Field Trip to the Chinggis Khan Statue!
Last weekend our program had an official excursion to the world’s largest Chinggis Khan Statue, an attraction of which Mongolians are very proud. I had very few expectations, as is usually best in Mongolia to avoid being too surprised or disappointed.
Our drivers picked us up at promptly nine am, which is very unusual in a country where the nomadic conception of time heavily influences time management. Traditionally, morning, afternoon, or evening would suffice for arranging get togethers. As the pictures hopefully illustrate, it was a fun-filled day!
The way there!
Leaving Ulaanbaatar, we saw several notable sites probably worth revisiting:
Military monument on the way out of Ulaanbaatar.
The outskirts of UB. The sprawl in the valley is largely made up of gers – traditional portable dwellings that most Americans would recognize as yurts. Bringing their homes with them from the countryside, each year more and more nomads settle in these “ger districts.” With little or no access to electricity, running water, or plumbing, these neighborhoods are plagued by many obvious health and sanitation issues.
A bit farther out of town the new rich build their mansions with the help of workers who stay in traditional gers nearby. Today’s wealthy are among the first to build western style homes.
A ger along the highway advertises huushuur for sale, a very popular dish that is essentially a battered and fried mutton or beef patty.
Basketball is very popular here! It’s normal to see basketball hoops without any court surface whatsoever. Must make dribbling a bit difficult!
Recently erected power lines stand in stark contrast against the beautiful backdrop of the countryside.
Two hours of bumpy driving later…
As we approach the gigantic statue, we see a combination of three different types of architecture: the minimalist soviet-style concrete block house, the traditional ger, and a modern building under construction.
We’ve made it!
After an hour and a half of racing along dirt roads paralleling the highway still under construction or in dire need of repair, we reach the statue!
Imposing!
A Kazakh falconer dances to techno with his golden eagle, trying to lure customers into paying for a photo with the massive bird! The tourist in the background is not convinced!
Inside!
Introducing the world’s largest shoe! Japanese tourists dressed as Mongolians really made the photo though… I guess they don’t take it personally that the Mongols attempted to invade their country by boat in the 13th century! (Clearly the Mongols were out of their element on the high seas.) No hard feelings!
Take me to the top!
In case you forget how to use stairs up to the top, they even have a little demonstration, or is a warning sign?
Chinggis Khan, from the top of his horse’s head!
Anyone see the resemblance?
View of the countryside from the horse’s head!
View of the entrance.
An archery range was among the fun side activities available to tourists.
Basketball and volleyball courts for visitors.
You could even ride horses lined up by the main entrance!
Back down on the ground…
This bathroom is for “Man” only, and apparently that means you have to wear a v-neck too.
Inspired by Chinggis, I convince my fellow Fulbrighter to crown me as new head of the mongol hordes. The gift shop owner was less than pleased, but this was a pivotal moment for me.
Lunch!
Horse sausage!
Stir-fried horse meat! Delicious!
The way back!
English gibberish on the back of a business vehicle.
To avoid the backup on the main thoroughfare, our driver decided to try out his own route through a few back alleys.
Traffic on the back road too!
This was taken out of the front windshield. We somehow managed to snake our way through all these vehicles with nothing more than patience, maneuvering and plenty of honking!
Beautiful scenery while stuck in the horrible bumper to bumper congestion.
A very drunk Mongolian stumbled by at 3 in the afternoon and got stuck between our stopped car and the van next to it. Fail! I have no idea what sort of conversation ensued here, but thankfully if didn’t last long and this poor fellow found his way out of this jam!
Standing on a roof while disassembling it? No problem!
Don’t fall in!
Traffic!
Eventually we were able to get through this huge mess and back home, although it certainly would have been easier to walk!
My Day at the Horse Race
Last Saturday my Mongolian friends, Oko and Shine, took me to the largest horse race in Mongolia, and, according to the official Guinness Book of World Records’ observer, the biggest horse race ever recorded!
However, just to get this out of the way, no horse racing was actually witnessed. In fact, in true Mongolian style, we showed up about 30 minutes too late to see the famous Mongol horsemen (and horsewomen!) gallop through the massive finish-line gate. Although my hosts were prompt and timely, the information center they spoke with about the race told them that it would end at 3 pm! So, when we got there at around noon the 4,249 riders had just finished. Regardless, the festive atmosphere and massive scale of the event was a true spectacle.
The Way There…
Heck, the ride there was an adventure enough for me! The father in the family, Shine, had recently returned from Fiji where he took an English course for 4 months on the beach (sign me up to teach there next!). As a result he was a bit rusty driving. At least he had the courtesy to warn me beforehand! For those who haven’t been to Ulaanbaatar and witnessed the incredibly erratic, aggressive driving style and blatant disregard for traffic laws, this was rather worrisome. However, we managed to escape the city traffic unscathed.
It was only when we got 20 kilometers outside UB to where we faced our biggest challenge, the roundabout, rotary, or traffic circle (depending on where you come from). As the picture below shows quite well, traffic circles here move counter-clockwise which is NOT, evidently, the same direction they flow in Fiji.
The exact second I almost soiled myself, but somehow managed to take a picture instead.
Approaching the finish line, we saw riders headed in all directions on horseback.
While the race was over, the fun was certainly not! The finish line party was basically a Mongolian country fair or carnival, with all sorts of food vendors, side shows, and smaller events. Taking advantage of the entire valley, the attractions were very spread out. In fact, this may also be a Guinness World Record for the world’s most vacant parking lot:
No threat of someone stealing your spot out here!
A few of the sites…
The tented seating is attached to a traditional ger, or Mongolian yurt.
I was very tempted to ride this one…
These Mongolians paid the businessman to dress up in traditional clothing for a photo shoot.
Nothing traditional about this, not to my knowledge at least. (Although I may have been thrown that high by a cowboy while wrestling the last time I was in the countryside.)
Boys eating ice cream watch the bungee trampoline goers.
Don’t believe his racing number, there were only 4249 riders according to the announcers!
Archery!
Of all the attractions we passed, archery really caught my eye. One of the three manly sports, there were several make-shift shooting ranges set up where for 2000 tugrik, or about $1.30 you could shoot 4 arrows.
Could I resist? No, of course not.
Man in a ‘deel’ or a traditional garment still worn commonly in the countryside but only occasionally in the city, mostly among the elderly.
- Father teaches son technique.
Shine takes aim at the target, a sheep skin stretched between two posts.
In front of the target, these arrow-fetchers had perhaps the most risky job of the day!
I was just starting to get the hang of it after 8 arrows. My last one glanced off the bottom of the wooden post.
Awkwardness
And then, it happened…
I momentarily forgot Alvin and his mates were all male chipmunks. A smiling crowd quickly gathered reminding me that even accidental displays of homosexuality – especially man on chipmunk action – probably aren’t exactly okay… oops! To be fair, the Mongolian in the blue hoodie was definitely female (as shown by the universal leg gesturing).
Moving on…
If I had to guess what they were saying it would go something like this: “Could you tell me when the racers are supposed to get here?” “The race ended two hours ago…”
A traditional Mongolian pastime, “Bone games.” Using four horse vertebrae, the player rolls his hand and somehow “races the horses,” according to my host. I’m still waiting to learn the rules.
This little guy beat the dealer!
And then there was good ‘ole fashioned street gambling, minus the street (of course) and plus one cobblestone plaza lined with gers.
Better odds than Vegas I suppose.
The Picnic
After exploring the fair grounds for a bit we retreated across the plain for a picnic with a grand view of the spectacle.
My warm, welcoming, wonderful hosts! Shine is holding up khuushuur, a meat patty, in this case beef, fried in a pancake. We also had bread, sausage, cucumbers, watermelon, milk tea, and some chocolates I brought!
Here is a sampling of the views from the hill…
We listened to Shine’s country music CD from the car, a mixture including “Rhinestone Cowboy” and Dolly Parton. Meanwhile, the son played techno off of his phone and danced the robot for us. (He was too shy to let me get it on tape but he is GOOD!)
Cloud watching is a great way to pass the time, especially with a storm front coming through!
Those three dots were some of the nearest picnic goers.
Once the rains came in we made our way back to the city!
The traffic on the way back was of a different sort than the kind you find in Boston.
On the return trip we were stuck in traffic from the event for quite a while. Still, we managed to play a word game for about an hour where each player had to think of a different noun that starts with the last letter of the preceding one. I was very impressed with the vocabulary of my hosts, especially their son, and even got to practice teaching English a bit – something that will soon be a more or less full-time job!
Anyway, hope to post some more pictures soon of my daily life here in UB. Looking forward to your comments! (Also, by clicking on the pictures you can enlarge them!)
The End.
My Travel Day in Quotes
In order to relate the most noteworthy events of the first hours of my adventure, I’ve listed the most memorable quotes of the day within context.
1. “It’s a matter of pride!”
As my relatives drop me off at Sea-Tac International Airport I coolly refuse their generous offers to help me carry my gear to the ticket counter. Insistently, I wave them off and haul my two giant duffel bags, backpacking backpack, day pack, and carry-on bag to the ticket counter. Less than a minute later I realize that although my itinerary is booked with American Airlines, my flight is operated by Hainan Airlines whose ticket counter is several hundred yards away. The actual second quote of the day was a four letter word not worth mentioning here…
dealing with all of it was not!
2. “Follow the people instead of the signs.”
Wise advice from a fellow anonymous traveler. After the sweaty, stuffy 12 hour flight from Sea-Tac to Beijing, I’m hit with a steamy wave of hot air as I follow the string of people walking down the stairs from our plane to the tarmac below. So this is what 34 degrees Celsius feels like…
After a shuttle drops us off at the main terminal, I make the mistake of following signs towards “international transfers” (a bit too intuitive I suppose). Of course, at the end of the nearly-vacant quarter-mile corridor a man at a booth points me back towards where I came from where I re-join the herd.
3. “This way, friend…”
Now on the other side of passport control in Beijing, I reach the baggage carousel. Although my luggage is supposedly checked through to Ulaanbaatar, I find my bags rotating unattended on the baggage claim. Noticing my confusion, a kind security officer helps me ask other airline personnel about the arrangements. Thankfully, I will not have to carry everything with me. This is good because I’ve picked up a third carry-on bag in the Seattle airport full of American mementos for my soon-to-be Mongolian friends. The officer assures me the bags will be delivered and checked through to Ulaanbaatar.
Seconds later, the helpful officer loads my carry-on bags onto a cart and escorts me right past his coworkers through the next x-ray security checkpoint. He then points me towards the next shuttle to the correct airport terminal for departure. I have several miles on the freeway to feel guilty about expecting him to ask me for a tip!
4. “Of course I’m right!”
Upon reaching Terminal 3 and miraculously locating the next check-in counter within mere seconds, I check-in to get my boarding pass to Ulaanbaatar. “I’m sorry but you have too much baggage,” the Chinese woman at the Mongolian ticket counter says, without a hint of remorse.
“I was told earlier by Hainan Airlines [my first leg] that everything was set to go through to Ulaanbaatar. I already paid 110 dollars!”
“We have no affiliation with Hainan Airlines. You can talk with them about it. You’re only allowed to have 23 kg. After that it’s 45 remnimbi per extra kilogram.”
“So how much is that in dollars?” I ask, kicking myself for not checking the most recent exchange rates.
“Oh, about 20 dollars.”
“Alright. That’s no problem.” Whew. I thought it would be more than that!
“See the man down there? Take him this form and pay him.” Why is everything at least fifty yards away from where I need it to be?! In the sweltering heat, I haul my three carry-on bags that together must weigh about 23 kg.
When I reach the desk, the man is wiping his brow as the sweat beads up on his forehead. Handing him the form and my credit card, I wait expectantly for the receipt. When it comes, I’m shocked.
“275 dollars?! She said it would be twenty US dollars!”
“No. It’s 275 dollars.”
I’m pissed. I ask the man for his calculator, in the process embarrassing him greatly. Re-checking his calculations with the numbers the woman gave me, I reach the same figure. Snap!
“You’re right! Wow, that’s expensive.” “Of course I’m right!!” he yells back at me. Only now do I recall the concept of face, and begin to realize how rude I’ve just been. Blame it on the heat!
I don’t complain anymore.
5. “Burger King!”
Looking to replenish my energy and morale after that massive, heart-wrenching hit to the pocketbook, I steer towards the first beacon of hope I can find, an illuminated Burger King sign that shines brightly. The chicken sandwich is slimy and I barely touch the fries and Coke. Still, at this point it’s good to have calories in my system.
Sadly, my beacon of hope…
6. “Over here!” “No, here!”
Perhaps the best part of the trip so far… Two attractive (take notes American TSA!) female Chinese security officers each grab one of my arms and pull me back and forth towards their twin yellow pedestals. The surprise victim of a tug of war match, all I can do is smile wide in disbelief as they giggle, vying to pat me down. The initially playful back and forth escalates into forceful jerks on my arms.
Keep my shoulders in their sockets, ladies! “Woah!”I yell. [Recall that by now I’ve walked several miles with large bags today. Also, the evening before was whipped around on an inner tube behind my uncle’s boat at speeds of around 30 mph!]
The initial grabber relinquishes her grasp and the other triumphantly pushes me up onto the yellow foot-printed pad. The ensuing pat down experience is quite refreshing, but awkward. Afterwards, I wonder if I should have left a tip for the extra attention devoted to my shoulders… I should have told her I had a knot to work out!
7. “My bag isn’t here.”
After a couple hours of thirty seconds naps, nodding myself awake to avoid drooling on the Mongolian gentleman next to me, we touch down in Ulaanbaatar just before midnight. After making it through passport control and security and passing several Mongolians with signs in English for foreigners – none which have one with my name – I reach the baggage carousel. I spot two of my three my bags immediately, then try my best to suppress my anxiety as, one by one, Mongolians pull their luggage off of the rotating belt and walk past me to the exit. So this is what happens when you insult the man in charge of your baggage in Beijing…
With my hosts nowhere in sight, I ask two airport employees about who to talk to about lost luggage. They point me over to a lone desk by the exit.
I wait for ten minutes behind an irate Thai resident of Mongolia, who left his house keys in his bag that didn’t show up either. “For the last time, I just want to borrow a phone to call my friend to find a place to sleep tonight.” “Sir, one moment!”
While the conflict continues, with no other passengers in sight, I make my way towards the exit to see if I should arrange for a ride. Yes! They’re here! Two Mongolians roughly my age are waiting with a sign for me! I greet them from 30 feet away with a wave.
“Hi! My bag isn’t here. I’m waiting to fill out a form.”
Kindly, my Mongolian hostess helps me communicate with the clerk in charge of lost bags. Shortly after, I’m whisked into the night towards our guesthouse in UB! After avoiding T-boning several vehicles in unmarked intersections of the pothole-filled streets, we reach our final destination…
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