Part 4 of 8 – (September, 2018)

I liked Nergui and her husband immediately. We were supposed to stay with a different family but that camp was damaged by a storm shortly before our trip. Even though Nergui’s camp was further away, I was very glad she’s our host. When I learned that “Nergui”, a common Mongolian name, means “No name” I thought she was even cooler.

A Mongolian ger has three sections; his on the west, hers on the east, and special on the north. A ger’s door always faces the south so, as you enter, the man’s west side will always be on your left. His saddle and tools are kept on the left side along with his bed. On the right is her bed along with her cooking and sewing necessities. Just remember, the woman is always right.

In the north part of Nergui’s ger were a few colorful wooden chests and cupboards, and some photos. There’s a photo of the current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth, on the altar on top of one of the chests. On another chest were decorative items, some probably gifts. Seated in the north side and sipping airag (fermented mare’s milk) from silver bowls, we were definitely given the special-guest treatment.

Our guides and hosts had a natural bond

I confirmed that the crew members had never met the hosts. The unspoken natural bond among them would have you think otherwise. The Mongolian kinship is a product of generations and generations of nomadic life in which everyone learned to look out for each other. It extends to strangers and even uninvited guests.

Their eldest son’s family that lives in the ger furthest away had just taken in some European hikers who asked for a place to stay for the night. The Mongolian culture does not turn guests away, but as hiking through the Mongolian steppe gains popularity, nomadic families often have to provide free room and board to whoever requests it. I hope the ones they took in at least left a token of appreciation.

Tubs and buckets of fermenting dairy products

We arrived too late to help herd the yaks

It was time for the evening milking. She grabbed her pails and we followed. I was glad we arrived in time or we would have to wake up for the 5 AM milking. According to our itinerary, had we arrived earlier, we would herd yaks, and separate the goats from the sheep.

Her daughter-in-law (the wife of the younger son) was already milking. She is the picture of beauty. Her husband brings her the next cow to milk. He retrieves the cow’s baby from the corral. The baby starts drinking. Now that the milk is flowing, the baby has to go back into the corral. That’s when the milking begins. When she’s done, her husband would set the baby loose and the little furball moos and runs towards a real dinner. None of us tried milking because we were so mesmerized by everything else; the view, their horses in the distance, the yaks, especially the yaks.

The Khorkhog was delicious

The best part of dinner was the conversations. Poor Yuka and Urnaa had a lot to translate. Nergui said they really liked meeting people from different countries, and showing them the nomadic way of life. So, they had gone to a tourism fair to get set up for hosting, and they’ve been loving it. She is a university graduate, and had an administrative job. Like Uncle, her husband was a driver. When he decided to become a herder about ten years ago, she fully embraced the nomadic life. “No name” also has no fear.

Mongolians don’t drink around their parents

Their younger son and his wife brought their very cute little boy over. She was pregnant. Her family was not nomadic but it took her only a few days to learn how to milk the different animals from Nergui. I showed her a picture I took of her. You’ll see how beautiful she is. I regret not being able to print it for her. We offered Nergui’s son a drink, but he declined. We thought he was just shy, so we offered again. Then, Urnaa told us that respectful Mongolian children, regardless of age, don’t drink in the presence of their parents. Good for you, Buddy!

We presented the gifts to the “Lady of the Ger” as is customary. The big bag of individually wrapped candy bars was a hit especially with the little boy. Nergui stacked a few on the altar for Buddha. She liked the Royal Dansk cookies and said when the round tin is empty, she will use it to store her sewing supplies. Steph, Jessie and I laughed knowingly, “We do that too!” Not “we” personally, but our peeps.

They were very amused that we knew to get them Choco Pie. Coincidentally, it’s the most-smuggled item from China into North Korea, and the most sought-after barter item in North Korea. I don’t know what it tastes like because we gave them all away. Wikipedia says “Choco Pie is a snack cake consisting of two small round layers of cake with marshmallow filling and a chocolate covering.” There were a few other gifts that I can’t recall. Coloring books and color pencils??

We knew we were over-gifting

Nergui was quite touched when we presented a bag of rice and a big bottle of cooking oil. We were over gifting, but seeing how truly remote their camp was, we were all glad we brought these heavier staples. They’ll have more room for other things the next time they go into town.

Jessie brought a few pieces of winter gear from Singapore. Nergui’s family will get good use out of them. The beanie will fit the little boy perfectly in a few years, but right then, he only cared about his candy bar.

Watch out for the yak

At around 2 AM, I woke Kenric up to go hunt for a nature toilet with me. Kenric found his immediately, but I rejected many spots for no reason. It’s nature everywhere and it’s practically pitch black. I was one step from bumping into a yak when I realized there were many of them standing around me peacefully sleeping. I retreated quickly and settled for the first yak-free spot.

Read Part 5

Riding Wild Horses to the Monastery

Map of Places Visited