Notes on Some Time Spent Traveling: -40

Ulan Bator, Mongolia

Its gets chilly.

A prayer thingy of some sort in Ulan Bator.

Mongolia.  Home to the legendary Ghengis Khan, leader of the once epic Mongolian empire that reached from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, encompassing an area from Siberia to South East Asia as well as parts of the Middle East and the Indian Sub Continent.  Old Ghengis had his work cut out for him it seemed and it must have been a rough life what with all the raping and pillaging and whatnot.  Today, he is most commonly found on various vodka bottles in shops across the country.  Mongolia, in its present form, is the most sparsely populated country in the world.  A good thing, I think seeing, is how its capitol, Ulan Bator, is one of the least inspiring, coldest, most polluted and, frankly, ugliest cities one is likely to ever come across.  Its countryside, however, is legendary.

Mongolia.  Its cold.  Understatement.  I knew it would be cold, I was somewhat prepared.  Coming from China I met very few people going north as I am and with good reason.  When I arrived a week ago daytime temperatures were “rising” to -20 degrees Fahrenheit , at night, -40.  I don’t even know how cold that is.  Its cold enough that my camera quits after about two hours outside.  At night, if you want to shoot, you have about 20 minutes before the camera dies.  My reason for stopping, after a 30 hour train ride from Beijing, was to visit the nomads.  Its really cold.

So many layers are necessary here in winter, when outdoors for more than an hour, that you don’t really walk you just kind of waddle, penguin style.

Morning chores at a Ger camp in Terej National Park.  Because of the mountains and latitude of Mongolia, I never really saw the sun until about 9:00 a.m.  Its cold.

The Mongolian people are, traditionally, mostly nomadic.  Living in small camps, in round tents called Gers.  Almost 60% of the Mongolian population lives in the capitol and leads an un-nomadic lifestyle.  It is not a large percent of the people who still lead a nomadic life.  Manufacturing and coal plant jobs have lured many of the traditionally nomadic people to the area in and around Ulan Bator and to more populated towns.  The lives the few remaining nomads lead today are fairly simple.  Wake up early, get the fire going, drink some milk tea, feed the cows, milk the cows, saddle the horse, move the goats, move the cows, pick up dung, keep the fire going, skin the dead goats, cut up lunch and dinner, back to the fire, drink some milk tea and repeat the process backwards in the evening.  During winter, it all seems to be about the animals.  Goats, cows and horses are generally fed before people and all animal food is kept inside the Ger so it doesn’t freeze outside.  Food is prepared fresh for every meal and is heavy on mutton, older goat, and the drink of choice is milk tea.  Vegetarians are best advised to stay in the hotel.  The women of the Ger spend most of the day cooking and preparing food while tending to any children that might be running around.  Its really cold.

All families I stayed with had satellite T.V. and cell phones.  They aint living in the stone age.  Gers have a single compact florescent light bulb that hangs roughly five feet and eight inches off the floor of the tent.  Power necessary for television and light is stored in car batteries and comes mostly from a single solar panel or a small windmill.  Water comes from ice and snow.  Showers come from nowhere.  The smell of coal is heavy in the Ger tents and camps and is very painful on the lungs upon first arrival.  They have the things they need and not much that they don’t.  It is very much a family operation.  Three generations can often be found living in a single Ger and privacy is nonexistent.  When Papa bear snores no one sleeps.  When mama bear snores, no one sleeps.  When brother bear snores, no one, including all Travisesses, do not sleep.  All bears snore.  Its quite cold.

I recommend Mongolia.  To see it in summer, green, must be a sight.  The snow leaves few secrets.  All tracks can be seen, all traces left.  There are limited road systems in Mongolia and locations are often given as GPS points rather than miles or landmarks.  To drive across the country, at its natural peak, must be a gift.  I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the country in winter.  In summer, it gets packed with tourists and the pollution is worse.  In winter, I truly felt, at times, as it were just me.  In 14 months of travel, rarely has that been the case.

From here, for now, I head further north. 36 hours by train to Lake Baikal, Siberia, southern Russia.  The deepest lake in the world and, I assume, a frozen one.  It might be cold.  Today I turn 28, weee.

Extremes.  Winter in Mongolia, camel riding and dressed under five layers of pants and six shirt layers.  In Australia’s Northern Territory in “winter”, eating spaghetti out of a can during lunch, they way it should be.  Also, if ever given the chance to ride a camel, kindly decline.  Unless of course you are on a Trans-Saharan crossing in Africa, leave the camels to the Egyptians.

Notes on Some Time Spent Traveling: Lets Talk About China

Beijing, China

Probably the most epic celebration I’ve ever seen in person.  Chinese New Year festivities in Beijing when everything explodes.  One of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed.  Fireworks everywhere and by everyone and at a total disregard for anyone’s safety. It was magic. If you ever have the opportunity, do not pass it by.

If you go to China, don’t do what I did.  Take a guide book of some sort, a basic knowledge of simple phrases and never travel during Chinese New Year.  Nightmare easily avoided.

Perfect example of a Chinese train.  People sleeping where ever, and the traveling salesperson/infomercial host who travels from car to car selling cheap crap.  The Chinese eat it up.

China was a disaster.  It was supposed to be perfect.  For once, I had it all planned out ahead of time.  The trip of a lifetime to Tibet.  Eight days starting in the heart of Buddhism, Lhasa, Tibet, and ending at Mount Everest base camp.  The train ride alone to Lhasa is supposedly incredible.  The highest rail line in the world, peaking at over 16,000 feet and taking 44 hours across the Tibetan Plateau.  The train comes equipped with oxygen masks in every cabin.  I made it about 30 hours.

Coming from SE Asia into southern China the weather changed quite rapidly.  Cool at first, then cold and rainy.  By the time I made it to Chengdu in central China, I had developed a bit of a cold.  Then it worsened.  Before getting on the train I didn’t sleep for two days, couldn’t eat and developed what I could tell was a high fever.  But its fine, I’ll get one the train, rest for two days, then hit the ground running in Lhasa.  When you get one the train, first thing, you fill out a health waiver stating you are fit to make a trip across high altitudes.  I felt I was.  The train people thought otherwise.  I couldn’t sleep on the train and couldn’t eat and could feel my fever getting worse.  I was in only my long underwear, sweating, while most others were bundled up, and was struggling to move around.  I spent most of my time standing in the walk space between cars, where ice had built up on the side of the cars, to try and keep the fever down.  The train stewardesses finally noticed me and started questioning me about my health.  She took my temperature, 104 degrees.  By this time the train had stopped, like literally with nothing around, and a small crowd of Chinese passengers had gathered to watch.  They explained to my, through a very poor interpreter, that I had to get off the train.  I made it clear that I wasn’t getting off until we reached Lhasa.  They were worried that the high altitude would cause me further problems and it was dangerous to continue.  I knew that, upon arrival in Lhasa, I would be lucky to carry my own bags, much less go to Everest and I’d likely have to go immediately to a hospital anyway.  I was fine with that.

Some of the on-lookers. I had one guy even ask to take a picture with me, I obliged.  I look happy but thats only because I truly can’t believe this is happening.  The stewardess is on the phone with a doctor in the next town.

The debate goes on for about 20 minutes and the train begins to chug again.  We came to an agreement.  A doctor was to meet us at the next stop, two hours away, and give me an examination and tell me if I was fit to travel.  We stop, he comes on board, I cough a few times, he takes my temperature again, still 104, and I’m led off the train.  By this time its 2:00 a.m., I don’t know where we are, its about 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and I can barely carry my bags.  The train pulls away.  Im led by two officers, of some sort, out  of the train station, into the street, and pointed in the direction of a hotel.  Come on. What the eff just happened?  Im refused at the first hotel for some reason and am finally able to book two nights, at an absurd rate, in a hotel with no heat and no hot water.  Perfect.  Again I don’t sleep and sweat the whole night.  The next morning I figure out where I am and that I don’t want to be there.  For lack of a better word, its a shit-hole.  I can see from the hotel room a guys selling oranges across the street. I go to the train station first and buy a ticket for the first train out of town, in the direction of Beijing.  Its 11 hours to the next town, then 24 hours to Beijing. Next I buy water and about 2 pounds of oranges.  Oranges are high in vitamin C, vitamin C helps you stay healthy.  Seems like a good idea to eat oranges all day and stay in bed.

The next morning I wake up in a puddle of my own diarrhea and a ruined pair of long underwear, not to mention the sheets.  I just thought I had to fart, I was wrong.

I learned two things from those two days.  It is a bad Idea to eat only oranges all day and you can never trust a fart.

The above are obviously not mine.

You can find just about any animal you want, or don’t want, in Chinese markets.  Maybe some nice shark kebabs, rack of dog, alligator or your choice of fish, chicken or goat head.  The shark aint bad.

Chinese cities are big and getting bigger.  Nanning, China.