Mongolia : Day 2

Day 2 consisted of starting our "Big Mongolian Tour" by heading North towards the Amarbayasgalant Monastery. 

We had two 4WD vans throughout our trek that were driven by some very talented locals who had been driving the countryside for years. All I can say is thank goodness for 4WD (and sports bras) as the majority of the roads were unpaved and very bumpy. 

One thing I had to get over real fast was the idea of having a gas station for our bathroom stops. Since the majority of Mongolia is vast country side, our bathroom stops mainly consisted of views like this...aka whenever we had to go, we simply popped a squat out in the middle of nowhere. Very lady-like, I know, however this is what all Mongolians do. 

The ladies would go towards one side of the van, and the gentleman towards the other. Some days we were lucky enough to have a tree or a rock to hide behind, but on others we merely had to embrace the flat land, and just own it. Bare ass and all. 

After a few hours of driving North we made it to our first ger camp near the Amarbayasgalant Monastery. This tourist run camp had a dining hall where we ate all our meals, as well as community bathrooms equipped with hot water. We arrived at the camp around 4pm which allowed us to shower off, read a little, and get comfortable in our new home for the night.

Traditionally, gers are used for Nomadic Mongolians as they are fairly easy to break apart and transport to their Summer or Winter camps. The gers we stayed in usually consisted of 3 beds, 2 little night stands, rugs, and a cozy fireplace. 

Believe it or not, this photo was taken around 10pm. I loved how long it stayed light outside there. We spent the remainder of the evening playing traditional Mongolian games, and blowing bubbles throughout the ger camp. We brought little gifts along the way to give to the children and families we met throughout Mongolia. 

After laughing way harder than anticipated with the bubbles, we decided we should gift them to the children we saw playing around the camp. We found the camp manager, who was also the Grandpa of the family, and tried to communicate to him via hand gestures to give the bubbles to his grandchildren. He smiled, shook his head and started walking towards the children. As I made my way towards my ger I turned around, and low and behold I see the Grandpa playing with the bubbles all by himself, and smiling. It was the most precious thing I had seen in a while.

 It was at that very moment where I knew this trip was going to be a game changer.