Wild paths towards the end of the road

After what in many regards has been the longest ride of my life, I'm here, finally, in Bayan Olgii. From Moron I hitched with a guy driving a tourist jeep home to Tsaaganuur lake who knew the owener of the guest ger that I was staying in. That ride was fun as Ega was an enthusiastic driver and willing to try anything to communicate with me. He wanted to talk to me about everything from American Indians to International wrestling, so it made for a good 7 hour ride together. Along the road we saw another vehicle heading in the westward direction, the only one seen for 3 hours at least, asked where they were going, and I hopped in with them. On our way to Tsonsonchendal the ride was grueling with several breakdowns. At 2am the ball bearing in the socket that holds the tire in place busted, making the vehicle un usable. In Mongolia with its lack of anything resembling a road this isnt a problem, so a twist of wire we were going again. We spent 3 hours sleeping in somebody's room with carpet on the floor seemingly for travelers, then found a welder in some tiny village. What would have cost $500 in the USA to fix on a car was a quick 90 minute welding job in Mongolia. Local price: $4. No the alignment wasnt set or anything like that. But hey, its Mongolia! Who cares? After that it was another 8 hours to town.

I checked into an hourly rate hotel, excited that for the first time in my life I'd be staying in one considering their reputation. Instead I found that the bus to Ulangom that I intended to hop onto wasnt arriving in the 5-6 hours that I'd been told, but 30 minutes after my arrival, it was there. So my hourly rate room cost me nothing, because hey, I wasnt there an hour! lol Bummed I didnt get to nap which I desperately sought, I got on to find my seat the one facing the entire bus. Naturally bored Mongolians got excited when they realized on their marathon 3 day bus ride, there was now a foreign guy who spoke Mongol on board. This resulted in conversations that lacked substance perhaps, but not flair. I was asked about everything under the sun, including my religion. I replied in my poor Mongolian... "Yes Jesus. I love him. He is my big friend." Because of the remote location of the bus in Western Mongolia, I think that one sorta fulfilled that whole "Go to the ends of the earth with the gospel" thing. Perhaps not. But the way the Mongolian translated, basically I called Jesus a big fat guy. I dont know the Mongol word for God. Oh well. I hope Jesus will forgive me, I'm sure in reality he's quite buff. Later I was asked to sing, so I sang the only song I know fully... "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley. Encore after encore, I went for what I though would be humorous as no English speaker was on board. I sang the Kazak National Anthem from Borat. A few people laughed when they understood me singing "Kazakhstan" but beyond that, I got away with a little humerous faux pas.

Anyway after a 14 hour ride to Ulangom, I arrived in need of a shower and bed. 3 days without sleep or shower will wear down the weariest of travelers into nothing. I found a hotel and was offered Aral, Mongolian milk curds that normally are a gross yellow color. I can stomach them with tea alright, but the green mold on them kept my eating to only one. I spent the next 10 hours in pain on both fronts, sick as a dog. 3 days in the town to fully recover, which were all boring as I stayed in my sleeping bag reading.

Life Lesson: Dont eat Moldy milk curds!

I found another vehicle on my 3rd day in Ulangom at the market going to a coal mining village called Batgor. I hitched with those guys for 4 hours which was also humorous. The guy in the shotgun seat insisted on playing and discusing a wide range of American and European music, usually techno or pop. He had me explain the lyrics and act out anything I didnt know the words for livened up a dull drive. This chubby Mongol dude was like a kid in the candy store when I explained Michael Jackson's words and "Dont cry on my shoulder". Bizarre. Lastly I made it to the coal mine, found a truck hauling coal to Bayan Olgii. It was a bumpy 8 hours with 4 breakdowns, a stop at 11pm to climb down a cliff to collect some kind of orange bitter berries I didnt end up liking, and fortunently, one breakdown occured just in front of 6 Mongolian herders wrangling their horses. That I admit was really cool to watch.

So now I'm here. I made it to the Kazak west. Its like a different country, the people, the food, the language. Everything is Central Asia. I'm pouring over maps and talking to locals to determine my next hike, perhaps a summit of the highest mountain in Mongolia. I dont know yet, but with a short time left and even shorter funds, I'm just going to make the most of being here, at the end of the world.