Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, at sunrise.
Zaisan Memorial, overlooking Ulaanbaatar. Per Wikipedia: "The Zaisan Memorial includes a Russian tank paid for by the Mongolian people and a circular memorial painting which depicts scenes of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Mongolia."
The memorial.
Worship at the top of the memorial: Mongolians circle the stone piles three times, clockwise, and add a stone after each rotation. They also tie blue scarves to their holy objects and memorials, symbolizing the sky.
Ulaanbaatar's main square, Sükhbaatar Square.
Parliament building.
Opera house.
Statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar on horseback.
To the west of the square, two more government buildings.
Post office.
Exiting the square at 8am.
Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery.
Gandantegchinlen Khiid Monastery, built in 1835.
3 Buddhist branches in one temple: the bottom layer is square, like Tibetian temples, the middle is Chinese, more ornately sculpted and angled, and the top is Mongolian, with a lesser slope.
Soylo, Gana, me and Bryce outside the monestary.
This pole is all that remains of the initial monestary, destroyed by Stalin (he also killed 10,000 lamas in Mongolia).
Feeding pigeons is considered a means of bringing luck and fortune in Mongolia. There are many many pigeons.
Scenes from Ulaanbaatar as we make our way to the Bayangobi.
Apartment and ger, together in perfect harmony.
Entering the steppes of Mongolia.
One of many many sheep and goat pictures. They always graze together, traveling in clumps across the grass.
Pee break!
Without any safe paved roads (the ones that are paved were created during the Soviet rule of Mongolia and haven't been re-paved since), the dirt paths criss cross throughout the desert, pothole-laden and dusty.
Horse to person ratio here: 13:1.
Clump of sheeps and goats.
PAVED ROAD!
Pee break # 5! (It was a long trip).
Our car had a "tourist" sign on it. In a lot of countries, this would be target for some sort of attack but not in Mongolia.
Inside our ger in the Bayangobi, a " a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia" (per Wiki).
My side of the ger - women are always on the right and men on the left. cooking stuff is kept on the left, weapons and pelts on the left.
Our ger belonged to the the grandmother of the nomadic family where we were staying. Pictures of her family, and our little dining table.
View from the ger.
Bryce w our ger.
Personal bodyguard!
The family stayed in the kitchen ger while we were there, giving us the nicer accomodations.
Me and my new home.
Every time a motorbike went anywhere near the camp, the dogs chased after it vigorously.
Our family had 400 horses, 500 cows and 1000 sheep and goats.
Naturally shaped pyramid mountain.
Bryce sword fighting w/ the 5 year old son of our hosts.
Trying to put my hand up a horse's ass - to no avail...it moved.
Better luck trying to hold the sun as it sets :)
5 year old on a moving motorbike? anything goes in mongolia!
Me with the baby of the house - 1 years old and a serious drooling problem. :)
Our goat and sheep coming home to sleep.
Fire in our ger at night.
Inside the ger at night.
Each day the grandmother would put mare's milk in the little bowl as an offering.
Prayer pile on the way to Karakorum, next to the Orkhon Valley.
Smoke break!
Bryce and our guide.
Huge vultures with a sheep that didn't get away.
Erdene Zuu monestary, on the site of ancient Karakorum (today, Harhorin).
The main monestary.
With sutra boxes slung over the backs, local families come to pray here.
Cute puppy at lunch. Mongolians do not treat puppies well. I lost my temper when one driver kicked the poor thing.
Eagle, hanging out.
Tchotchkes for sale next to the Penis Stone.
and sheeps. and goats.
Monestary from above.
Penis stone - 200m to the left!
We woke up to camels near the ger on the 2nd day. Gobi desert in the background.
Granddaughter #1. She is 4. Adorable kid!
Me and bryce in traditional mongolian nomadic dress.
(minus the flip flops)
Me and the grandmother (in Mongolian, "Emeh"), who is 59 years old.
Bryce with our ger.
Me and our ger.
Ramen, in our ger.
We saw families with 5 people on a motorbike, all stuff in together.
The tawny brown horse tried 2x to mate with the blond horse, but got kicked in the face both times. Love hurts.
Sheep and goats, readying for bed.
This one must have gotten into some tupperware!
Bryce, cupping the setting sun.
Meat dumpling soup for dinner. Delicious.
Oggie, one of our drivers, with the grandson of the houes.
solar power gives TV access - the three national sports here are archery, wrestling and horse racing and that's all the family watched.
Child safety isn't the same - this kid was crawling around next to our dung-fire stove, put on a motorbike and a camel and eating wires.
Beds? Too short for Bryce.
The grandfather - Owoo in Mongolian - came by horse the 2nd day. The most bowlegged man I have ever seen.
Grandma making curdled milk paddies. Tastes as bad as it sounds, sadly.
My vantage point
Entering the Gobi by Camel.
Tourist ger camp near our family's home.
Killing and cooking a goat - they cut off the hair first to make cashmere, blow torch the entire body and then start the cooking process.
Magpies and dogs: happy to partake in the feast.
Sheep, about to be slaughtered.
What was the sheep in the prior picture....
Happy to get a part!
our outhouse. awesome.
Packing up to leave.
Our shitbox. Dung powered the fires, and though it burnt quickly it wasn't in short supply!
Happy in the sun.
The remnants of the goat from the night before.
Our host!
This cell tower would explain the full data service I had on my blackberry, smack in the middle of the Gobi.
Dinner: goat!
Definitely needed some floss after this dinner. Was delicious though.
Ger #2 : Elstei Ger Camp.
Nothing to see for quite a ways, but gers and more gers. I am sad to leave Mongolia and its smiling, friendly people.
