Mongolia in brief

The past three weeks I have spent in Mongolia or recovering from it.  Admittedly, the time absent from the Internet really began on 23^rd May, as parts of the house were to be done up while we were away, so not only did suitcases needed to be packed (or even bought), significant transfers of room property had to be reconfigured in other parts of the house like a Tetris puzzle.  Still the proposed work is not done but that was to be expected.

While largely away from the Internet in Mongolia, the opportunity to free myself from the tyranny of 24 hour news availed itself and nothing of any real consequence occurred (apart from the commemoration of the Queen’s coronation).  I once checked in idly and the top story was that people entering hospital were more likely to die on a Friday than a Monday or something.  Yawn!  Only since I have returned in the last few days have anything of significance occurred, namely, the USA’s assertion that Syria has crossed a red line (through use of chemical weapons), prompting America to directly arm the rebels and also Iran’s general election to elect a figurehead president.

The eleven hour flight from Gatwick to Beijing was interminable.  Already struggling from a lack of sleep prior to leaving (we were up very late Friday and Saturday, trying to fix the house ready for the builders), Kimberley slept very little.  She is fascinated by other children (even up to the age of 12, with an aunt of that description) and a five-year old Anglo-Chinese girl (her mother was clearly Chinese but her daughter displayed more European facial characteristics and possessed excellent English for someone so young) across the aisle was loving Kimberley’s reactions to her playing and just made Kimberley even more hyperactive and excited – not conducive to sleep at all.

Having been to Mongolia five times before, this occasion was no great shakes for me.  In Ulaanbaatar the first few days, we stayed in the apartment near the city centre rented by my sister and my sister-in-law.  The sofa bed was a joy to stretch out and clear out the jet lag and stiff legs, though Kimberley had to sleep between myself and Altaa.  On our first evening (27^th May), it snowed heavily though I decided against going outside, fearing it might perk me up when I needed sleep.  It would still be there in the morning I reasoned.  That it was but in lesser quantity than would have been the case in the night and it did not snow again thereafter.  We did get a chance to play in it an hour’s drive out of the city as we left for the place of Altaa’s parents deep in the northern countryside.

We spent ten days on their farm.  The weather could be changeable – torrential rain in the morning, boiling heat in the afternoon.  A mini-Naadam in the area where young children would ride and race horses was both a wash-out and a dust-up – strong winds scouring the open landscape and whipping it in our eyes and mouths, while in the distance some unidentifiable riders crossed a finishing line; peak of sporting excitement it was not.  Popping down to the river with its pure water (and wading across to nearby islands) was a delight.  I also got time with the mayor to interview him as part of my dissertation.

Then we returned to the cities (an afternoon stopover in Darhan, then a few days in Ulaanbaatar).  Time whizzed so fast that it was 72 hours later that an opportunity to used an Internet cafe emerged.  I wasn’t motivated to blog – just check out emails.  Then I left ultimately to return to the UK, the home and the office.  Given the state of the weather, I must have been away for longer than I realised, leaving in May and returning in October.