- It’s dirty. So said a Japanese road builder I met on the train in. He sits behind big dirty machines all day. And he thinks UB is dirty. Which it is. Soviet coal burning power stations corner the city, and you can see them belching black smoke as you come down from the mountains into the smog filled basin.
- The currency is the TogRog. Where they have a note which is worth about 1 pence
- Talking Mogolian, as less than 0.2% of the world does, sounds like a surpressed sneeze, a strangled gasp and someone preparing to spit
- Hawking and Spitting are popular, given the foul dusty conditions, though traditional sports are said to include wreslting and archery
- Even with women
- Even american women.
- Mugging people seems quite popular too. At least that’s the reason our cheery Korean landlord gives for carrying a lead pipe in his pocket. He generally is pleased to see you. It is not a long pipe.
Facts for the visitor to a rural Mongolian Ger
- A ger is a felt lined tent, in my case in a valley
- Mongolians love animals.
- You can ride 10 year old donkey/horse beasts to help round up livestock. These horse beasts look quite tired
- Anything that can be made of parts of animal probably has been by a Mongolian farmer
- Buddhism is popular
- They make vodka out of milk. Really. Don’t be surprised when they shove a cup full of vodka at you. It’s like sweet strong wine
- The top buddhists used to make a pipe out of the thigh bone of 18 year old virgin girls. Britney beware. They may make an exception if you tour here. Though with around 40% of the population below the poverty line, I doubt many bona fide CDs of yours have been bought here. Actually, why would anyone buy bona fide Britney? All her songs sounds the same. Must be getting old. But they do. Whiney, inane drivel.
- Fat and milk feature heavily in the diet, but it it is f cold here at times.
- Burning wood in a stove in the middle of your tent seems dangerous at first. But then when the night sets in, you start heaping in the wood yourself, ignoring the burning sparks that fly off the crackling faggots. *
- Pies are awesome. Absolutely ace. Although the contents don’t invite too much investigation, they fill you up a treat after a morning on donkey-back, or climbing small mountainlets.
- You may get to feeling a little rustic, as your own personal body-guard doggie takes up the bark from the neighbouring compound’s dog. You might lie back and feel secure and content after a simple day of farmyard activities in very fresh air, in a snow smattered valley.
* Which has gotta be rude.