Sorry, I don't have any photos for today. Col France took some at the show so you can check out his website to see those. Also, I was too busy dodging flying arrows (keep reading, it'll make sense) to take any photos of the archery lesson. Anyways, please enjoy reading about our last day in Ulaanbaatar:
Early in the morning I got up and went on a hike with Mike and Col France. We walked up the valley that our camp was in and climbed the ridge on one side. We were hoping that we could cross over the saddle and get to the ridge on the other side but unfortunately we were unable to do so and had to go back down and then back up the other side. The views were worth the climb however and we could see all the way down several different valleys that met up at the ridge we were on top of. Unfortunately the ground and plants we were hiking through were really wet, thoroughly soaking out pants and shoes and making for a very precarious and slippery descent back down for breakfast.
After breakfast we loaded up our vans and then had an archery lesson from Nemo. Mongol warriors were famous bowsmen and were well known for their skill at archery. The Mongol arrowheads would have a small hole cut into them so that when they flew through the air they would make a whistling sound, further terrifying their opponents. Additionally the arrowhead was very narrow and the shaft of the arrow had a small circumference so that only the Mongolian archers could use their arrows, they wouldn’t fit on the Chinese bows. The arrowheads were designed so that they wouldn’t stick in the bodies of their victims, that way the Mongols could ride by and without stopping, grab their arrows from their dead victims and continue shooting. The Mongols would often ride for days without stopping, using different horses and jumping from one to another when they would tire. They would make jerky with various meats (mostly mutton or beef) and would then grind it up into a very fine powder making it really portable and easy to carry.
We walked out to our shooting range which consisted of simple a cow’s hide stretched over a wooden frame. One by one Nemo showed us how to hold the bow and basically just said “let her rip.” We all got 4 shots to try and hit the target from about 60m away. Of the 8 of us, 3 of us managed to hit the target: me, Sky, and Col France. It was pretty cool to get to shoot the arrows, I’ve never done anything like that before, and I was excited that I hit the target. After I shot (I went first) I went downrange to collect the arrows and a secondary contest developed as to who was closest to hitting me if they missed the target.
We then got back in the car and returned to Ulaanbaatar. We had lunch and then went back to do a bit more souvenir shopping. We went first to a small shop that sold most of the same stuff as the State Department Store but was Fair Trade and used recycled materials and supported local women’s organizations. I felt a lot better about spending my money there than I did at the State Department Store. There were some things we couldn’t get there, however, so we went back to the Department Store one more time to finish our shopping.
Just before dinner we went to see a Mongolian Cultural Show performed by the Mongolian national song and dance ensemble of Tumen Ekh. In Mongolian, Tumen Ekh is an expression for “a leader or vanguard of everything” and in 1989 a group of outstanding artists took this name and joined together in an ensemble. The performance was held in the Ulaanbaatar Cultural Centre and it was incredible! The costumes were absolutely stunning, in gorgeous colours and designs. The instruments were really pretty and made unique sounds. There was a Horsehead fiddle (played on your like a small cello but with only 2 stings), and bass sized string instrument, also with only 2 strings, a stringed percussion instrument played by hitting the strings, either with fingers or with sticks, a banjo-type stringed instrument, and a wooden flute. There was instrumental music, singing, dancing, throat singing, and a contortionist.
The singing was a very different style from western singing and included lots of voice modulation. Obviously we didn’t understand a word they were saying but it was kind of cool to just listen to it for the music’s sake and not care about the lyrics. Throat singing is really strange but was intriguing as well. The dancing was cool in that each of the dances seemed to tell a story. Also in the dances that included men and women in pairs it was interesting that rather than dancing “with” each other they seemed to be more dancing “around” each other. It was very different from the western couple dances (in ballet or whatever) that are very much about the contact between the two dancers and the moves they do together. The contortionist was something else. This women had not an ounce of fat on her body and was so unbelievably strong. We balanced on one arm, did “no legged pushups”, balanced on top of a tiny wooden block raised up about a foot from the ground on a metal pole, even managed to keep her entire body aloft using just her mouth gripping onto a pole. I cannot describe it in words but if you looked down the rows in the audience everyone’s jaw was hanging open in complete shock. The show ended with a traditional Mask Dance that included characters with huge elaborate masks and incredible costumes.
We then went to dinner at Modern Nomads, a restaurant that served traditional Mongolian meals. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. As a starter we got a plate of various meats that included horse intestines and bloody ham. Yeah, I know, horse intestines. Then for the main course I shared two meals with Col France. The first was fried ox tongue with rice and mushrooms. It was ok, I didn’t love it, but it tasted like beef with a more chewy texture. It didn’t really have too much flavour. The second course I really enjoyed: horse meat. It was served with cabbage, potatoes, and buckwheat and the spices on it where really good. I’m not the most adventurous eater but I really enjoyed trying the new food that I clearly wouldn’t have another chance to eat anytime soon. After dinner it was back to the hotel and up for an early morning train ride once again.
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