Disappointed
Ci spiace, ma questo articolo è disponibile soltanto in inglese. Per ragioni di convenienza del visitatore, il contenuto è mostrato sotto nella lingua alternativa. Puoi cliccare sul link per cambiare la lingua attiva.
One of the principal reason to make Mongolia was horse riding.
Not that I am a good rider, but I like it, and I was eager to learn from people that literally (and literaryly) lives on horse’s saddle.
I got my ride at the end, but it was more a Luna Park ride than the real thing.
Unfortunately my Couchsurfing plan did not work as it should have, so I stopped in a hostel with my two companions (I joined forces with two French in Irkutsk, more later) and I had to rely on hostel organization for a tour. We opted for a Ger-to-Ger one, hoping to move between gers by horse or camel.
My companions are from France, as I said. Anne-Laure is half Vietnamite and she is going to visit his grand-parents in Hanoi. Cyril is travelling for a NGO throughout Asia, to introduce a project to different organizations along the way. We meet at breakfast in Irkutst, and, as we were going the same route till Beijing, we decided to follow on together. Then, as they were also trying to get to Tibet, I joined in it too.
Fun people, we spend lot of time laughing. But they are travelling on a tight schedule, and sometimes this actually does not fit to me.
I had also thought of coming back to Mongolia after Tibet, but I was fast in discharging the idea. It seems quite unlikely I could make it to Singapore by the end of September, especially now that I getting an “holiday” from my trip for Vincenzo weddding in June.
I realized I was not in the best of the mood in Mongolia.
So we went Ger-to-Ger. The Disney-land sensation was in a way mitigated by the lack of water and of a wc. We had to use the desert for our very private needs.
I had a nostalgic shit on the rocks.
It was easier when I was a child in my family country house. First, it was summer. No risk of freezing my ass. It was simple as that: a spade to cover the tracks, some paper, maybe a magazine, and then out I was, hidden by the grapevine.
This time was not that easy task. Actually it was mostly much ado about nothing.
When not busy trekking or looking for a suitable spot, we are fed by our host. I mean, we do not have a lot of Mongolian words, and they neither have a lot of Englis, apart from “eat eat eat”.
I am far from getting Nirvana, but on the way to become a Buddha.
The scenery in front of me is wonderfully wild, in a sense. Rocks at my back, the praire in front, far away I can see the semi-Gobii desert, and an horse and a camel pasture nearby.
An idillyc scenery, but in the ger they keep the TV too LOUD!
I am forced to use ear-plug, and it seems works. The only noise being my heart bumping.
I shoud use them as well to soft Cyril’s burping.
At the end I got my horse ride. And and horse kick as well.
Horses here are not really trained for riding, so they become nervous when saddled.
My very horse was a follower. Could not make him go on his way.
To get some galop I was forced to follow Cyril’s horse.
Riding after dinner was better, I was able to get a new horse, more independent this time.
I really need some more training. My idea to stay a few days more anyway was abandoned for logistic reasons. I should wait till Monday to look for something and it would mean having just Tuesday ad Wednesday for organizing, as anyway I had to be in Beijing for Saturday.
I will come back to Mongolia. For sure.
PS: no post about the Transiberian route till now. I will write about the Russian part it as soon as I have time. You have to take my word for it for now: it was worth to do it.