Going North

 
July 20 - From the sand dunes to Ongi monastery ruins is a straight eight hour drive through dry hostile terrain. Yawei (let's go) is at 7:45. We see maybe a total of a dozen vehicles, including a young man herding camels from a motorbike. The monastery site is a relic of a sad story. Located in a beautiful valley, two sprawling monasteries were destroyed by the Soviets in the 1930's - monks taken away and murdered. Today local kids are paying basketball on a small outdoor court. I try Chengis Vodka (not to be confused with Chengis Khan Vodka) which is also quite good.



July 21 - Babs reports a good night of orb photography, over breakfast of bread w/butter & jam, fried egg and hot dog. We are packed and on the road by 8:30. Today's route is increasingly green with herds of sheep, goats, cattle and later, yaks. I discover that yaks and cattle can be crossbred, making a funny looking thing indeed - I can't remember what they are called. The flat plain turns to rolling hills and shallow valleys before we have our inevitable breakdown. Over a big dip, a loud bang is followed by some mutterings from Bayna, our driver. Car is jacked up, wheel comes off and the problem is revealed as a broken suspension rod - one half inch steel rod, snapped like a twig. Not to worry - the in-the-field fix involves a block of wood and some twine to hold it in place until we can find a replacement. The fix holds until we reach our ger camp on a lush green hillside - 5:00 pm. Before arriving, we come across the first section of paved road since leaving UB. We travel in luxury for about 6 miles before our camp. Each ger camp has been different; all funky in their own way. This camp is pretty large, but with almost no guests except us and one German man that we met before dinner. The floor of my ger is carpet and what looks like vinyl shelf paper. There is a hook in the middle of the floor, sometimes used as part of a system to hang a rope from the roof to stabilize the structure in heavy winds - no rope here, so all it is doing today is stubbing my toe, so I rearrange the furniture.
Update -It's now 8:15 and Bayna has returned - he is our hero, having made it to the nearest town and scrounged a part to repair the van. He is a happy man and we are in good shape to continue the journey tomorrow.