MY VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE IN MONGOLIA PART 4: TRAVEL TIME by markolakwatsero

MY  VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE IN MONGOLIA

PART 4: TRAVEL TIME

by markolakwatsero

With my Nurse friends, Mi Na, Hyon Ju and Chae Hee

Horseback riding is so cool.

Mongolia is a unique area of unsurpassed geographical and human diversity, with forest, desert, steppe and lakelands populated by over 15 distinct ethnic groups. Horses are deeply embedded within Mongolia's culture; they are an indication of a man's wealth. The pace of life is governed by the speed of the horse and horses are woven into Mongolian song, verse and history. Infants are taught to ride before they walk, and a young man's prowess is measured by his skill as a horseman.

This offers an ideal setting for a small adventurous group to experience a way of life unchanged since the days of the Golden Horde, when Ghengis Khan's "devil horsemen" created the largest empire the world has ever known.

enjoying the scenery at Terelj National Park

Gorkhi-Terelj National Park (Mongolian: Горхи-Тэрэлж, /gɔrxi tɛrɛɮʃ/, creek-rhododendron) is one of the national parks of Mongolia. The Terelj tourist zone has a number of "tourist camps" (Mongolian: жуулчны бааз, juulchny baaz). It is connected with Ulan Bator by a paved road (main road to the East #A0501 Baganuur-Öndörkhaan direction, 37 km from Ulan Bator city center, left turn to the branch #A24, 5 km later road crosses Tuul River and the National park territory begins). The road comes to the Gorkhiin Davaa (Mongolian: Горхийн даваа) pass. Most of the tourist camps and tourist attractions are before this pass. The road then ends in Terelj settlement, which features small shops and restaurants. Terelj settlement is located in the Terelj gol river dale, approximately 66 km from Ulan Bator city center. The national park tourist zone is formally Ulan Bator Nalaikh düüreg (district) part, the rest (protected) zone begins to the North from Terelj Gol river and is located in Mongolia's Töv aimag.

A small southern portion of the park is developed for tourists, with restaurants, souvenir shops, horses and camels for rent, and tourist ger camps, many of them run by Juulchin, the former state tourism company. However, most of the park is undeveloped and difficult to access. Attractions include Khagiin Khar Lake, a 20m deep glacial lake 80km upstream from the tourist camps, and Yestii Hot Water Springs, natural hot springs 18km further upstream. The park also has a Buddhist monastery that is open to visitors. Park wildlife includes brown bears and over 250 species of birds. The Tuul River flows through the park.

The park has many rock formations for rock climbers, and includes two famous formations named for things they resemble: Turtle Rock (Mongolian: Melkhii Khad) and the Old Man Reading a Book (Praying Lama Rock).

Many Westerners were introduced to Gorkhi-Terelj National Park when the CBS reality television program The Amazing Race visited the park in the second episode of its tenth season.

The scenic rocky mountains of Mongolia

Feel nature as it envelopes you.

The sky is so blue with some fleeting clouds

Turtle Rock

As the saying goes “All work and no play, makes Jack or Jill a dull person” the International Volunteer also knows how to relax.

 We went to Terelj National Park where we slept on Traditional Mongolian houses known as gers. 

This is my room

The Gers during the mid-afternoon

Above the hills. They say this area was a winter vacation ground by a rich herding family in the past.

At the camp

Horseback riding was one of the best parts of this trip in this scenic landscape of Rocky Mountains. 

These University students performed a very good Mongolian traditional song known as the Long Song.

posing with the singers

Before we slept, we enjoyed the view of the Northern sky as we wait for some falling stars and view various constellations. 

The Dinner was superb as we ate mutton cooked in the traditional way while listening to the live performance of Mongolian Long Song.  The dishes were really tasty and sumptuous which left us asking for more.

Go Team Philippines!

A very cold summer morning

After the nature trip, we headed to the city where we bought some souvenirs and mementos of our travel like figurines, leather bags and wallets, cashmere shoes and jackets and even some Mongolian vodka. Before we went to the Farm, we watched an 80 minute performance of the Mongolian Musical ensemble featuring ethnic dances and melodies. Indeed it shows how rich and diverse their culture is. The thousand year history of this people was very colorful and intricate; no wonder how once upon a time, they conquered China and its surrounding kingdoms.

Ulan Bator ( /ˌuːlɑːnˈbɑːtər/; Mongolian: Улаанбаатар, Ulaanbaatar, ᠤᠯᠠᠭᠠᠨᠪᠠᠭᠠᠲᠤᠷ, Ulaγanbaγatur, [ʊɮɑːŋ.bɑːtʰɑ̆r], literally "Red Hero") is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is just over one million.

Located in north central Mongolia, the city lies at an elevation of about 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is the center of Mongolia's road network, and is connected by rail to both the Trans-Siberian Railway in Russia and the Chinese railway system.

The city was founded in 1639 as a movable (nomadic) Buddhist monastic centre. In 1778 it settled permanently at its present location, the junction of the Tuul and Selbe rivers. Before that it changed location twenty-eight times, with each location being chosen ceremonially. In the twentieth century, Ulan Bator grew into a major manufacturing centre.

The National Theatre

The Opera House

The National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Mongolia (colloquially called Ulaanbaatar Opera House) opened on 15 May 1963 and made its opening ceremony on 18 May 1963 with Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.

The repertoire includes classical and national ballet (Swan Lake, The Nutcracker) and opera (Madama Butterfly, La bohème).

The beginnings of a contemporary professional theatre in Mongolia were laid down with the establishment of a National Central Theatre in 1931, which was an extension of the Folk Stadium which was inaugurated in 1927.

The newspaper "Izvestiya Ulanbator khoto" reported on July 15, 1925 that "in line with Mongolian tradition the fourth anniversary of the People's Revolution was celebrated with rallies at the square dedicated to D.Sukhbaatar". The statue of Sukh Janjin (meaning General Sukhbaatar) lies on the spot where his horse urinated during a rally on July 8, 1921. Sukh Janjin's horse urinating was seen as a good omen and a marker was buried on the spot by a man called "Bonehead" Gavaa. Marshal Choibalsan (who participated as a simple worker during the cementing process of 1946 along with Tsedenbal) had the marker dug out and chose the spot as the place of Sukhbaatar's statue in 1946, after the sculptor Sonomyn Choimbol (1907-1970) asked where his statue should be placed. Before Sukhbaatar, this place was a large empty area surrounded on all sides by temples, residences of the nobility and clergy as well as the Baruun Damnuurchin markets. It had become a place of disposing refuse where large piles of garbage could be seen. The Bogd Khan would pass through it on his royal procession to the Yellow Palace in the central temple-palace complex of the city. This central temple-palace complex (now completely destroyed), the largest and oldest section of Ulaanbaatar, was called the Zuun Khuree or Eastern Monastery and faced Sukhbaatar Square from the north. It had a large square of its own (the former main square of the city) where Mongolian wrestling and Tsam dances took place in the presence of nobles and clergy.

Sükhbaatar Square (Mongolian: Сүхбаатарын талбай, pronounced Sükhbaatariin Talbai) is the central square of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is named after and features a statue of Damdin Sükhbaatar, leader of Mongolia's 1921 revolution. The statue is located right in front of the Saaral Ordon (Government Palace).

Major buildings on the square include the Government Palace (built in 1951 on the spot of the Green Domed Theatre), the Golomt Bank, the Central Post Office, the Culture Palace and, until 2005, Sükhbaatar's Mausoleum. The Green Domed Theatre was built in 1926 and burned down unexpectedly in 1949. A well-known story related by witnesses of the event tells of a passer-by who exclaimed "our theatre sure burns nicely" as the cultural monument blazed brightly during the night. He was quickly apprehended and severely punished by the authorities. The City Administration building was formerly a hotel and was built in 1936. Other buildings surrounding the square include the Lenin Club building (1929), Printing Press (1929), State Ballet and Opera House (1946–1949) and the Stock Exchange building formerly the Eldev-Ochir Cinema (1946–1948). Besides the Sükhbaatar monument in the middle of the square, one can find several other statues at the square: those of Genghis Khan and two of his generals in front of the Government House, a monument for Jamsrangiin Sambuu on the north-western corner, and another one for Sanjaasürengiin Zorig across the intersection on the south-western corner.

Sukhbaatar Square was the scene of annual civil, youth and military parades until 1989. For example, large parades were held when Brezhnev made an official visit to Mongolia in 1966. It is still the scene of major state ceremonies, cultural events and exhibitions. The Democratic Revolution of 1990 featured massive demonstrations and hunger strikes at the square. Heads of state of foreign countries generally pay respects in front of the statue of Sukhbaatar. Sukhbaatar Square was also the scene of the violent riots of July 1, 2008 when 5 people were shot dead and many more injured

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National Museum of Mongolian History is one of the national museums of Mongolia located in the capital Ulan Bator. The National Museum of Mongolian History is a cultural, scientific, and educational organization, which is responsible for the collection, care and interpretation of the objects. The first museum in Mongolia, which was called the Mongolian National Museum, was established in 1924 and became the basis for other museums, including the National Museum of Mongolian History. Russian scholars, such as P.K.Kozlov, V.I.Lisovskii, A.D.Simukov, and the American researcher C.Andrews contributed in the collection and display of the first museum in Mongolia.

The modern National Museum of Mongolian History was established after the merger of historical, archeological and ethnographical departments of the State Central Museum and the Museum of the Revolution in 1991. It is now located in the facility built for the Museum of the Revolution, which was founded in 1971. The National Museum of Mongolian History is currently recognized as one of the leading museums in Mongolia. A significant responsibility for preserving Mongolian cultural heritage therefore lies with the museum.