Today we have yet another long drive but Oogii is tweaking the itinerary somewhat. I think he's realised how old, slow and generally unfit most of us are and as we have two stiff climb/walks scheduled for the same day in a couple of days time he suggested we do one of them today as we're in the area and also very delicately discouraged some by describing the climb. Not us though, we're made of sterner stuff and Ian is keen to see the Khavtsgait Petroglyphs.
As we were checking out I happened to mention to the chap on the reception desk how lovely the ger we had was and that we were coming back the day after tomorrow and how we'd love to have the same one. He was delighted and asked if we minded if they didn't replace the bedding and towels as water is at an absolutely premium in the Gobi Desert. We didn't mind at all and also asked the bar to hold our half full bottle of wine which we didn't get a chance to finish as we were back so late last night.
This beautiful lady was here to give us a traditional Mongolian send off, although luckily she didn't sprinkle water all over us.
5 of us want to do the climb and so we set off early in one minibus and will meet the other bus later. We climbing up here somewhere!
It was a shortish but very steep hike, so much so that I didn't get around to getting the camera out for any pictures on the way up; any stops (of which there were many) were necessary to get our collective breath back. The path is gravely, exposed,
and covered in loose, sharp sandstone rocks that can be very slippery,
especially on the way down.
But the view from the top (1,830m above sea level) was wonderful.
The Khavtsgait Petroglyphs are an ancient collection of rock carvings created
during the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, roughly dating between 4000
and 5000 BC depicting
Animals: Camels, ibex, mountain sheep, antelopes, wolves, and deer.
Nomadic Life: Hunters, men on horseback, wheeled carts, and rudimentary
gers.
Scenes: Hunting moments, wedding ceremonies, and ancient tribal
symbols.
The rest of the group prowling around.
We met up with the others at a small town where, according to the itinerary, we would visit the mini market and town area. What none of us imagined was that it wasn't a mini market but the opposite of a supermarket! Another VJV classic (like Rehoboth in Namibia) but never mind we availed ourselves of an ice cream and had a loo break.
We then embarked on a torturously long drive to the Khongor sand dunes, one of Mongolia's largest which stretches over 180kms (I think we must have driven most of it). The itinerary was again quite fanciful "lone gers and nomads on camelback hang suspended in the mirages, whilst the desert floor is strewn with a range of colourful rocks and unusual minerals"
These goats were the only living creatures we saw in the entire 4 hour drive. I asked Oogii at one point how much further and when he said just around the other side of those hills I presumed our arrival was imminent but in was another 1 1/2 hours. I have immensely good bladder control but even I was getting extremely uncomfortable and one of the Brummies in the other vehicle said she was actually crying with pain! There wasn't even a bush to squat behind - not good!
And incredibly poorly designed; the only electric socket is about 3 meters up the wall and so to plug in our little water heater, or anything else for that matter, we had to pile up two bedside tables and a coffee table! It did the trick but was quite perilous coming out of the bathroom as one false step and the whole lot would have come crashing down.
Lunch consisted of the usual salad, soup and meat and once again the staff are incredibly young but I've come to realise that perhaps they are the only ones with even a small degree of English. Despite all the bottles on show there was no wine available so we made do with a beer.
After lunch we headed down to the dunes to "meet a local camel breeder and enjoy a camel ride". Although we are still in the Gobi Desert, the Khongor River runs through this area hence the green grass.
Having ridden Dromedary camels on several occasions I know just how uncomfortable they are, but I was keen to try a Bactrian as it looked much more comfortable having a hump to lean against. 5 of us were game including the 87 yo who is game for everything.
Whilst others were mounting I noticed this strange flower - Cynomorium coccineum,
commonly known as the desert or red thumb (I can’t imagine why!). It’s a
parasitic flowering plant that lacks chlorophyll and grows directly out of
sandy desert soils. The stout, fleshy,
dark red or purple stems reach 15-30 cm in height, whilst the inflorescence
which is packed with tiny scarlet-red flowers is generally 5-12 cm long and up
to 4 cm wide.
I thought Ian did a wonderful job with the camera; with just minimal editing it looks like we are totally in charge of our beasts.
Just before this picture was taken we'd stopped by a small brook known as Seruun Bulag (Cold Spring) about which local folklore and traditional belief hold that the spring responds to
human voices and music. It is said that singing or making
joyful sounds near the spring causes the water to bubble or gush more actively,
symbolizing a living connection between people and nature in the desert. Well our camel man began to (throat) sing and without one shadow of a doubt the water began to bubble more. Don't ask me the science behind it but all three of us tourists witnessed it.
Looking at my very short stirrups I'm wondering if mine was in fact a racing camel, a headless one at that!
I can confirm that riding a Bactrian is no less uncomfortable than riding a Dromedary and I was only on it for 1/2 hour. Here's a few photos I managed to take with my phone whilst onboard.
Our 87 yo already heading back as she'd had enough and actually she'd squealed from the minute she got on so all credit to her for lasting 20 mins (actually the other rider was an amazingly young looking/ acting 76 yo). Oogii is walking beside to give encouragement.
I might look stupid but at least my scarf didn't blow off like a hat would have done.
For me getting off is always worse that getting on and so I asked someone if they'd kindly stand behind me ready to catch me if I wobbled over - luckily I didn't. The front camel was clearly exhausted after its exertions and flopped its head down immediately.
This chap bears more than a passing resemblance to the motorbike riding nomad we met a few days ago.
Clearly dealing with the tourists is exhausting for both the camels and their breeder.
If you look carefully you can just about see some people (right third of image).
