16 - 18 July. Great White Lake, Climbing volcanoes, go horse riding and the long long drive to Lake Khuvsgol

16 Jul, Saturday

Today we started breakfast at 8 am and at 8.45 we were supposed to hike to the volcano. Breakfast was yak soup with noodles and bread and jam. We waited at the vehicles which has now been cleaned and Amar and Gana had started maintenance already.  The usual suspects kept others waiting for a full 10 minutes.  Don't you hate people who do enough just to get you upset but then make you look like fools if you got upset with them?  Not too different from Presidential Candidate Trump ...

View on the way to hike the Khorgo volcano - in the
background the Khangai mountains

Roy decided that he would spend this morning doing his own thing.  He needed some out of schedule time.  My travelling companion went with the rest of the group, but having first advised Lee and Tem that she may need help as she was not so surefooted as a mountain goat coming down hill.  She had no problem going uphill.  That darned repaired right knee had been an issue for more than a decade now.

Climbing was a challenge as we were then at some altitude.  We hiked to the top of the rim of the volcano which was 1800 m tall.  Some parts were loose rocks but there were also rock steps.  It being Naadam holidays, there were many locals hiking up the slopes too. There were not few shaman totems along the way where offerings of moneys and other gifts were tucked into the growing pile near the bottoms.  It was a nice morning for such hikes. We were out of breath at times but we just took our time and got to the top.  One could make a full circle around the rim at the top.  Having hiked all the way up and conscious of another hike planned for later that afternoon, we decided to take it easy up there.

The group that went to the bottom of the crater of
extinct Khorgo volcano

Jule wanted to go into the middle of the crater,   Lee was not sure, the two young ones were game.  We offered to look after everyone’s bags as they descended.  Jule, Lee, Durgha and Hannah went into the crater followed shortly by Mike.  Brian went for a wander on his own.  For an octogenarian, he put us to shame as he walked comfortably and quickly with the aid of a hiking pole.  Sometimes we concerned when it appeared to us that he took more risks than we would like even though we know that he knows what he is doing.  At the rim, waiting for the others to descend and climb back, we were treated to tales of a rift that was developing between the two couples.  Why is it that it always just take just one difficult female to muddy up the experience for everyone else.  We would try to stay away from them as much as we can for the rest of the journey.   

Coming down, Jule and Lee and Tem made sure that my travelling companion did not slide.  It was not too bad.  As soon as we were on the flat, we led the charge back to the ger camp and found narrower places on the stream to cross.  Entering the ger camp, we found Roy too was returning from his walks.

Lunch was good, especially the desert of fruits in light syrup.  Dr was administering first aid to Gana who had accidentally cut his finger doing car maintenance.  She scrapped it clean and he winced in pain but did not pull away. 

The plan for the afternoon was another hike shortly after lunch.  This time it would be to the shore of the Great White Lake.  The lake was on the other side of the mountains so we would have to hike up to a pass and then down the other side.  We would spend some time at the lake side.  There were cafes and shops there.  Later, we had the option of being picked up by our vehicles or ride back on horses.  Many of us had elected to do horse riding later that evening.

View of Great White Lake from top of Ridge #2

Hike to the pass was steep.  The slope was beautifully carpeted by wild flowers.  My travelling companion was loaded down with her 12 kg backpack of camera equipment that she was almost not make it to the first ridge.  She and her partner, Roy, made a pack a long time ago that he would not port her camera equipment.  Roy was really nice that afternoon. He offered to trade his super light backpack for her camera backpack when he realised that she won't make it without help.  Without her heavy pack, she was able to get to the first and the second ridge easily before we descended on the other side.  The view at each of the ridge tops was breathtakingly beautiful.  It took us more than 2 hrs to get from our camp to the shore of the lake. 

On the other side... the Khorgo volcano that we scaled
 earlier that morning

At the side of the lake, we took our shoes off to soak our feet.  The water was warmer than we had anticipated.  We wished then that we had brought along our swim togs so we could go for a dip in the lake with the rest.  While the rest soaked in the waters of the lake, we watched the locals cooking up their picnic meals and tease family and friends.  Many were camping with their vehicles for the long holidays.  The lake was full of swimmers, waders, boats and flotation devices of all kinds.  Locals do not use swim togs but waded in full clothes or in their undies.

Great White Lake - birds and volcanic cairns

Usually the shores of this lake would be inhabited by birds of all kinds.  With so many holiday makers, they were nowhere to be seen.  While the rest played in the waters of the lake, we went for a walk towards where locals had arranged volcanic rocks in pile in a row along a small stretch of lake shore.  Roy accompanied us to go looking for bird hunting.  We found some terns, cormorants, gulls and several magpies to the left near those volcanic rocks.  Still it was pretty and nice to get away from the crowds.  Brian joined us shortly before we were all leaving to go horse riding.

Ganso and Amar came for those of us riding back to the camp and the gear of those who were going horse riding.  The two couples went into the first vehicle and Brian into our vehicle together with all our gear.  We handed our camera gear to Amar who immediately proceed to store it carefully.  How privileged it was to have someone taking care of you and your group who appreciate your precious equipment.   and he took care of it.  He knew exactly what to do with everything.

The nomads had gathered with their horses.  This time there were no chaps or helmets to put on.  We mounted a horse which was relatively sedate, may be more sedate than we need it to be.  Originally, we had opted to be led initially and then ride on our own.  There were many new riders in the group, so we decided that we could cope riding on our own. Our horse kept wanting to nuzzle with Lee's horse.  We had two guides between us.  And Tem who could probably guide.  One of the two guides was overwhelmed by the two horses of the youngest duo who were riding for the first time.  Dr was riding for the first time too.     Lee’s horse wanted to run off so he was led together with Durgha for a bit.  Roy, Jule, and we rode by ourselves.  In Mongolia, although horse riding is inexpensive, a group of riders also pay for the horses of their guides when guides are required.

Our horses waiting for us

Our horse behaved well and hung behind all the others most of the way.  We would try to make it go a little faster by kicking our heels against it.  It would go for less than a minute then hung back again.  It was happy to stroll!!  We were told to use the horse whip which we were reluctant to in case it bolted and we did not know how to stop it, seeing that we were riding without helmet and all.  It was a hot and dry day.  The ride was long.

Second half of the ride, all of us except the young duo were riding on our own.  Our horse started to cantor at some stage and that was not too bad.  When it could see the gate of our camp, it started to trot.  It bypassed all the other horses except Dr.  It looked like Dr and we were racing back to the camp.  She got there before us.

Dinner was next and we were all really hungry.  We hurriedly washed up and went in for the delicious dinner.  Afterwards, we would all sit outside our ger on the steps and the raised concrete blocks on which they were built.  Tonight the conference was outside our German friend and Dr's ger.  Amar appeared when we were gathered.  He wanted to change the music on his flash drive and had come for our help, armed with Gana's micro SD and his USB stick.  We went to fetch our laptop to do the transfer for him.  Gana was observed photographing us before the group broke up.  We had officially adopted Amar as our little Mongolian brother.

Footnote : The Great White Lake is also known as Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake.  It is a Ramsar Wetland.  It was formed by volcanic activity.
17 July, Sunday

The night before, it was cold around midnight when we made for bed.  We had wanted to light the stove in the ger which had been stocked in readiness with firewood but could not find the matches, so we put on our sweater and rolled ourselves like a stuffed cabbage into the thick duvet and woolen blanket provided to fall asleep.   The sound of heavy downpour on the roof of the ger woke us up momentarily in the middle of the night.  It sounded really heavy.  There was no leak through the roof of the ger.  We rolled over and went back to sleep.

Our laundry of previous evening hanging to dry outside the ger was totally wet from the rain although it had by then been washed twice.  

We awoke at 6.30 am.  It was chilly but not too bed.  We had one of those low grade headaches possibly from the dehydration and sun exhaustion from horse riding the day before.  We had made a point of rehydrating as much as possible the night before going to sleep.

We were the first again to enter the breakfast ger.  The service staff said welcome and made the statement that we must be there because we like the food.  Doubtless that the food was great, but it was their roaring fire that attracted us even more.  We sat at the table with our back to the stove as we like it that way. 

The view of Great White Lake

We finished breakfast at 8.10 am and were schedulled to leave at 8.30 am.  Dr would ride with us today in Amar's vehicle.  According to Tem, there would not be much to see on the drive that day.  It was not at all true.  The drive was really picturesque. We drove along the shore of half of the Great White Lake on a dirt trek that is well known to the locals and the drivers.  Amar made a special effort for my travelling companion, saying that he understood his big sister.  He stayed close to the shore and tried to find those elusive birds that we should have seen but for the Naadam week crowds camping there.  He was sure to pause at picturesque spots which was a bonus for both my travelling companion and Dr.  My travelling companion tried to take care of her little brother too.  She noticed that he was developing a nasty cough so at the next rest stop shops, she bought him some Butterscotch mint and handed them to him in a closed fist.  He continued smoking which aggravated the cough.  Even Dr was advising him against smoking so heavily.

Along the drive, Amar made many stops on picturesque spots.  He even stopped for the cranes this time and tooted his horn to make them fly for my travelling companion and Dr.  He was sure to position the car in such a manner that we would be able to get the best shot. 

At a picture stop

We made two picture stops and both nice places.  The first one was near a Tourist Ger place where there was also a big shaman marker.  We walked around it once clockwise to pay our respects.  The next one was near the river with a most picturesque bridge formed from felled tree trunks which the locals used for crossing motorbikes and humans.  The river was quite fast flowing..  At the first stop, Gana taught the two young duo to play a game with stones.  Gana was behaving like a father figure to these two youngsters who were still in their teens.  Someplace in between, he plucked flowers for his hair.  At the river with the bridge, he splashed the two girls.  

The ger camp for the night was simple and in very rustic setting.  The camp has a heated pool with hot water piped in from a nearby hot spring.  Here though, it was more of a health soak pool than a recreational pool.  The pool was separated by a wooden screen between the men's and the women's.  

Lunch was served at the ger camp.  It consisted of vegetable and meat soup with dumplings, accompanied by a salad and some chocolate wafers.  Our drivers were warming up to the group nicely.  They did not keep to themselves as much any more and managed to tease and have fun with us in spite of the language barrier.  Besides Amar, Gana spoke some English.  With the rest, Tem had to serve as interpreter.

This day was the first day of this trip where we get a nap time after lunch.  We decided that we would nap until 4pm before we start exploring again and then have a soak in the pool.  Many of our fellow travellers appeared to not have sufficient sleep the night before.  Even the drivers headed straight into the ger to have a 30 min nap before lunch.  The three young ones were sharing a ger so Batar must be sharing with Tem. 

The ground squirrel that posed

We did some catching up with our blog in that time.  Then we headed into the woods adjacent to the camp to go hunting for pictures of those cute squirrels in action.  There were quite a few of them, all chasing after each others and scurrying around looking for fresh leaves.  At first, we went with the shorter lens and with Lee and Dr and everyone else. When the rest headed for the pool, we returned with our longer lens.   We sat around for quite a while without seeing anything.  Then as we were about to give up when one squirrel came to pose and sit for photos, giving us some of our best shots.  It was less wary of us generally.  Photography of wildlife is often a very lonesome task.

We went back to the ger camp via the back door and headed to the men's pool.  Since there were not other men in that pool or wanting to use it that evening, we continued with our social there until dinner time. 

Volleyball game in progress

After dinner, the two youngsters were playing volleyball with Gana and Ganso.  The next day would be a long travel day.  We would have to leave by 7.30 am.  It would take until lunchtime to get to the town.  From there, it would be another 3 hrs before we would get to the Khuvsgul National Park.  This leg would also be the bumpiest of our trip.  Lee asked if he, Jule and Dr could have Amra’s vehicle the next day.  We greed to swap for that day and ride with Tem in Baatar's vehicle. We have no choice but to agree although we hate to be asked to go to another vehicle having now formed a nice bond with our little brother.

18^th July, Monday

The longest travel day trip started with a visit to the town nearby where the vehicles were refuelled.  As Baatar had already refuelled his vehicle earlier, Tem and us went for a water and vodka run instead.  Tem bought a bottle of good vodka for Dr’s birthday that we would celebrate that evening and lots of water for the drivers.  

As soon as we start the trip, we could feel how bumpy the ride was and how privileged we had been to have secured Amra's vehicle as our preferred ride.  We were crossing valleys, one after another … the number of valleys appeared to be endless.  We saw many nomadic families and their animals along the way, and some on motorcycles.  We also passed some winter shelters at the bottom of mountains facing south to protect themselves against the north cold winds.

One of the beautiful valleys

Our safety stops were all at picturesque spots.  One of them was where ancient graves of the Kazakh noblemen and king were located.  One of us was about to go for a nature stop behind a pile of rocks so we had to alert her that this was burial ground.  The higher the pile of rocks, the higher up the hierarchy he / she had been.

At another safety stop spot,  Lee and we did a round a shaman marker at another stop.  At another stop, all the drivers got out and lay flat on the grass to relieve their sore backs. There were all in 3 safety stops before lunch.  At the last one, there was a severed hoof of what looked like a yak that had been taken by wolves.

We drove through a town (presumably Jargalant) without stopping.  We passed some rocky mountains on top of which perched several Mongolian vultures.  We saw an imperial eagle on the ground next to a severed head of a yak.  And we had to make a fuel stop for Gana’s car (the only one of the four that ran on petrol).  Shortly after the fuel stop, we stopped again at the halfway point of our trip.  Here we met up with the other group who had left the same day as us but traveled in the other direction.  

At the midpoint of the trip where the two groups meet

Twice a year, there are two groups moving in opposite directions, and it is always around Naadam. A photo was taken of the combined group.  It appeared that the other group was very packed as they only had 11 tourists so with their tour guide, that was 12.  They had 3 vehicles so it was always 4 to a vehicle.  We have 13 so we have 4 vehicles with only one vehicle with constant 4.

We noticed that there was a man with spectacles who was a driver of a car in the other fleet whom Amra and Gana had a photo taken with.  He also slipped Amra a package of food, which he tactfully hid behind his back conscious that none of us had had anything to eat since breakfast.  We were all hungry and it was already 1pm then.  None of our group really wanted to stop as we were hungry but we posed for the advertisement photo for the tour company.  The other group had had lunch so hunger was not an issue for them.  We left shortly after to go to the town of Murun which has a population of 35,000.

Horse teetered outside the police station

The town boasts its own hospital and is quite modern with wifi at the restaurant and a modern supermarket.  Outside the police station, a saddled horse was teetered to the fence. That scene reminded us of old movies depicting the wild wild west in the US.   We made a stop at the supermarket to stock up for Dr's birthday.  Drinks, snacks, etc.   Tem got a cake and Ganso hid it well in his vehicle, having already prepared a space for it early that morning.

After the supermarket, we went back to the restaurant where we had been able to order western style Mongolian food but Tem had to supply us with bottled water.  We used the modern bathroom before we continued our trip.  Shortly after, we had to make another stop when Amra and Gana crawled under Gana's vehicle to check something.  It turned out to be nothing they could not fix

After lunch, it was 2 hrs at 90km/h.  Roy slept as Baatar drove really smoothly.  We saw road plant along the way as well as crazy foreigners attempting to cycle the route we took in the 4WD.

After we left the sealed roads, the roads got really bumpy again.  Baatar said for us to make good photos so that we can show it to the world so that folks would come to Mongolia.  We said that we would try our best.  He stopped for us to take pictures whenever we requested.  At some point he asked if we had such bad roads before in our lives so we explained that we grew up in Borneo where all the roads were like this.  He asked how many countries we have been and we said 63.  He replied that he had only been to China and Russia so he has a lot to catch up on.  We would also later learnt that Amra studied for 8 years in Russia and speak Russian fluently.  Jule also told us that Amra had a girlfriend in Russia but she did not like Mongolian family and had asked him to choose between her and Mongolian family.  He chose the latter.  He said that he would wait a bit before getting into relationship again.  He had no idea what nationality the next one would be.

The unsealed roads were also a very dusty day and all the cars attempted to take different routes to prevent getting too much dust in each other’s face.  It was an hour of the worst bumpy roads to the ger camp after we enter the national park of Lake Khusgval.  The sight of the final lake was well worth it.  Along the way, we passed several salt (land locked) lakes that no one can drink from.

Our ger camp at the side of Lake Khuvsgul

It was 6pm before we even got into camp.  We requeted Tem to arrange for dinner at 8pm.   We also suggested that the birthday cake be saved for the actual day.  In the meantime, we all went for a wander along the shores of the lake to relax our cramped muscles from the longest ride of our trip.  We tried to make a few pictures before the sun sank too low for us to use natural light.  We would spend two nights in the camp right by the side of the lake.  

The gers were for the guests.  Tem and the drivers were all sharing a room next to the recreational room.  The recreational room has a pool table and a table tennis table.  The owners have this cutest Alaskan husky, the friendliest dog with the bluest eye.  It was a little difficult to shoot a picture of him as he wanted to lick you as soon as he saw you.  As it had rained all day, there was no spectacular sunset but it was still a very pretty place.

Dinner was fantastic buffet style.  Among the offerings was this blue berry drink made from crushed fresh blue berries that was really really good.  There was a whole range of things to choose from.  For once, even our fussiest eater could not complain.  

Just before dinner, Dr had to patch up Brian's scalp.  The door of the ger here is just a little lower.  Not by much, but it was enough to result in Brian scalping himself.  He had made quite a tear at the top.  Dr patched him up quickly before dinner commenced.

The drivers and Tem agreed that we would be use their room to have Dr's birthday party. They moved the beds so that we can use them as seats.  Tem’s and Amra’s beds were the seats for us.  We also brought in some stools from our gers.  The party started with vodka shots and just lots of chit chatting.  We brought in the music and showed them how our interesting travel speaker worked.  They were quite amazed.  Gana, our gadget man was most interested in that speaker.  

Vodka shots and cheers.  Amra said no standing up required for cheers in Mongolia; one only had to tap the table twice with the cup.  Presents started to appear for Durgha before midnight.  Roy and we gave her the jade heart.  Lee, some tea,  The drivers got her a leather purse and a ger with ankle bones in it.  And finally at midnight, Jule and we gave her the bracelet that says I love Mongolia.  We seated her between Baatar and Tem, so she would be among the men.  

Trying to solve the puzzle

Gana had us all puzzling over a game with two match sticks.  He was really really naughty. We had seen that puzzle before but we had forgotten the solution.  At midnight, most of us went to bed.  Tem, Gana, Amra and the two young girls continued partying near where the vehicles were parked until early hours of the morning.  The next day was a break day for the drivers.  The rest of us would go for a hike with Tem.  It was the only day the drivers could drink during the whole trip.