Ringing in the New Year - in Mongolia

In Mongolia, they celebrate the New Year in mid-February and not just over one day but fifteen. So really the past week and a half has been a corollary in a minor vein of this. The date is largely determined by the lunar new year and the Buddhist calendar refines it to to an exact date, a bit like Easter always falls on a Sunday in Europe.
I was here last year for Tsagaan Sar (White Month), though on that occasion though driving to the outskirts, I didn't actually leave the environs of Ulaanbaatar. This year though, with Altaa, we were going to celebrate it in the far north of the country, in Selenge aimag (province).
We first made a stop-off in Darkhan, third city of Mongolia, despite being only thirty years old. There was a proper amount of snow in Darkhan, but of the level I would expect in UB - really Darkhan should have more snow (i.e. no bare patches of ground visible that haven't had the attendance of sweeping humans). In Darkhan, we stayed the night at Altaa's aunt and uncle. They had cable TV and, by chance, Eurosport were showing Newcastle Utd vs. Zulte-Waregem at that moment, so I caught the last thirty-five minutes of the match in Belgium before I went to sleep. On another channel, I was informed, they had dog-fighting after 1am.
Next day in the afternoon we left for the countryside proper. On the way from Darkhan to Altaa's relatives in the countryside, I saw a herd of camels wandering about in the snow - a quite incongruous sight. Altaa asked if I wanted to stop the bus to take a picture, but I decided against it, not wanting to look the tourist. Mind you, I might not get another chance as it was a first sight for Altaa of camels in this far north province - she thought they only lived in the Gobi. I guess this is one of those occasions that will have to remain in my mind without being able to show anyone - like once seeing ducklings swim in formation after their mother.
Almost the first thing the men did on arrival at the house was to sit down in front of the television and watch (Mongolian) wrestling. Typical. The owner was another of Altaa's uncles and he was a big cheese in the village being the maintenance of the local electrical substation. This enabled him to afford a large house with yard and a computer with flat-screen monitor. A further one of Altaa's uncles in the village had a massive wide-screen TV, while a further had a DVD player - such are the luxuries of the middle-class.
At night , one could really see the inspiration for the ancient Egyptians when they thought that a sieve was placed over the earth at night, so bright were the stars above. In fact, I felt quite naked, despite being fully clothed, testament to the intensity of the light from the stars and my unfamiliarity with them like this.
Most of the several days we spent in the countryside from Saturday to Monday was consumed doing the rounds of those of Altaa's family who lived in the village. This involved the downing of many vodka shots, sometimes first thing in the morning. Buuz - traditional steamed meat dumplings - were in abundance and I avoided the copious grease they oozed by biting open an aperture in the pastry outside and letting the grease pour out onto my plate. Unfortunately, after a few buuz, my plate was out of action for any other kind of food, even after the grease set.
One day we went even further into the countryside, to what might be described as a hamlet, with a few residents and their livestock down on the ranch. Here I took the opportunity for horse-riding while wearing my deel - traditional Mongolian clothing.
Finally, on Sunday night we completed the round of visiting homes by going to Altaa's uncle who owned a wholsesale shop (the one with the DVD player). I handed over the fifth bottle of vodka we had brought with us and racked my brain for something I could sing that I knew entirely - everyone had to opt into this game. I wasn't drunk enough to launch into any kind of song at this point, so I plumped for two nursery rhymes - only Altaa would be fully aware of their meaning.
On Monday morning, there was a steaming cow in the yard, heated moisture visibly rising off its back. The cows in the yard were amusing, sometimes looking into the house from the other side of the window, appearing to hide behind the main gate as if shy or taking an impromptu dump nearby when people went to the outside loo seemingly out of solidarity.
We bade our farewells to Altaa's family who had hosted us and set off on the long road back, leaving Altaa's brother who had come with us, since he wanted to see some more family and had time off from study while Altaa couldn't get the same from her work. We tarried in Darkhan a while with the first of Altaa's relatives we had come across before setting off home to UB. Coming back from Darkhan, the road may have been macadamed but with the driver of the large minibus putting his pedal to the metal, I dropped off periodically but it was like trying to sleep as a passenger in Steve McQueen's car in the chase scene of Bullitt, as we bounced in the air every time the bus hit a divot or slipped into a dip. Eventually, I resolved to stay awake after the umpteenth time my nose bashed into the bag on my lap. The scenery helped in this respect.
We were back in UB, and over the next several days we went and saw Altaa's friends and cousins - one time, staying over the night (late on Saturday), after much vodka and wine - they were all too happy for us to stay. I also managed to sing Paul Simon's Graceland on this occasion to general applause.
It finally ended when the office was invited to a fellow employee's house to partake of nibbles, buuz and a little wine on the Tuesday (27th Feb).Mongolians certainly know how to bring in the lunar new year.
So much for new blogger, I publish this March 9th after being busy recently but it was meant for Feb. 28, but I can't seem to amend it if the month has passed. So treat this as if it was published on Feb. 28th. It was also published at 1.12pm not whatever it says below. New does not mean better.