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)

999 Horse Head Fiddles...

Celebrations are well underway for Mongolia's most important festival of the year, Naadam. 

This year marks the 805th Anniversary of the Great Mongol Empire and the 90th Anniversary of the People's Revolution.

As we lead up to the "big three"; horse racing, wrestling and archery, we will be treated to a prolific schedule of events including military parades, musical concerts, dancing,  cultural events and many rounds of Shagai (sheep ankle bone shooting!) 

Today it was the 999 Horse Head Fiddle (morin khuur) orchestra.  The morin khuur usually accompanies traditional Mongolian performance arts and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation.  

Quite a sight!

The musicians looked dazzling in their yellow and white costumes. And it was with much anticipation we waited, and waited and waited...for the event to start. VIPs and ministers were predictably (and overly) late and as time went on it seemed like there was little much to do except to try "hold your ground" in the expanding crowd and do a recount of the orchestra!

so regal...

Mongolians definitely know how to dress for special occasions in their striking head gear and costumes in brilliant shades of red, blue and violet.  (It'd be nice to have that vantage spot (below) when taking photos).

And while we waited and waited...
some got comfortable, 
whilst others slept ...

some made calls...

and others looked a little fed up!

Finally, about an hour after the scheduled time, Sukhbaatar Square rang out to the sound of 999 fiddles playing in unison.  Bizarrely, it was accompanied by a hyperactive pop/techno backing track which kind of killed the majesty of the fiddle. 


What made them think 999 horse fiddles wasn't enough??

Sukhbatar Square today 

Sukhbatar Square 1957. The building has a new facade now

Note the pink  Opera House on the left (featured in a previous blog)