Holiday and Vision Trip in Western Mongolia

We have been traveling in Mongolia now for two weeks. We visited Muren and the National Park of Khovsgol. We enjoyed each others company while making many new friends with the staff and locals. We got to ride horses, which Bravery Averi got going so fast she fell off of (don't tell Grandma). We went hiking, rode a speed boat (!), visited the Reindeer people, played soccer, went kayaking on kayaks that sank in freezing cold water, and saw possibly the best and worst road in Mongolia right next to each other, and last but not least talked with Mongolians about tourists right in front of them without them knowing...i.e. in Mongolian. ;-). Then we traveled on to Hovd.

We arrived in Hovd via airplane and traveled to our hotel very excited to explore the new city that we will be moving to. We virtually walked around the city in a couple days. It's population is about 40,000 with about half being Kazakh. Compared to Darkhan it seems much slower paced, more expensive, but less affluent. The first four days in our hotel was interrupted by a flood caused by the water being turned off nightly and turned back on in the morning. The whole next day was spent cleaning carpets and soaking up water with towels! During this time staying in the city we met many people excited to share with us about the city while practicing their English. Also, we found a Kazakh Embroidery shop where the ladies are really eager to teach us their language and culture! Then we moved to a yurt/ger camp.

Here was where I found a lot of potential rock climbing! PTL! We explored, ate, swam in the river, and drank salty milk tea all while hanging out with other Mongolians on holiday (we were the only foreigners). The first night we danced to Mongolian Music being played on a stereo powered by a car battery until 2 am (whether we wanted to or not). I thought that in the morning I would return the favor, but to my surprise or dismay they were at it again at 6 am. On the second day, we went to a friends house that we met on the roadside, to eat buuz and cabbage salad. The third day, we ROCK CLIMBED (oh, how I need some trad gear). The fourth day we went to the Airport to fly back to the capital and as we pulled up we literally watched the plane taking off. Our tickets said it was supposed to depart at 1:10pm, so we arrived at 10:50am. They said it was supposed to leave at the changed time of 11:35...But even still it left 45 minutes earlier! Then they told me to leave. I said, "What?!?". They told me that it didn't matter what my tickets said. So, I asked for the manager. He called the MIAT (Mongolian Airlines) office they said they tried to notify me, etc...

Finally, after about an hour of discussion using ALL my Mongolian Language (!!!) they told me they would give me new tickets, but they didn't want to give me a Hotel. But, PTL, our new friend offered to let us stay in their home right in the middle of town. Oh, did I mention the next flight isn't for four more days! Can you imagine in the U.S. being told, "Oh, I'm sorry you flight information is wrong, but we have another flight for you in four days." ! LOL.

So, now we are here in Hovd on our extended Vision Trip! PTL for more time with each other and new friends.