Friday, 22 July 2011
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Week one
We've been here almost a week and I think I should jot some things down before they become less memorable or novel.
- ever since SARS they seem to have got very excited here about contagious diseases. Almost every lift we have been into reassures us that the buttons are sanitised every two hours - phew.
- if you come over to visit, cocktails on the 34th floor of The Excelsior are a must.
- summer is a mix of heat, humidity and heavy rain - although we've not had too much of the latter. In fact, every time I've taken out the umbrella we haven't seen a drop. The day I didn't take it out of course it rained very heavily. I'm looking forward to what is officially described as "black rain".
- apartment sizes are nowhere near what they seem. Having read the square footage before looking at some flats, we were surprised just how small some of them are. It turns that the square footage includes (for example) a bit of the common parts (e.g. a section of the landing, swimming pool etc) and the bit outside the flat where the air conditioner is sitting!
- gazumping is a phenomenon in the rental market here. We found a great place earlier on today and the landlord pulled out just as we were handing over the cash deposit!
- some of the flats we have looked at have a maid's room - most of which are literally no bigger than a single bed (which pulls down from the wall) - looked hugely inadequate to me.
- we met a lovely Swiss couple at church on Sunday who invited us around for dinner - when he first arrived in HK he couldn't speak a word of English or Cantonese. Very brave - he can now translate quite happily between the two.
- we met the nicest immigration officer ever this morning as we went to get our ID cards - we had a lovely chat. All very welcoming.
- Eve has us on a diet of 20 Chinese characters a day. If we can keep it up for about 150 days, we may even be able to read a newspaper.
- ever since SARS they seem to have got very excited here about contagious diseases. Almost every lift we have been into reassures us that the buttons are sanitised every two hours - phew.
- if you come over to visit, cocktails on the 34th floor of The Excelsior are a must.
- summer is a mix of heat, humidity and heavy rain - although we've not had too much of the latter. In fact, every time I've taken out the umbrella we haven't seen a drop. The day I didn't take it out of course it rained very heavily. I'm looking forward to what is officially described as "black rain".
- apartment sizes are nowhere near what they seem. Having read the square footage before looking at some flats, we were surprised just how small some of them are. It turns that the square footage includes (for example) a bit of the common parts (e.g. a section of the landing, swimming pool etc) and the bit outside the flat where the air conditioner is sitting!
- gazumping is a phenomenon in the rental market here. We found a great place earlier on today and the landlord pulled out just as we were handing over the cash deposit!
- some of the flats we have looked at have a maid's room - most of which are literally no bigger than a single bed (which pulls down from the wall) - looked hugely inadequate to me.
- we met a lovely Swiss couple at church on Sunday who invited us around for dinner - when he first arrived in HK he couldn't speak a word of English or Cantonese. Very brave - he can now translate quite happily between the two.
- we met the nicest immigration officer ever this morning as we went to get our ID cards - we had a lovely chat. All very welcoming.
- Eve has us on a diet of 20 Chinese characters a day. If we can keep it up for about 150 days, we may even be able to read a newspaper.
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Nadaam
Nadaam, the so-called Nomad Olympics, takes place in mid July in Mongolia. The three main pursuits are wrestling, horse racing (25km) and archery. We thought we would miss it as it tends to take place around the country on 11 and 12 July. Lucky for us the Nadaam in a town close to where we were staying was happening early and we saw some of the action. The usually reserved Mongolians came to life as the horse racing reached its conclusion - after 25km two boys came in neck and a neck and it was literally won by a nose.
The wrestling is a highly tactical affair and bouts can go on for half an hour - although, given that there are no weight categories, some bouts can be over very quickly. The participants wear open chested outfits - apparently because a woman won a few centuries back and this outfit is a sure way of flushing them out of a men-only sport. Our driver was hooked on the action - not surprising as a former regional champion himself.
The wrestling is a highly tactical affair and bouts can go on for half an hour - although, given that there are no weight categories, some bouts can be over very quickly. The participants wear open chested outfits - apparently because a woman won a few centuries back and this outfit is a sure way of flushing them out of a men-only sport. Our driver was hooked on the action - not surprising as a former regional champion himself.
posted from Bloggeroid
Spa
With the roads getting increasingly more challenging (that may actually be a misuse of the word "road" - bridleway might be a bit closer), we headed off on a trek in the mountains. It was unseasonably cold - there was fresh snow on the ground as we got higher. There were great views over the surrounding (again, completely unspoilt and uninhabited) tree covered countryside.
We slept in a ger by some springs and had steaming hot baths which were a nice contrast to the cold weather. It was odd having a rustic spa experience (bath tub in a shed) in the middle of nowhere - but very welcome!
We slept in a ger by some springs and had steaming hot baths which were a nice contrast to the cold weather. It was odd having a rustic spa experience (bath tub in a shed) in the middle of nowhere - but very welcome!
posted from Bloggeroid
Kharkhorun
Having had a lovely night's sleep, we headed for Kharkhorun - a Buddhist monastery built on the ruins of the capital built by Chinggis Khan's son. The communists laid waste to a lot of it, but what remains is an interesting insight into past and present life and culture (Buddhism has made a comeback since the early 90s). The Buddhist equivalent of a service goes on for four hours and a full meal is served to the chanting monks.
Kharkhorun delivered our first sampling of proper local food - something akin to a fried meat pasty - although who knows what the meat was. Tasted good though.
From there we headed to a waterfall - rain and cold kyboshed the thought of camping and we headed for another ger. Our driver took up cooking duties, which initially involved collecting some smooth stones and putting them in the wood burning stove. Once they were white hot, they went in a stock pot with some water (it looked like a big metal thermos flask) and they were joined by some veg and a very fresh rack of lamb. Wait for half an hour - delicious.
Kharkhorun delivered our first sampling of proper local food - something akin to a fried meat pasty - although who knows what the meat was. Tasted good though.
From there we headed to a waterfall - rain and cold kyboshed the thought of camping and we headed for another ger. Our driver took up cooking duties, which initially involved collecting some smooth stones and putting them in the wood burning stove. Once they were white hot, they went in a stock pot with some water (it looked like a big metal thermos flask) and they were joined by some veg and a very fresh rack of lamb. Wait for half an hour - delicious.
posted from Bloggeroid
Heading west
After the odd hiccup (completely my fault) finding the hotel we had booked for a brief post-train snooze, we were picked up and headed to Chinghis Khan International Airport (his name is on everything in Mongolia) to pick up Victoria. From there we headed west with our 4x4 (complete with driver and guide). It wasn't long after leaving UB that you got a sense of how sparsely populated Mongolia is (the world's most sparsely populated country we're told) - vast swathes of beautiful, uninhabited (or only sporadically inhabited) countryside.
We slept the first night at a ger (essentially a good-sized wood framed tent clad with sheep's wool - which keeps it warm and dry). There was one family in particular the driver wanted us to stay with, but what with them being nomadic, he had to ask around to find out where they were this season. The occupants of other local gers gladly pointed us in the right direction. After striping in, we wandered along the sand dunes whilst Tina (our guide) cooked up dinner. As the sun was heading for the horizon, Victoria and I had a bit of a ride on our host's camels. Mine was a little feisty and had a bloody noise - which he delightfully wiped on my trousers.
We slept the first night at a ger (essentially a good-sized wood framed tent clad with sheep's wool - which keeps it warm and dry). There was one family in particular the driver wanted us to stay with, but what with them being nomadic, he had to ask around to find out where they were this season. The occupants of other local gers gladly pointed us in the right direction. After striping in, we wandered along the sand dunes whilst Tina (our guide) cooked up dinner. As the sun was heading for the horizon, Victoria and I had a bit of a ride on our host's camels. Mine was a little feisty and had a bloody noise - which he delightfully wiped on my trousers.
posted from Bloggeroid
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