The Wandelgek had spend a few days in the awesome rugged and diverse Khögnö Khan Nature Reserve, The area contains some rocky mountains, wetlands near the ruver and sand dunes, but also it has some beautiful cultural heritage in the shape of monasteries and ancient monastery ruins. It was also cool to visit a family of nomads, herding camels and horses. But now it was time to travel on.

The first part of the roadtrip was through the Nature Reserve towards the road between Kharkorin and Ulaanbaatar.

Boulders

This part of the Nature Reserve was a flat semi desert like landscape and the area was strewn with large boulders, similar to the rocks of the Khögnö Khan mountain.

The landscape looked quite surreal …

After reaching the road, The Wandelgek drove east, towards Ulaanbaatar. THe boulders disappeared  and once again the roadtrip continued through the broad, grassy valleys of Central Mongolia, where the horse rules…

Visiting a Nomad family

It was a bright warm day and at noon The Wandelgek was thirsty longing for a drink of refreshing Kumiz. The busdriver stopped at a ger near the road and we visited a nomad family that welcomed us with food and drinks.

Again note the solar cell panel attached to the ger.

The ger was quite small but cozy. On a small cupboard, next to the television, were some horse pictures, of which the nomads are quite dependable.

The family showed us how they prepared food like mutton and where they kept the mare’s milk to ferment. The milk was stored in a large container inside the ger.

Whenever the family feels like the milk has fermented enough and they need a drink, they pour a bit into a larger metal bowl and put that on a stove.

The milk is cooked and then, with the help of a smaller plastic bowl poured over a, through a sif (to remove lumps), into a thermos bottle.

Then the milk cools down slowly and becomes drinkable.

The mutton is also baked in butter on that stove which is in the center of the ger.

Smoke from the fire is leaving the ger via a metal pipe which goes straight up through the center hole in the roof.

The stove is multifunctional and us used for cooking as well as for heating.

Next to the stove is a box with fuel for the fire. As fuel this family uses briquettes.

 

We were offered bread and mutton and before leaving, The Wandelgek got to drink some more delicious kumiz ?

Read more about kumiz in this blogpost: Visiting a nomad family, horses, bactrian camels and living in a ger (Khögnö Khan NR)

Afterwards we received these cookie like snacks that were really hard and tasted a bit sweet…

Then we said goodbye and the roadtrip continued. East again, further towards Ulaanbaatar.

After a few hours there was a tank station at the roadside where he could have a short break and breath some fresh air…

 

The last part of the roadtrip for today was towards the Hustai or Khustain Nuruu National Park, where he would spend the night in another ger campsite.