Road trip to ERDENET

49° 1′ 40″ N, 104° 2′ 40″ E

The road to Erdenet...

This is about as good as the roads get in winter-a mostly single lane of treacherous, lumpy, bumpy bitumen.

Erdenet, Mongolia's second largest city, is 6 hours drive north-west from the capital, Ulaanbaatar.  

It has the fourth largest copper mine in the world and is a significant town in that it accounts for nearly fifteen percent of Mongolia's GDP.

Last weekend a large group of Oyu Tolgoi employees went to Erdenet to celebrate "500 Days" since  the inception of their Mining Education and Vocational training programs and facilities for the youth of Mongolia.  It was a chance for many to renew old friendships that were forged in the process and celebrate the progress of the program.   

As usual by Mongolian standards, we were given a very special welcome. 

There were ribbons to be cut...

facilities to be inspected and new training equipment to try out...
(such as back hoe and crane simulators)

After all the formalities we were treated to a short concert of traditional performers. I would really recommend you take a minute to listen to the distinctive acoustics of a

Mongolian throat singer. Fascinating! 

Traditional singer

Many dance moves emulate riding a horse...
very rhythmic and beautiful

Of course, there is always the obligatory bowl of airag to share after the formalities...

There was also just enough time to visit Erdenet Carpets- Mongolia's leading carpet manufacturer and one of the ten largest companies in the country. Definitely worth a visit!

Although this is not me ... I followed suit and left with my own souvenir carpet!

There were many celebrations and speeches and vodka toasts that night  but I'm just posting this special picture taken at a local night club after formal celebrations were long finished.

And here are some scenes you can expect to see on a 6 hour road trip from Erdenet to the capital...

Snow covered plains with golden grass and low lying mountains on the horizon

Beautiful earthy tones

unfortunately that's smoke pollution making its way across the skies :(

Pit stop. (approx -25C)  

Another Erdenet purchase-a Mets jacket!  Who would have thought!!

The harmony of colours are just beautiful to look at.

...and then literally in the middle of nowhere....

...the dry and smoked fish sellers

...hawk their wares
Fish is from the Orkhon river, the longest river in Mongolia (which we had just crossed) Of course it's frozen solid right now. Locals still fish by drilling into the ice.
 Pike, Carp, Taimen, Perch and Catfish can be found there.

...And every now and then as you approach a populated area, heavenly blue pristine skies are being assaulted as coal stacks belch thick clouds of black soot into the air.
(Coal is still the main source of heat and energy in Mongolia)

A Weekend in the Countryside

Summertime in Mongolia is short but spectacular.   There are endless expanses of grasslands, low mountain ranges, granite cliffs, fertile valleys, lakes and rivers to enjoy.  It's also the home of 30 million goats, sheep, cows and camels, so there are a lot of encounters with livestock!  It's not at all difficult to understand why during summer there is a mass exodus to the countryside in keeping with nomadic tradition.   It's definitely a welcome relief from the city's congestion.  Last weekend we also joined the ranks  to soak up some fresh air and rural simplicity...  these photos are a good representation of what a weekend spent in the countryside looks like.

Double click on the photos if you want to see them full screen

This is the "highway" out of town-
narrow with tons of hazards like potholes, wandering animals and people who stop to relieve themselves! (not all that different from a city road!)

Our Ger camp exit

The following pictures were taken on our walk.   Ole told us he knew friends living "over the next hill" who we should pay a surprise visit to, but in fact it turned out to be 2 challenging hills!  The scenery made up for the unexpected "hike".  We arrived to find nobody home. A neighbour said they had gone to the "countryside" for the weekend. Had to chuckle, I really thought that's where we were!!

Looks as though this could be a farm scene in any country

Getting higher....

and higher...

...and higher still!  We came from the gers pictured on the right (in the valley).
(the soccer pitch will be seen from another view further on in the blog again)

Ole...waiting for the stragglers

Judy and Col

The view is different again from another perspective.

On our travels, we found a group of people preparing traditional Mongolian Khorkhog which is basically mutton cooked with hot stones. Meat is layered with vegetables and hot rocks in a container which is then closed and put on the stove to simmer.  Apparently they can tell when its ready by the aroma.  I was happy to see all the men doing the preparations!

That's burning dung in the centre of the picture.
 The guy in the foreground is peeling carrots, onions and potatoes

The meat, veges and hot stones will be layered into the milk jug on the right.

Some of the meat...looks quite lean in comparison to what's usually on offer!

Passing cow parade at dusk each night...they seemed to know where they were headed.

...enjoying a pre dinner drink after a long walk

There were some heavy rain showers on Sunday afternoon.
 This is the soccer pitch that was in an earlier picture.

The Flora and Fauna....up close.

A herder who was making good business offering horse and camel rides.

They say dog owners really do look like their pets.
  Could it be the same for camel owners??
I didn't want to be unkind but I couldnt help  comparing this man's face with his camels!

You often see calves with Coca Cola cans hanging off their noses 
(they are used as a weaning aid :(  )

We had to pass this guy as we rounded the fence.  
Although he was timid, he was large and intimidating up close!

The hills were covered in a large variety of wild flowers.

It was quite suprising to see how similar the flora was to our own Australian natives.

It's not difficult to see why Mongolians retreat to the countryside every chance they get. 
I think we'll do the same!

Please feel free to post comment in comment section below, I love hearing from you!  Thanks to everyone who does via email and Facebook,  it's very encourageing to see so much interest in Mongolia.  Susie

Disclaimer:  Although he was also in the countryside, there are no pictures of Dad as he was attending a workshop in a 5 star Hotel!! about 10 km away.