We hired a jeep, driver, and guide for our 5-day camping trip in Central Mongolia. We spent most of the first day driving. When we arrived in Mongol Els, we met a nomadic family who offered to take us on a horse trek tomorrow. We pitched our tent, cooked some rice, and went to bed early.
Day 2: Horse Trek
We woke up at 6am to a beautiful morning. The sun was out, the sky was blue and we were ready for our horse trek. Osoho (pronounced 'Sko'), our horse guide, took us through empty steppes and sand dunes. What a way to spend a Saturday morning! The nomadic family we met the day before invited us over for lunch in their ger. Mongolians are known for their unbounded hospitality. Fried noodles with meat. Yum! In the afternoon, we visited the Erdene Zuu monastery, the oldest monastery in Mongolia.
Day 3: Drinking Airag
We spent the morning driving to Lake Orkhon. A nomadic family by the lake invited us in for airag - fermented mare's milk. It tastes kind of like carbonated sour yogurt. The Mongolian custom is to drink three cups. One woman insisted I play a drinking game with her but I polited refused. I didn't want to pass out after the first round! We camped out by Bayannur, a small lake in the middle of sand dunes.
Day 4: Break Down
We had a very Mongolian experience today. Our jeep broke down! The radiator started leaking and the engine overheated. We patched up the hole with rope and scotch tape, poured all the water we had into the radiator, but after a few miles, it broke down again. We walked about 1/2 mile to the nearest ger and asked for some water. The nomads were so generous, they gave us water and even served us tea and arol (dried cheese). We fed our jeep some more water but since the radiator was still leaking, it would break down every few miles. In the end, it took us 8 hours, tons of water, and 5 ger visits to drive 50 miles!
Day 5: Takhi Wild Horses
We woke up at 6am to see the takhi (wild horses) at the Khustain National Park. These horses were believed to have gone extinct in 1969 due to poaching and overgrazing. But a few still existed in zoos outside of Mongolia. However, as the country was under Soviet control at the time, it was impossible for conservationists to bring the takhi back. In the early 1990s, when democracy arrived with the fall of the Soviet Union, the takhi were reintroduced into Mongolia. Today, there are more than 200 takhi at the Khustain National Park.
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