Gobi Desert has no Internet

Hey everyone. I'm back from the Gobi. There is no internet out there. I'm in Ulaanbaatar now and will be here for the next couple of days so expect a couple more posts here in Mongolia.  The last week has been really busy. Since I last left you all with my "first" two days in UB let me catch you up... Day 1: Gandan Monastery, National History Museum, Fine arts Museum. The Monastary was cool. It's nowhere near as large as the temples or monastaries I've seen in Japan. That being said, this is one of the very few religious centers to survive Stalin and Mother Russia.  There are some incredible sights including a giant statue (I think it's of Buddha). The most interesting thing to me was the number of pigeons around the temple and it's grounds. The monks consider feeding them to be very good karma. Visitors can buy bird seed and are encouraged to feed the little devils. Hence the rats with wings. I would hazard a guess that there were at least two hundred pigeons and other birds (mostly pigeons).  The National History Museum was a museum. It had things behind glass and other displays. Looking back at it I prefer the private collection at the Chenggis Khaan statue but I'll get to that later. The National History Museum had some interesting exhibits on the early Mongolian tribes and their various styles of dress and headwear (very similar to the costume designs of the queen in Star Wars: Episode I). It got more interesting around the Chenggis (Genggiz) Khaan exhibit. They had swords. Frome there we saw evidence of their war with China and then their subsequent fall into the hands of Soviet Russia. The interesting thing about Soviet Mongolia was that they pretty much governed themselves and got on rather well (until someone pissed off the Russians). Then in 1990 Russia basically vanished from Mongolia, cleaning out offices and removing soviet equipment in around three months. This left the Mongols with few options but they've managed to repair a lot of the damage from the resulting expansion of urban centers and they have a promising future in the international market, they just have to be careful that they don't destroy the beauty of their country in the process.  The Art Museum was basically the history museum with some paintings. I wasn't impressed. None the less, the art could hold my interest.  Early 20th Century Mongolian art reminds me of pre-renaissance art in that it shows a complete lack of perspective. However it gives us a good idea of how Mongols from the early 1900's lived.  Many of the paintings were views of cities or large camps. These pictures gave a sort of aerial view of the location while detailing social activities. Other paintings were portraits of different demons (a common theme). The most impressive were the woodblock prints.  I can't imagine carving such rich detail into a a piece of wood, applying ink, then placing it on a piece of paper or silk. Certain prints even had the original woodblock. That was well worth the visit. Day 2: Gun-Galuut Nature Reserve  That morning we listened to a United States Embassy official talk about the political climate between the US and Mongolia. He dodged the questions we had quite well. Then we got in a van and drove to Gun-Galuut.  The amazing thing about this place is that it's not run by the government. Originally a number of local herders wanted to set aside a bunch of space for animals and vegetation. They eventually got funding from the government but the herders are responsible for the safety and protection of the land.  We stayed in a traditional "ger" (a felt-lined yurt) at this amazing camp. I hiked up to the top of a large hill just west (?) of our camp. We even happened upon a tomb. The rest of my day was spent unpacking and sleeping. Day 3: Gun-Galuut I got some excellent sleep in my ger. We had the opportunity to ride horses this day. I was forced to bow out, much to my embarrassment. I was rewarded with the chance to ride a yak instead. I call that a win. The days started to bleed together at this point... Day 4: Drive back to UB  I do remember taking a difficult hike up the side of a mountain looking for Argali sheep. We found some. They ran away. On our way home we stopped to visit a random Mongolian family. It was kind of awkward. At least I felt that way. The family was more than happy to invite about 30 strangers into their home. They fed us fermented mare's milk... I'm grateful they were so generous but I'd rather they'd kept it to themselves. It was an interesting experience to be sure but mare's milk is nasty. Then they gave us vodka. I liked that part. We then got the chance to witness them milking a mare.  After the awkward imposition, we went to a giant stainless steel statue of Chenggis Khaan.  The sheer size is ridiculous. The particular placement of the statue is evidently important to the personal history of our favorite Khaan. When he was a young man he found a whip in that location. This was a sign of his later greatness according to legends. The whip signified his destiny to lead Mongolia. There is a wonderful museum in the base of the statue. It is the best collection of relics from Chenggis' time. Upon returning to UB we were hustled to the Natural History Museum to look at the dinosaur bones. There are quite a few amazing specimens. There is one called "terrible hands" which is straight out of a damn horror movie. They have only ever found the hands. They are massive. This visit was preceded by a brief look at a paleontology lab. The coolest thing there was the pile of unopened boxes of specimens waiting to be cleaned and catalogued. Day 5: Flight to the Gobi We took an hour long plane ride to an airport in the Gobi Desert. We were told it would be warm. I wore clothing for warm weather, as instructed. Turns out it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit. I was a bit cold. We arrived at our new camp in Khongoryn Els around noon and took some time to unwind. Later, we hiked out over the sand dunes to watch the sun set.  Day 6: camels and three camels lodge In the morning we took an hour-long camel ride out to the dunes. They are fantastic animals, though a little difficult to ride. After the camel ride we headed to Three Camels Lodge. Best place to stay by far. Had an easy night. Day 7: Three camels and Yolyn Am We took a hike through vulture canyon (Yolyn Am). The hike was incredible. There are still giant chunks of ice melting in the very back of the canyon. The entire place is the v-shaped product of a glacier. I believe that's all... Day 8: three camels, fossils and weapons We were still at three camels at this point. We took a hot, and ultimately fruitless, trek looking for dinosaur bones. After scrambling around in the desert for about an hour, we went to a different spot to look for carved stone weapons. We didn't find anything.  Later, we went to the Flaming cliffs, where Andrews discovered some amazing dinosaur eggs. It was kind of cool to see where some of the most important paleontological discoveries were made. The tour company en treated us to some food and beverages while we watched the sun set and a dust storm roll in. Day 9 (today): back to UB The city is buzzing with excitement over the Naadam festival. Street vendors and pickpockets are out in forces, and both want your money. We visited the winter palace of the Bogd Khan (king of Mongolia as I understand it) then had lunch. In the evening we walked to a play house (or something) and watched a two hour performance of native music and dancing. It was really good. Upon leaving we were all interviewed by a local tv crew. I might have been on the local tv. I ended up having dinner at a local Irish pub called "the Grand Khaan". I approve.  Tomorrow is the beginning of the festival and should prove to be interesting.  Well, that's all for now... Laters, K out