition photo in Kharkhorin, Arkhangai Province

A few months before you leave for Mongolia, do a little research online into your options.  Each summer there are usually a few archaeological or conservation biology expeditions that take paying volunteers or students, the National University of Mongolia offers summer educational programs for international students, and some NGOs offer volunteer opportunities (such as Lotus Guesthouse's programs with Mongolian orphans and street kids).  Keep an eye on the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads' website (csen.org) for 2016 and future field programs; CSEN has programs specifically for students and adventurers from a variety of backgrounds and with different interests.

10-year anniversary: inaugurating the Mongolia Inside & Out series

This summer marks my 10-year anniversary with Mongolia.

2005: looking out over the Tamir River in Arkhangai Province, I can see my future rolling inexorably towards me through the lavender sunset and rain clouds

In the summer of 2005, having recently graduated and now looking for some adventure, I joined the Silk Road Foundation's expedition to the Xiongnu cemetery at Tamiryn Ulaan Khoshuu.  Little did I know that those four weeks would put into motion a chain of events that would shape my professional trajectory and personal decisions for the next decade.  In fact, the consequences of those beautiful summer days on the bluffs overlooking the Tamir River are still unfolding.

2005: who's that girl in the neon-pink shirt excavating a Xiongnu/Khunnu burial at Tamiryn Ulaan Khoshuu?

This summer heralds another anniversary: exactly five years ago I organized and led my first field research expedition here in Mongolia.

2010: back for more archaeology in the same neon-pink T-shirt (Bulgan Province)

On copper

In a time of major mining operations and their huge impact on the country's economic situation and political climate, it is unsurprising that metals mean a lot to modern Mongolia.

Copper, despite being less flashy than gold and less notorious than uranium, historically makes up a significant component of Mongolia's mining operations.  The Erdenet Mining Company began extracting copper in the 1970s in Orkhon Province.  The second largest city in Mongolia - Erdenet - was founded by the company as a result of the large-scale copper-mining industry.

The Oyu Tolgoi (OT) mine in Umnugovi Province, perhaps the defining economic undertaking of the 21st century in Mongolia, primarily produces copper.  In 2015, it is impossible to overstate the significance of Oyu Tolgoi to Mongolian society.  Since 2001, the rocky relationship between the various Mongolian governments and international mining groups that share stakes in the mine has influenced the national economy, Mongolia's international reputation as a free and law-abiding society (I am alluding to the recent case of foreign mining executives held in Mongolia in a tax-evasion case.  Three men were forbidden from leaving Mongolia for several years, awaiting a trial where eventually they would be convicted and sentenced to 5 years in Mongolian prison.  However, shortly after the trial all three were pardoned by President Elbegdorj, following sharp criticism from the international business and human rights communities), the environment, and domestic development as a function of international investment and involvement.

Aside from the macro-scale significance of copper as a commodity, this metal is very much a part of Mongolian daily life.  Copper (zes) is ubiquitous in traditional households and jewelry.  The two most commons forms are the bowl (ayag) and the bracelet (buguivch).

As I mentioned in the Tsagaan Sar 2014 post, Badamkhatan egch, who hosted me on Shinii gurvan udur 2014, presented me with this gorgeous copper bowl:

A copper bowl, or zesnii ayag 

Copper bowls are common items in Mongolian homes.  I've seen them both in the capital and in the countryside.

Winter 2014: like a copper mirror

In addition to giving me the copper bowl, Badamkhatan egch filled it with ezgii, a home-made cooked dairy product that's quite delicious.

Calling all summer students and adventurers!

Ovoo worship site with khadag (photo: E. Platts, 2014)

This summer the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads (CSEN) is offering two educational field programs in Mongolia: the Southern Bulgan Province program and the Ar Janchivlan Valley & Khentii Province program.  While the application deadline for the Southern Bulgan Province program has already passed, the Ar Janchivlan Valley & Khentii Province program is accepting applications until July 15th!

Surveying a Bronze-Age khirigsuur complex en route to Baldan Bereeven monastery,

Khentii Province (photo: E. Platts, 2014)

The program is designed for students, enthusiasts, and adventurers who want a substantive introduction to Mongolia through field experiences and educational content (focused primarily on archaeology but including ethnography, religion, history, and a bit of Mongolian language) over a 10-day period.

Bronze-Age burial on the high slopes of the sacred peak, Bayan Tsogt (Ar Janchivlan Valley, Tuv Province) (photo: E. Hite 2015)

My Mongolian collaborator, Vanchigdash (Mongolian University of Science and Technology), and I will serve as field instructors, including participants as we conduct a bit of dissertation fieldwork in Ar Janchivlan Valley and leading our team through field research and educational settings in Khentii Province.

Tibetan inscription at the Rashaan Khad site in Khentii Province (photo: E. Platts, 2014)

As a real field team, we'll be living in rough conditions, traveling on bumpy back-country roads, and taking every opportunity to explore new sites, meet local people, and engage in once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Fun and games near the Bayan River, Khentii Province (photo: E. Platts 2014)

CSEN welcomes applicants of all ages and backgrounds, although those under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and prizes participants with willing spirits and open hearts above those with prior archaeological or field expedition experience.  The program is capped at 8 participants (not including staff and field instructors) to keep our team size manageable, our foot-print small, and our encounters friendly and personal.

Program map with key sites listed

You can find more information about the Ar Janchivlan Valley & Khentii Province program, including the application form and participant handbook, at the following sites:

The CSEN webpage: 
http://csen.org/Ar%20Janchivian%20Valley%20&%20Khentil%20Province/ArJanchivianValley&KhentilProvincendex.html

The program listing on the Archaeological Institute of America's Archaeological Fieldwork Online Bulletin:
http://www.archaeological.org/fieldwork/afob/19191

The CSEN Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/centerforthestudyofeurasiannomads?fref=nf

Vanchigdash surveys archaeological features in Ar Janchivlan Valley in early May (photo: E. Hite 2015)

Spread the word to friends, colleagues, and family who might want to get outside of their comfort zones this summer through an adventurous educational expedition.  We look forward to receiving your application and any questions at csen.field.programs@gmail.com !

Sunset in late summer along the Khurkh River (photo: E. Platts, 2014)

Sprint from September to spring

A few choice moments from my time in Mongolia between the end of summer 2014 and springtime:

Lovely bouquet from two of my students celebrating the end of summer

First snow of the season in Ulaanbaatar: September 28th, 2014 :/

Bonfire and first sunrise of the new year in Bayankhangai

A major highlight of the winter was my dog-sledding trip in Terelj.  We raced along the frozen river pulled by eager, cuddly huskies, took a quick spin on a horse sleigh, rode horseback through snow drifts, and climbed through the winter forests over the rocky hills in one eventful day. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera.  Luckily for me, Emily S. had her camera on hand the entire time.

Our dogs getting hitched to the sleds: almost ready for some racing over the frozen river!

Eyes on the prize: almost ready to make that river run!