How to Support Your National Economy

I kid you not, every word of this is true.

A couple of weeks ago, a rather large group of us went off to celebrate a colleague's upcoming birthday. We spent days preparing and somehow kept it secret. We departed at 9:00 with a full bus and travelled about 50 km to destination.

Finally, we arrived for one of the most highly anticipated moments in my life. We all sat around waiting eagerly when we heard the thunderous motor start up and the creaking metal hull of a 1980s T-54 Soviet tank came out from behind the rather easily penetrable wall. That's right, a tank. We we not here to just look at this tank, no, we were here to DRIVE this tank.

How does one drive a tank? First you need to have a friend. This friend needs to be close, personal friends with a minister of defense. This minister of defense should ideally be in a developing country. This developing country should have little money for national defence. You should have about $200 of disposable cash. And finally, you need to know how to drive a stick shift.

I, of course, do NOT know how to drive a stick shift. Yes, my dad gave me one lesson a couple of years ago, but I really did not know what I was doing. Also, tanks don't have steering wheels. They have two levers. one for turning right and one for turning left. As I was faking knowing how to drive a stick shift, I quickly realized that I only have two hands, but three levers to manoeuvre. As I got in, I was told that it needs a good amount of gas for it not to stall. Keeping this in mind, I hammered the gas as I lifted off the clutch (and I didn't even stall it). The result of this? I managed to do a peelout in a tank. To put this in perspective, tanks are specifically designed to not have this happen. Their treads are designed for maximum traction, and we were on a dirt road. One other thing to keep in mind, tanks don't have windscreens. You watch where you are going by peering through a single one-by-four inch periscope. Talk about blind spots.

While we were driving along this remote and secluded road, we of course encountered a passing car. I couldn't help but wonder what would be my first thoughts when I saw a rather large weapon driving toward me, clearly being piloted by people who were not even remotely qualified to operate it.

As if driving a tank wasn't enough, we felt it necessary to shoot multiple firearms. Now, I'm not a gun enthusiast, nor do I support gun violence, so let's just call this.... firearm entertainment. I opted out of the rapid-fire machine gun, but to be honest it did look like a lot of fun. I first chose to fire eight rounds from a 9mm Makarov Pistol at a distance of about 20 feet. The fake guy (read target) I was firing at, was not likely very impressed. My first round was awfully errant, and I was clearly not ready for that much recoil. Of my next six shots, I managed to hit his ear, and wing him in the shoulder. With one shot left, I really angered this fake guy. You know that little button on top of ball caps? If he was wearing one, I would have hit that, and not his head. This is also where a metal crossbar happened to be, so the bullet ricocheted half way back to me.

Next up, the AK47. Surprisingly, the handgun makes more noise. I got 30 rounds, and managed to not hit a single target (all of which were 200 to 500 feet away). After finishing my turn, I asked my good friend Jeff to take a picture of me. Not thinking that I had just finished firing this weapon, i allowed my hand to grab the barrel. Bad idea. Not that it's a huge surprise, but those barrels get hot. I mean burn-your-hand-instantly kind of hot.

Finally I got my chance at the one weapon I truly wanted to fire - the Dragonov Sniper Rifle. Not to brag, but I did hit 2 targets in my ten rounds. Once again my arch nemesis, recoil, got me again. This recoil was not like the pistol. This rifle kicks back about 4 inches, allowing it to hit me right in the eye.

To cap off our day, one of group decided to splurge and pay to fire an RPG. I learned that RPG stands for rocket powered grenade. And rocket powered it is. This thing has such a punch that there is a shockwave that is strong enough to knock people over that are standing 20 feet away!

What is clearly important to remember about this whole trip is that it was a humanitarian outing. We can't just let the Russians or the Chinese invade our Mongolian friends. So it is our duty to drive their tanks and shoot their guns to help fund their military.

Da da da da duh. Da da da da duuh.

Firing the Dragonov Rifle

The RPG

Going For A Ride

I am quite proud of the fact that in my 27 years on this planet, the closest I have come to owning a car was when I rented one for 2 weeks this past summer. Unfortunately, lacking such a possession means that transportation can be a bit of an issue at times. Since my apartment is on the southern-most part of the city, getting into or out of town can be a bit of an adventure. Here, I shall break down most of the possible options.

Option 1: The Heel-Toe Express

This mode of transportation is possibly the most reliable. It is a much better option when walking from home to town, as the entire trip is downhill. Although, if returning home by walking, it is possible to enjoy a nice tall can of adult beverage along the way, as drinking in public is hardly discouraged. This mode of transportation has a few downfalls, however. It is usually the slowest way to get from one place to another, taking approximately one hour. If that weren't enough, there are more than a few of what you can call potholes, but I prefer the term craters (also, at least two holes in the sidewalk that crosses the bridge over the Tuul River). Finally, walking is really limited to the May-September range, as temperatures start to dip below freezing in October, and drop well below -35 in the winter.

Option 2: The Bus

The bus has one splendid advantage, it costs 400 Tugrug (about 37 cents) to ride. The ride is heated in the winter, and one doesn't have to walk. There are a few general drawbacks to the bus. Not the least of which is that you are so packed in, you begin to envy a canned sardine for the amount of space allotted to it. There are two types of bus rides in Ulaanbaatar. I dub the first of these "The Dead Mule". This ride takes so long it can actually be faster to walk.... seriously. the bus runs mostly on the power of gravity, which doesn't help very much when it takes frequent breaks for up to 5 min. to wait for every possible passenger, even though there's another bus just 150 meters behind. The second type of bus ride is known as the "Bat Out of Hell" ride. This driver has a death wish, passing every car on the road, and failing to even come to a complete stop at any of it's scheduled bus stops. I have twice been on a bus that had to detour to a gas station, and even once had to help push the bus to get there.

Of course, buses aren't nearly as well organized in Ulaanbaatar as, say, anywhere in North America. To begin with, there is no maximum capacity. I have had, much to my dismay on several occasions, another individual sit on my lap, or decide to have me hold their item (parcel, box, giant bag of firewood, etc.). Also, you don't exactly pay as you get on the bus. You simply board the bus, and wait for someone to come and collect your toll. Also, if you have to transfer, that will cost you an additional 400 tugrug.

Option 3: The Real Taxi

There are 2 types of taxis here. The metered taxi (Real Taxi) and then there's the fake taxi... I'll get to that in a minute.

A metered taxi is actually one of the worst possible options for someone who lives here. If you are visiting, not such a bad choice. I have not yet met a real taxi driver who speaks a lick of English. Thankfully, I have learned a limited amount of Mongolian. Unfortunately, as a foreigner, I get charged the White Man's price. This is roughly 5 times the cost that a Mongolian would get charged. On the plus side, they do actually take the best possible route, and know where pretty much anything is. Also they are excellent drivers, and handle the chaotic traffic with immense skill.

Option 4: The Fake Taxi

This is my preferred means of transportation. To be clear, a fake taxi is not a taxi at all. It is actually just some random individual who decides to give you a ride in exchange for money. This is a much cheaper option than a real taxi. To hail a fake taxi, one simply has to stand at the side of the road, and put their arm out. Remember to keep you arm below your shoulder or no one will stop.

Predicting who will pick you up is not an exact science, but over time you start to see some probabilities. The more expensive a car is, the less likely you are to be picked up. Rarely a car with two occupants will ever stop. The less likely a vehicle is to survive the next bump in the road (and there are many), the greater your chances are to have a ride. I have on several occasions been in a car that has run out of gas just a couple of blocks from where I got in. These are not hard and fast rules, as I have been in several Mercedes, and relatively new Honda.... um I'm not sure what the name of them are, but they are about the size and shape of a refrigerator box. There's also a bit of a guessing game. AS we are often out in groups of 3 or more, someone has to take the front seat. As the person who tends to speak and understand Mongolian the best of my compadres, guess who gets this privilege. Since all cars are imported directly from another country, many of the vehicles come from the roads of Japan. Mongolians don't drive on the left side of the road, so this means jumping into traffic to enter the car.

I have met many an excellent driver who gets us to our destination without incident or fear for my life. Many are very honest about the cost of the ride (about 45 cents/km). On the other hand there is a completely different type of driver. This driver is in a big rush. Somehow they always seem to drive some sort of Japanese car, which is a very important aspect to this ride. Let me draw you a picture.

You get into the car (in traffic since the door is on the left side of the car). You discover the driver speaks a decent amount of English, as many young people do. This is of little advantage once the ride begins. The driver slams the gas pedal to the floor, crushing you into the the soft faux-fur seat cover. All of a sudden, you start thinking about every mistake you ever made in life., and how this seems to be your punishment for the collection. There is no longer anything that resembles a rule of the road. Finally you see a red light coming, and think "Here's my chance to get out." No dice. He's not stopping. He pushes his way through the cross traffic, which is moving at a whopping 4 km/h. After you think you need to replace your pants for the fourth time, it gets better. The driver starts entering oncoming traffic.... at 70 km/h. Of course, only half of the car is actually in oncoming traffic, as a 2 lane artery can accommodate up to 3.5 cars across... apparently the lines are only there to show the direction of traffic. The most terrifying part of half of the car going into the wrong lane of traffic is that it is YOUR side of the car that is facing the rushing automobiles. Just when you thought you could take no more, he starts making left or right hand turns across 2 lanes of traffic without even slowing down. When you finally arrive at your destination, you are prepared to pay just about anything for him delivering you alive. I love these rides.

On a side note, a friend has asked that I mention that we had to cancel recess at school due to an invasion of horses.

Hustai

This past weekend, a group of us went out to Hustai National park to see the wild Przewalski (one of the most difficult words to spell in the world) horses. The park is located about 100km west of Ulaanbaatar, yet the drive is close to two and a half hours. It was a nice change of pace to get out of the city and experience some of the Mongolia I truly love. It was also our first trip out of the city this year. Thankfully, we got it in before the snow came.

We arrived and promptly ate a lunch with large pieces of fat in it. After this, our driver burned through the park in an apparent attempt to prevent any of us from seeing anything. When we finally did stop, we watched 6 wild horses stand and graze. Not exactly the exciting adventure we were promised. We returned to the tourist camp at the gate, and a few of us decided to go for a ride on the horses.

Here are a few pictures and videos from the excursion:

Paul, the intrepid nature photographer

Jen on her not-so-high horse.

The Wild horses Mongolian Traffic Jam

Paul was forbidden from driving his own horse.

Me Fail English? That's Unpossible!

As some of you may be aware, I am in Mongolia, teaching at an English language school. While few of my entries focus on things that deal directly with my teaching experiences, I have decided to make an exception.

For a little background, I teach a 2nd Grade class of 21 students. As with many international teaching positions, the student whom I teach have a fairly tenuous grasp of the English language. An unfortunate side effect of this is that my own abilities in speaking English have slipped somewhat.

Since many of my students are rather... active, I often find myself having to redirect their attention. The other day, during one of our activities, I found one of my students doing some bizarre combination of a somersault and a headstand. In response, I asked the child (with no exaggeration) "Who is your doing?"

Allow me to break do this question for you.

Who: In English, a word often used to ask about which person is being referenced. In this context, it is used to mean "the thing in question." Normally, one might opt to use the word WHAT in its place.

Is: A word that implies existence in a third party. Here, it is used in a similar context, but in a second party reference. One may normally select the word ARE in a sentence such as this.

Your: Almost exclusively used to imply possession by you. In this instance, it is designed to create a second person as the object of the sentence. I suppose the word YOU may be better qualified for this sentence.

Doing: The only word in the question that is used correctly, however, it seems to carry a slightly irregular meaning do to the choice of the previous three words.

Sadly, these experiences seem to be increasing in frequency, which may or may not defeat the purpose of instructing the students in English. It also seems that the meanings of my sentences are becoming far more ambiguous. I can only hope that in the future, I can correctly use a higher percentage of the words in my sentences. At least I got 1 out of 4 right.... 25%.... not the greatest success rate.

Taking Care of Tasks, Getting a Big Treat

I arrived back in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday afternoon, following a brief stay in Japan (story coming on my international blog). After a few days of getting to know my new comrades, the miniature adventures have, once again, begun.

Today, Jeff (an old roommate of my brother), Jonny and I set off into town to try to pick up a few items. We first needed to get a new battery for Jen's (Jeff's wife) phone. She bought the phone just the day before, but somehow she managed to use up the entire battery in a few short hours. Having accomplished task #1, we set off to find a wireless router. Not as easy as it should be. It seems that Computerland decided not to be open today. Task #2 resulted in failure. We decided that maybe 11:30 was simply too early for Mongolians (a reasonable option) and we should eat before trying Computerland again. We started looking for a decent place to eat when I saw a rundown looking place called "Restaurant World". I asked if they were up for a small adventure and they agreed. We stepped into the restaurant and it was like stepping into a four star restaurant. It was beautiful. We glanced at the menu to see that the prices were extremely inexpensive. We had some fantastic meals (Jeff even got his vegetarian dish without any meat), paid up and set out again for Computerland. Task #3, a resounding success. We arrived back at Computerland to realize that not only we, but several Mongolians were surprised to find it closed for the day. Task #2.... failure... again.

Finally, we set off for the State Department Store, found most of the items we needed, and set out for our final task. Task #4, a moderate success. We stepped out of the department store to find the relative quiet day had become quite busy. There was a Mongolian competing for gold in boxing, and it seems that everyone had come to this spot to watch the bout as there is an enormous television screen across the street. I now turn the story over to Jeff, reporting from the front of State Department Store in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.



Jeff Eng, in his inaugural field report for ASUTV (American School of Ulaanbaatar Television). Be sure to catch future reports.

Home

I got home. Come back for further updates starting after August 20, 2008.

I will be in Canada until that time. If you are in Ontario and would like to get together, drop me a line.

Have a great summer everyone.

Welcome to Mudgolia

The rainy season officially began yesterday. We actually saw more rain yesterday than we have in the entire time that I have been in the country. The term "rainy" is, of course, relative. For a country that sees such little precipitation, a seven minute shower counts as a rainstorm. Our rain has not been anything that resembles a downpour, rather you can go out for a significant walk, and still be reasonably dry.

The biggest problem lies in the amount of dirt/dust that is present in the country, and more specifically, in the city. since there is little vegetation, the ground is actually just dust.... until it rains. Now, it's mud. Everywhere. Also, the majority of roads, especially those in the ger districts (somewhere I have had the pleasure of visiting a couple of times recently) are not paved, and are really just tracks visible in the dirt, several districts are quickly becoming mud pits. Since much of these areas are located on the sides of the mountains, that mud travels downhill and begins to collect in the city centre. Aiding this mud collection is the lack of anything that even resembles storm drains.

I look forward to the next 4 days of predicted rain, which is expected to capped off with a significant thunderstorm.

Saying Goodbye... Over and Over

This is hard. When I came to Mongolia, I knew that people would be in and out of my life. What I didn't expect was that so many would be leaving at the same time.... or at least planning to. As it turns out, I get to say goodbye to the same people multiple times as flights continue to get delayed. So far, no one has made it out of Mongolia at their scheduled departure time, with at least one person being stuck her for an extra 48 hrs when she is trying to get to St. Petersburg, Russia, where her family is awaiting her arrival.

To those who are leaving Mongolia for good,

Thank you for all you have done and all you have been. This is a year that will remain entrenched in my memories and in my day-to-day outlook on life. I would not trade a moment of this year for anything. I will think of you everytime I look at the mountains, sit on a rooftop and mostly any time anything odd happens. I will miss you all. I look forward to the opportunities to catch up whenever and wherever that may be. As a good friend of mine once said, "I'll see you then." I've always felt that simple sentence captured the idea perfectly. I wish you all the best of luck. Enjoy your new adventures and stay safe in your endeavours.

Your friend,

Colin

Mongolian Weather

Having grown up and spent pretty much my entire life in Canada, weather was pretty consistent in my experience. I could never have imagined the insane weather patterns of a country like Mongolia. We have weather here that defies logic. To illustrate my point, here are some examples.

1. On a given day, the difference between the high and low temperatures can be in excess of 30 degree. I can wake up at 6:30 and we will have fairly chilly -5 (the coldest part of the day is around 7 am). by the warmest part of the day (4 or 5 pm) the temperature can be as high as 25-30 degrees.

2. During the winter, it was not uncommon to look at the forecast on weather.com or theweathernetwork.com and see that the day's weather was listed as "smoke". This is not from forest fires, but from the gers. Seriously? Smoke? Does that even count as weather?

3. A couple weeks ago, we experienced 32 degrees on Sunday. On Monday, we had snow squalls all day long.

4. Last night, in what was the most bizarre weather I've ever seen, we experienced a combination of 2 different storms at the exact same time. All day it had been sunny and well over 30 degrees (which isn't so bad since we get little to no humidity). Suddenly, at 9:30 the skies turned the darkest black (the sun hadn't quite set yet), and a massive storm came through. Sand/dust storms are not particularly uncommon as anyone in Korea, Northern China and Mongolia will attest to. What was odd about this dust storm was that we also got a rain storm at the same time. As a result, it turned into a mudstorm. Seriously. Mud fell from the sky. After a day with no wind, the storm also brought winds of greater than 80 km/h.

A dust storm as seen from our school. You would normally have a view of the entire city without the dust. Instead, you can barely see 60m away.

Clarification

It turns out that it was a Chinese fortune teller that predicted the earthquake for last night. She was (obviously) wrong. The Russian fortune teller was much less specific. She predicted that it would happen in the month of June. So she has a few more weeks to be right. Let this be a lesson to us all.... don't believe Chinese fortune tellers who are that specific... only the vague Russian ones.

Also, this allows us to continue with our belief that Russian fortune tellers are better than scientists.

Forcasting Earthquakes

Keep your eye on Mongolian news. It seems that an earthquake is being predicted for sometime between 8:00 and 11:00 tonight for Ulaanbaatar. Now, I realize that seismologists still proclaim that they can't accurately predict earthquake activity, but that is irrelevant. As the story has been told to me (by several Mongolians), a Russian fortune-teller predicted it. For those of you wondering, it is, in fact, the same fortune-teller that was crowned champion at a recent national (Russian) fortune-telling competition.... I had no idea that fortune-telling was a competitive sport... I think I may have a new career path in mind. Now, this may not seem like a reasonable cause for concern, but the Mongolians seem to be giving it the same attention and concern as an American might if NASA said that a meteor was going to strike the earth.

Now, for this to be reality, we may need to suspend our disbelief. Firstly, it is completely irrelevant that Ulaanbaatar does not sit anywhere near a major fault line (We didn't even feel the quake in Sichuan). Second, the only volcanoes in the country are far in the west, and they have been extinct for millenia, so it is reasonable to believe that one may erupt. Third, Mongolia hasn't even felt the slightest hint of seismic activity since 1957, so there is clearly a long tradition of earthquakes shaking Mongolia. Fourth, Buddhist tradition believes that earthquakes release demons into the world (okay, that has nothing to do with anything, but I had to fit it in somewhere).

So, if you don't hear from me again, it is possible that I am buried in Ulaanbaatar under the rubble. Fear not, however, I have stocked up on beer, so I'll be fine if I'm still alive. Also, if this happens, it is time to stop listening to scientists who do not claim to have the answers, and begin putting our faith in old kooks that we previously would only listen for entertainment purposes.

Still No Luck

Two weeks ago, we commenced upon our second trek in an attemp to get to the elusive Manzushir Khiid. Now, you are probably expecting a tale of dramatic failure, and I will not disappoint.

We left at 8:30 am. Now, it has become illegal to climb the mountains to the east of our school, which posed a small problem, since it is necessary to do so to get to our destination. Through a little cunning and stealth, we made our way through the forest to avoid the less than overwhelming guard. once we were at the top of the mountain, the thick forestry was a plesant change of pace to the wide open plains that the majority of the country is comprised of. We continued on until noon, when we stopped for a nice lunch, protected by a large rock formation. After lunch we continued along our planned route, when dilemma struck. There is a single pass between two valleys that is essential to take. This pass, however, is covered with gigantic boulders and the pile is about 100 m wide, 200 m across and about 70 m high. After a brief attempt, we decided that it wasn't worth crossing, and we would try to go around. Unfotunately, "around" resulted in going down the mountainside.

Where do you think we ended up? The exact same valley as the last time. Not willing to climg back up the mountain, we followed the valley right to the same ger camp where our last trip ended. It seems that this ger camp is located in the gravitational centre of the universe, unknowingly pulling us toward it, despite taking a completely different route than the first time. As for the elk, there was no attack this time, but there were signs of them everywhere. We did see one in the distance, but it took off before any of us could even get a camera out.

To conclude, Manzushir Khiid cannot be reached on foot from Zaisan.

Disease Outbreaks and Weekend Plans

Mongolia has apparently been stricken by a contagious disease outbreak. Hand, foot and mouth disease has forced all classes up to and including grade 5 to be cancelled for at least this whole week. While this means that I have no students for the week, there is no shortage of work to be done.

To clear up a couple of misconceptions, allow me to provide a small amount of knowledge.
1. Hand, foot and mouth disease is NOT the same thing as foot and mouth disease. Foot and mouth disease affect livestock, and not people.

2. I am in little to no danger. Hand foot and mouth disease is passed easily amongst people who do not wash their hands regularly. Thankfully, this is a habit I am glad to say that I practice regularly. Also HFMD, while it can be carried by older people, tends to strike young children (usually younger than 10) as they have not developed a strong enough immune system. By chance, and, I think, through a little skill, I have survive to a ripe old age that is nearly three times that which is commonly stricken.

On a completely unrelated note, this weekend Dan, Andrew, Terry and I have decided to make an overnight hike to Manzushir Khiid. Okay, so this may sound a little familiar (see September posting), but we are determined to make it there. We have taken some additional precautions this time. To begin with, we will be bringing a compass and topographical maps. We have also made the decision to avoid any type of antlered animals. Finally, we have our "wonderful" experience to draw upon, and we know that we should, under no circumstance, go to the bottom of any mountain. Now, I realize we did not plan to get attacked by elk, go to the bottom of the mountain and get lost last time, but I believe that our combined 21 months of worldly experience will prevent such things from happening. In any event, expect a post next week informing you of how we got attacked by elk, ran downhill, and became utterly lost.

Coming Back

It's official, I will be returning to Mongolia for another year. I signed another one-year contract recently, securing my job. Fear not, I will still be returning to Canada this summer. My flight has been booked for June 28 and I'll arrive in Toronto just before 9 pm. I will be in Canada until August 17, when I fly out of Detroit (I refused to allow them to fly me out of Toronto again). From Detroit I fly to Washington D.C. (I know, kind of the wrong direction). After Washington I fly the tremendously long flight to Tokyo where I will spend 2 days (country #8 in less than a year) before continuing on to Ulaanbaatar. I will be back here on August 20.

Visitors and Shameless Plugs

There is nothing better than having visitors. This goes double when you live in a foreign country. Back in January, Sean and Erin - whom you should recognize from my Siamese Adventure blog (shameless plug #1) went on a journey that would take them through Ulaanbaatar. While their adventures deserve a good read - and you can find link on my Siamese Adventure blog (shameless plug #2), they didn't quite seem prepared for Ulaanbaatar. Since I can't provide nearly as good of an account of our time together here as Mr. Sean Mullin can you should read about it on their blog - the link to which can be found on my Siamese Adventure blog (shameless plug #3). What I am willing to say is that having visitors have a great way of getting you to go see those thing you just haven't checked out yet. So, at their prompting, we toured the Winter Palace - which is only a 30 min walk from my place. A small note - there is no heating in this landmark, I had only been back in Mongolia for a week after 35 degrees in Cambodia and Thailand for the previous 3 weeks - which you can read about on my Siamese Adventure blog (shameless plug #4) and the temperatures in Mongolia were a balmy -45. What I'm getting at here is that more of you should come and visit me here to encourage me to keep going out to see the sights. There. Now it's your fault if I don't do it.

The Absurdity of Mongolia Returns

Last night, Naomi and I grabbed bite to eat after doing some grocery shopping. Through the window of the restaurant we witnessed a man, whom we assume to have been drunk, getting pummeled by a woman. At first it seemed to be a simple assault, but upon further watching we noticed a few things that were odd about the picture.

1. No one seemed to care.

2. The woman removed the man's coat and sweater, leaving only his t-shirt.

3. We first thought she was trying to take his money from his pockets, but it turns out she was actually taking his pants.

4. She started to walk away with his clothes.

5. Only at this point did the man put up any opposition by running after the woman.

Somehow this just seems so... normal now.

Mongolian Eagle Festival

Okay... so I lost my memory cards for a while, and I finally found one (I promise more updates when I find the other one). A few weeks ago, Maureen, Naomi and I headed out to Terelj to witness the Mongolian Eagle Festival. The festival was being held near UB for the first time, as it is a Western Mongolian tradition. Obviously, we seized the opportunity to spend $30 and spend the day watching people drag fox pelts behind a horse, having their eagles catch them, and then a few bouts of goat wrestling - the goats don't do the wrestling, two men, riding horseback, play a kind of tug-of-war with a goat. All of the competitions are designed to show how good of a hunter the man is, using his eagle.

Okay, so the picture doesn't show what's going on so well. Check out the video

Eagle festival competitor. Not sure how you win this, but I know how you lose. One eagle just kind of flew away and landed on the mountain... guess it's not such a good hunter.

Big Mongolian men, wearing traditional Mongolian dels, with giant eagles. They seemed to like carring them upside down for some reason.

Still Alive, I Promise

Sorry it's been so long since there has been any update on my end. Unfortunately, report cards, parent-teacher conferences and weeks of illness take their toll, and have a way of maing one not want to do anything. On that note, I promise to start having updates appear in the next couple weeks covering my 2 month blog absence.

Mongolia has Gone Dry

It looks like there will be no birthday drinking this year. Due to an unfortunate event over the Holidays, somewhere between 11 and 14 Mongolians died due to drinking some tainted vodka. The company responsible was apparently filling bottles of a rival company and selling their vodka at a higher price. The government has decided to take action: No alcohol will be sold in Mongolia until further notice.

In typical Mongolian fashion, this has extended beyond the cessation of vodka sales. They have decided that all forms of alcohol, domestic and imported alike will not be allowed to be sold within the country. Only the Mongolians would believe that preventing the consumption of alcohol produced outside of Mongolia is a logical response to a problem that is entirely domestic.

My Siamese Adventure

As this blog is dedicated to My adventures in Mongolia, I felt it inappropriate to include the stories from my trip to Korea, Thailand and Cambodia here. Also, it will clearly takes weeks to update you all on those adventures, so you are welcome to see my newest blog at colininternational.blogspot.com for said stories. You can also find that link in the "links" section on the right-hand side of this page.

Again, please bear with me through the lengthy time it will take to update the new blog, but continue to enjoy the stories about Mongolia in the meantime.

I should be back in Mongolia in a little over 24 hrs (as long as the planes run on time).

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.