Survival in winter 2

The frozen lake. The ice is about 3 feet thick - thick enough to support a jeep.

Survival in winter

The second place we stayed at on the Kharkhorin trip was with this man and his wife in their ger at the edge of a lake. The man showed us the certificates and commendations he had had for the fresh and smoked fish he'd produced. He and his wife also have some livestock, but this is mainly for their own use.

We went with him out to the middle of this lake, where he first broke the ice that covered his two fishing holes, then checked the nets that were suspended between them. This took about an hour and a half altogether, and for most of the time he worked without gloves.

With an air temperature of about minus 35, and a good strong wind blowing across the ice, it was absolutely, utterly freezing ... After 20 mins I had to go and sit inside the jeep. There are no words to describe how tough these people are.

Kharkhorin cont again part 2

In the hills round Kharkhorin are, or were, monuments marking out the boundaries of the ancient capital. At the top of this hill is a stone tortoise, about the size of an armchair, which marks one of the 4 corners of the capital. The other 3 are lost.

Kharkhorin cont again

This is part of the ancient monastery at Kharkhorin. Or what remains. It was well & truly dismantled by the Russians; now there are a few carved stones and parts of temples, and in the last 10 or 15 years another ger temple and some stupas have been erected.

We went to the ger temple with the boys. It was incredible to be there with them - they took us round all the statues & icons, and got us to copy the ways that they bowed to each one or touched their forehead to them. Because it was the first day of the New Year, there was an extra ceremony - the monk gave everyone there one of the holy books to hold (these are hundreds and hundreds of years old - written in Tibetan, wrapped in silk), and we all stood in rows in front of the big golden Buddha at the north end of the ger while he chanted and sang. After maybe 10 or 15 mins, we each bowed to the Buddha and then carefully gave him back the books, which we put back in this beautiful piece of furniture that looked a bit like a "doocot", with pigeonholes for each wrapped book.

I read later that, when the monastery was being dismantled, the local people took as many of the holy books as they could and hid them in their gers, or in secret places in the mountains. Now there is a move to try and collect them and preserve them; but no-one really knows how many are still hidden, or sitting on people's shrines at home - the herder families may not know where their parents or grandparents got them, or what they really are.

Tsaagan Tsar - The White Month cont.

The first family we stayed with had 3 sons, the oldest 11 years old, the youngest about 5. They were absolutely terrific. It is the oldest son's job during Tsaagan Tsar to serve the guests; thus we sat around chatting, and he would from time to time offer us a bowl of sweets from the table, or bring another full glass of "suutei tei" (milky tea), or the fermented fruit juice that his mum had prepared.

It was really tasty - just fruit, sugar and water, left covered over until it went "off" and turned slightly alcoholic. This was what the children drank while the adults drank vodka. The children calmly helped themselves while we blethered .... What a laugh.

This is a photo of the eldest son on a camel, rounding up their horses at the end of the day.

Tsaagan Tsar - The White Month

This is the "Tsaagan Tsar feast" at the ger of one family we stayed with. The back and tail of a sheep is laid out, along with all sorts of goodies & sweets. At the back on the right is a layered tower of this special flat bread that they make at this time of year, with other goodies in between. It is important that you have an odd number of layers, so you can start counting from the bottom: "Happiness, sadness, happiness, sadness ...." and end up with "happiness" at the top.

On the eve of Tsaagan Tsar (which was 7th Feb this year), the head of the family cuts some pieces of meat from the feast and gives them to all the things that protect and help the family; thus a piece was placed on a rafter over the door, a piece was placed on his gun, the guard dog was brought in beside the family & guests and given some. I think this is probably the only time the dog ever comes in - it was REALLY reluctant to come inside, and had to be dragged in by the collar. Finally, the father put the meat on the floor beside the fire, and it ran in, bolted it down and ran out again. At night it sleeps, curled in a ball, at the door of the ger - even when it's minus 30 or below ....

Kharkhorin cont

The Mongolian winter is divided into 9 sets of 9 days, which start on the Winter Solstice. In the coldest "nine", which was when we went to Kharkhorin, the water from your rice will freeze if left on the table inside your ger when the fire goes out at night. It certainly was incredibly cold. In this picture I am wearing a thermal vest & leggings, saloupettes (sp?), arran jumper, fleece, fleece-lined anorak with hood, woolly hat and 2 pairs gloves. You have to wind your scarf round your face to protect your nose and mouth; otherwise, the wind scours your face like sand paper. Ice forms on your eyelashes, and on your hair from the moisture in your breath. Outside it is spectacularly sunny, with lovely sparkly landscapes and a perfect blue sky. But I can only stay out for 30 mins before I start to feel really really cold - slightly disorientated, feet completely wooden etc etc.

Yes, nippy.