Eco Nature Travel

Cashmere? It sounded like the name of a place near India or Pakistan - Kashmir. There are many cashmere garments are sold in the shopping centers around Mongolia. I then thought that cashmere may be one of the local production. I was shocked when i first looked at price tag of those garments. It is quite expensive to me. A cashmere sweater may cost easily 50USD and more…I then heard from my friends that Mongolia produces cashmere clothes and it is considered cheap compare to other countries.

What actually is cashmere? What it is made from?

Cashmere is made from the wool or fur of the Kashmir goat. Kashmir goats are originally raised in Mongolia but many are then bred in Iran, Tibet, India and China and America. The light & silken feel cashmere garments make it highly desirable for people who need to go through the winter season. The wool is certainly a natural produce of the goat. It is harvested from the goats during their annual molting season through the shedding or shearing process. The dense inner coat of these goats which are raised in the high desert climates protect them from the harsh winter. However, the goats begin to lose the protective layer down once the seasons change.

The finest cashmere comes from the underbelly and throat of the goats whereas a lesser grade is taken from the goats’ legs and backs. Longer fibers from the belly and throat area make the wool especially soft cause less “pilling” is needed when the fibers are woven into garments like sweaters, shawls, capes, dresses, and coats. The shorter fibers from the backs and legs are heavier and less expensive. Cashmere is easily dyed although it comes naturally in white, gray and brown.

Garments made of cashmere were once only available to royalty because of its rarity. Do you know it takes one little goat four years to produce enough wool to make just one cashmere sweater? Therefore, it should be treasured if you have one.You will noticed the difference once you have experienced wearing in a cold place which has a harsh winter like Mongolia.

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“Shine Oni Mend Hurgii” - (sounds: Shin Oni Mend Hurgel)- That’s the Mongolian way of saying Happy New Year! How do people celebrate the New year on 1st of January.

Mongolians treat this as a family event. They will welcome the New Year with family members. Having dinner with family, then went out with friends. Before the new year, the traffic in UB was so bad cause everyone rushing to buy things to welcome the new year. In the evening of the New Year Eve, u’ll be surprise that the street is clear and not many cars. I was taking a taxi to my friend’s place. It was abnormally quiet.

So, How do u celebrate New year in Mongolia? As an expatriate, I am away from my family but this is not really a family events in Malaysia. Thus, my friend and i gathered to cook some food together in a friends house, talking, cheering, playing mahjong, then trying to burn the fireworks to welcome the new year on the eve. The funniest part is that the firework that i bought was so bad that instead of shooting up, it explode in a horizontal way…and everyone was laughing at me the kind of firework that i had bought..Somehow, it enlightened my friends. On 1st of January, there weren’t many people and cars u can find along the street as almost all the shops were closed.We then went to another friends house for lunch again, it was a cheerful and joyous lunch with Korean Shabu shabu.

Sometimes i wonder it doesn’t matter where u are, your family is always in your heart. It makes me wonder again..does it matter where u are? or whom you are with? Anyway, happiness is always around us, it’s your choice to choose the way you want to live. What will be my new year resolutions?

I hope that I will be able to optimise this website, provide more information about life and travelling in Mongolia, increase the community of this website. Cheers & Happy New Year to all readers and visitors of Eco Nature Travel. 

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Christmas is a working day in Mongolia….I have never worked during Christmas although i am a non Christian. As a malaysian, we do celebrate Christmas in Malaysia with our fellow Christian friends. All shopping centers and pubs/restaurants are full of christmas decoration. It is lively and happening in Malaysia.

Do Mongolians celebrate Christmas? Traditionally, they don’t but u can see many people selling christmas trees and christmas decoration items either in the shopping mall or along the street. I guess this could be due to the influence of the Russian or westerners. Some even decorated their car with some christmas decoration items…around the bumper or the rim. At first, i thought it was a wedding car..but then i realised it was actually for christmas celebration…hehehe

Many people here don’t really know what is christmas for? How to celebrate christmas? For some people, it may just another reason to get drunk…somehow, i managed to find my way to celebrate christmas in Mongolia. I went to a ger district church…a missionary community under Mother Theresa..There are many mongolians who went to the church either for food or Say Mass, blessing, religions guidance or hopes. Somehow the missionary community church provided a warm and meaningful environment to the children, the old and youngs. The church was crowded with people. Children were performing a drama, singing…..a warm and holy way of celebrating Christmas a cold ger district area in Mongolia.

I was late that day. My friends and i have to wait outside the chapel at the second door..it was freezing cold..my feet was like being soaked into the ice that evening..Anyway, my friends who came earlier took some pictures of the Mass and performance. The sisters then served us some food. Nothing much we did there we just brought some food, snacks to the children. Talking with the sisters and friends. That’s how i spent my Christmas in Mongolia.  Pictures taken below are out of courtesy of Maggie Oh.

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A a warm and holy place which support the ger district community..This chapel is under the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa’s Sisters). It is about x km from UB. Before u reached this place, u can see many gers and houses built along the mountains all around..During winter, this area is worst. It will be smokey and air pollution is high. This is caused by the residents there burning woods or charcoal to keep their gers warm from the harsh winter.

The Missionaries of Charity is an international religious family founded by Mother M. Teresa, M.C. in Calcutta, India. The mission of the society is to service the poorest of the poor. They engaged in picking up strict urchins forsaken by their parents, and bringing them up with proper food, clothing, medical aid and education. There are about 6 sisters here from different countries, some are from Africa, Singapore, Korea, India & Bangladesh.

There will be some Catholic priest who visit this church every Sunday to perform Mass to the local community. According to Fr Augustine Mundackatt V C, it was in 1994 that the Catholic Mission was established in Mongolia . There are no churches in this country. It is on the official request of the Mongolian government that Catholic priests and Missionaries of Charity came to Mongolia. Many Mongolians have faith in no particular religion. Most people know nothing about Jesus Christ or the Bible.

With the love of those sisters who service the community and the love of God make this place full of hopes and warmnest in this freezing cold country.

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It was snowing when we left Huvsgul, we can see that some of the peak of the mountains were covered with snow. It was amazing..The road is bumpy and the road is not paved. No toilet or rest house. Thus, if u got want to go to toilet in case of emergency, you just got to do it the nature way! ( in a natural and open greenfield)

  Again, the flight was delayed again when we reached the Murun airport. Finally, we left and went back to UB with happy memories. I guess all of us enjoyed the trip although we didn’t do much things due to the weather but have certainly enjoy the nature and the companion.

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We were staying in a ger camp along Khovsgol lake. I considered the camp stay as a nature living. Why? It has a toilet but no hot water in such cold & unpredictable environment.  You may experience rainy, snowy , windy, ice drop weather in a day. I did not shower for almost 4 days during my stay there. That’s the longest time that i did not take a shower. I cleaned my body with warm water by boiling water using the firewood. Luckily, I am not in Malaysia. If not, I can’t imagine myself for not having shower for 4 consecutive days….One camp cost about 40,000 - 50,000 mnt (USD 35 - 45) with 2 to 3 beds in one ger. However, it also depends on the size and the camp facilities. The camp that i stayed used a generator to generate electricity, there was no TV, no newspaper, no internet and the electricity will shut down after 12midnight. What do u think? Isn’t it a good place to runaway from the rat race in the city. Runaway from the hectic and stressful life in the city or capital..?

The view outside the door of a ger.

Horgog - The Mongolian traditional dish

The food served was simple & typical mongolian dishes such as the meats, potatoes  with rice. As we have some korean friends in the group, the camp owner also served us with some kimchi  and Korean Hot Pepper Paste. One of the special dish is the “Horhog” - a traditional Mongolian meat (usually sheep) dish. This is also a popular dish for camping or any outdoor activities in Mongolia. A serving of 5 people or more for one sheep. It also entails the spirit of togetherness and the beginnings of friendship.

Although the cooking process looks simple but it requires practice and intuition. Meat will usually cut in large chunks and cooked with hot stones in a tightly closed big aluminum can until it forms a hearty stew. The stones are taken out first when it is cooked. The hot and greasy stones will be given to all horhog eaters to roll between their palms or held with fingers. Mongolians believe that rolling or holding stones with hands is good for health. It is believe that the heat and the grease from just cooked meat eliminates fatigue and boosts stamina. Some of my friends even told me that it help if you have kidney or diabetes…I am not sure whether this is scientifically proven…hehehe..Anyway..no harm trying.

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What is so special about a boat ride in Khovsgol lake? The crystal clear  & fresh water, the mountains, the lake, the weather and the surroundings…it’s awesome!

All of us was so tired after the horse ride, took a rest and had our dinner and back to the ger to have some drinks and chat for the night..The sky at night was full of bright & twinkling stars surrounding the ger camp.

The second day, we decided to go for boating..the weather was not too good..cloudy, drizzling and it was so cold..Actually, i did not expect the weather to be such cold & did not even bring any winter clothes. When we started the boat ride, reached the opposite side of the lake, it was sunny with some sunshine. When we reached there…there is a small stoney hill where u need to walk up in order to have a view of the lake from another angle. It was always nice to see things from the top. As the lake is so big and huge that you can’t see the whole lake. On the other hand, u can see different things when u are standing at different location. I guess this applies to our life to where we should see things from different perspective….hehehe…

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Well, the weather was not that promising for us as it is rainy season..Somehow, the god helped us someway…hehehe..

After took some nice pictures up the hilltop, we took a rest while waiting for the camp owner to arrange the horse ride. I then walked along the lake alone for a short while..I heard some sound of birds coming from somewhere. I then found some birds and seagulls swimming along the lake & took some pictures. The lake water is crystal clear and fresh. Just take a look at these pictures down here. Then, a mongolian boy riding a horse came to me and informed me that my friends were waiting for me for horse riding. Of course, he doesn’t know how to speak English..He just tell me “horse! horse!”

Pictures that i took along the lake…look at the crystal clear water of Khovsgol lake…

  This boy is about 10years old and can ride the horse well and fast. I heard that most mongolian boys started to ride a horse as young as 3 or 4 years old especially those that are from the countryside.

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Horseriding along Khovsgol (Huvsgul) lake is so fun! Can u imagine we rode for 3hours and we experienced different kind of weather. We experienced the sunshine, the rain, the ice drop, the snow, windy and cloudy weather along the lake within these 3hours ride.  Enjoying the beauty of the lake at different point along the lake. The scenary, the people u met and the natural surroundings is not the same along the lake. I guess that’s not only a path to discover the nature but the path of life…Anyhow, the journey of one’s life is full of discoveries, unpredictable with ups & downs. Due to all these differences, we then can differentiate what is life or what is happiness and what exactly we want in life. Anyway, it is our choice to think and lead the kind life you want. It’s a matter of thought and decision. Once u have a peaceful and clear mind, you will find your own path to discover the things that u need. Don’t you think so? This journey of mind is really awesome…I have never ride a horse for such long hours and along such a huge and beautiful lake..

Oh…while we were taking a break at a nearby shop, one of the guide grabbed me near to his horse and i think it scared the horse. The horse gave me a kick as i was standing somewhere behind the horse…Oh..gosh…I felt that i was caned by my  mom on my thigh & stomach. It was really a hard kick but i think the horse did not use its full strength yet..Thank god! i am alright..just some light bruises..Anyway, this is my second horse ride experience! It is still a joy ride.  These pictures were taken by my korean friends, Mr Choe..only the last two pictures were taken by me as the ride was too bumpy for me to take a picture while riding..

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It was so cold when we reached the camp. We stayed in the ger. The camp owner was waiting for us and start up the firewood for us to warm up the ger. There were so many bright and sparkling stars outside the gers. We were exhausted. We then chat for a while and went to sleep after dinner as all of us didn’t sleep well along the bumpy ride journey.

We wake up in the morning but it was drizzling…the breakfast was simple with just an egg and some rice & korean hot pepper paste. Though it was drizzling, we can’t wait to see the Huvsgul Lake. We then approached to the lake…it was so huge and it’s as large as a sea..where u can’t see the end of it….This is the first time i saw such a huge lake.

Some of these pictures are taken by my korean friend - Mr Choe

Some locals was selling some local made goods but selling in dollars. Well. u can negotiate with them. Some are quite pricey but are handmade. Some are cheap.

Thanks god the rain stop in the afternoon. We then walk along the street and take a trip to one of the hill nearby the camp to see the view of Huvsgul/Khovsgol from high land area. The road condition up the hill is so narrow that it can only afford one car at a time and the road & not paved. I guess the skills of the driver must be really good. The scenery up the hill was fantastic as u can have a full view of the lake and its surroundings were amazing..!When we came down from the hill, we saw many yaks, white & black yak…This is the first time i saw a real yak. I see yak only in the TV or in a book.

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