Hentiy Aymag, Mongolia Travel Journals & Blogs

Marcel Kratzer The Grand Tour
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- May 18, 2018
- Altitude: 1,453 m
- Mongolia Hentiy Aymag Modot 47.719726, 109.02066347°43’11” N 109°1’14” E
Day 95
Einblicke in das Local Leben
May 18, 2018 in Mongolia
Leicht verkatert holten wir Genji in Ulaanbaatar ab und fuhren mit Ihr 200km in Richtung Osten zu ihrer Familie.

Abends angekommen, wurde uns die Familie vorgestellt & das Haus gezeigt.
Nach einem Abendessen und einem Kartenspiel ging es ins Bett, um am nächsten Morgen
fit für die bevorstehende Arbeit zu sein.

Nach dem Frühstück gab es die Aufgabe - ein Weg aus Holzscheiben sollten her…
Wir bekamen Schaufel & Spaten und fingen an den Weg auszuheben.
Die Holzscheiben wurden uns von einem noch leicht angetrunkenem Mann zur Verfügungn gestellt.
Jedes Holzstück hatte eine unterschiedliche länge und nicht selten waren die Stücke auf beiden Seiten krumm.
Doch wir waren motiviert und gewillt eine „gute“ Arbeit zu hinterlassen.

Wir fuhren zum ausgetrocknetem Flussbett um dort etwas Kies zu holen, womit wir die Längendifferenzen einigermaßen ausgleichen konnten.

Leicht genervt von den Arbeitsumständen fiel der Hammer nach 9h. Die Blicke der Leute vermittelten uns das Gefühl, dass wir noch etwas arbeiten hätten sollen (Laut Workaway sollte man ca. 5h/ Tag arbeien) .

Tag 2. Die Arbeitsumstände ließen zu wünschen übrig & der Fakt auf einer sehr, sehr trockenen Baustelle gelandete zu sein steigerte die Motivation nicht unbedingt.

Am 4. Tag hatte unsere Laune ihren Tiefpunkt erreicht. Wir kämpften uns mühevoll von Holzreihe zu Holzreihe. Die Holzstücke (Die mittlerweile von einem anderem gesägt wurden) wurden immer kürzer und auch nicht bedeutend gerader.
Wir arbeiteten jeden Tag 7-9h, bekamen kein Wasser oder mal eine Cola gestellt, 2-3x am Tag gab es Hammel oder Ziege.
In der Früh wurde Kaffee und Wasser bei Kenny geschnurrt und Werkzeug, das man ihnen auslieh, wurde in schlechtem Zustand oder gar kaputt zurück gebracht.
Für uns war klar - Weg, fertig machen und nix wie weg!

Noch bevor wir zur Familie gekommen sind ,hatten wir ausgemacht, dass wir nach der Arbeit für 3-4 Tage gemeinsam Campen gehen.
Wir hatten dies jedoch auf einen Tag reduziert...

Dennoch, für unser „Karmapunktekonto“ sicherlich nicht die schlechteste Sache.Read more
See translation
Traveler Aber warum habt ihr das gemacht??🤔
5/27/18Reply
Marcel Kratzer Gute Frage 😄 wollten uns einfach mal anschauen wie man hier lebt...
5/27/18Reply
Traveler Erfahrung reicher😂😉
5/28/18Reply
2 more comments
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Rachel Horton Orient to Occident
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- Nov 23, 2017
- ⛅ -13 °C
- Altitude: 1,032 m
- Mongolia Hentiy Aymag Undurkhaan 47.3194, 110.655647°19’10” N 110°39’20” E
Day 79
Day 7
November 23, 2017 in Mongolia ⋅ ⛅ -13 °C
When we arrived in Kharkhorin we visited the archealogical museum, witnessed an impressive display found recently in a newly discovered tomb of an unknown man. Gold from India, statues as old as 1300 years ago, Turkish style and progressive artefacts found from Neolithic era till ancient times in Kharakhorin. Then we visited Erdenezuu monastery, built in 1585 by AbtaiSain Khan, much of which was destroyed during the purge in 1990. Many believe the Khans' palace is undiscovered hidden underneath the monastery.

We had a shower at the local shower house for 3000 tugrik each, the first in a week and headed back to our first coal fired ger nearby the monastery for the night.Read more
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Rachel Horton Orient to Occident
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- Nov 24, 2017
- ⛅ -18 °C
- Altitude: 1,032 m
- Mongolia Hentiy Aymag Undurkhaan 47.3194, 110.655647°19’10” N 110°39’20” E
Day 80
Day 8
November 24, 2017 in Mongolia ⋅ ⛅ -18 °C
We started the day with a visit to the Erdenezuu monastery exhibition displaying appliques and Buddhist statues, then on to the reconstruction of the pavilion that used to be situated in the middle of ancient kharkhorin (Aka Ho-Lin/Qara Qorin). I found it very impressive how a whole city, not even just a city, one with the power and influence it had, ruling the great Mongol empire, can just disappear. It makes me want to grab a spade and dig in to find the hidden messages and treasures.

We stopped for a quick resupplying and the weather turned. We stopped for lunch (and ran into three French travellers also stuck by the weather) and decided to change plans, as we did the car broke down.

After trying to fix the car unsuccessfully, a local nomadic family Idra knew from the gobi in the summer came with their truck high with hay for the expectant harsh winter ahead. We piled in the front and Idra and Bimba clambered on top holding on tightly, as we drove through the snow to their winter camp, mongolian music blaring. Their gers and pens for their animals were tucked away sheltered by the surrounding rocky mountains.

The elder man and woman have the most amazing faces, wrinkled and dark by a hard life in the elements, but kind.

We camped by a cow dung fire (argal in Mongolian), suprisingly not so smelly, ate drank tea and enjoyed the new company. Graciously, the lady of the place kept the fire going for us during the night.Read more
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Rachel Horton Orient to Occident
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- Nov 28, 2017, 6:56pm
- ⛅ -10 °C
- Altitude: 1,032 m
- Mongolia Hentiy Aymag Undurkhaan 47.3194, 110.655647°19’10” N 110°39’20” E
Day 84
Day 12
November 28, 2017 in Mongolia ⋅ ⛅ -10 °C
After waking up to the six camels outside our ger, we had some tea and breakfast and headed into town for a shower and some lunch. Vegetarian bouz and a potato salad.

We headed to Khongoryn Els, a seemingly everlasting wall of sand dunes, jutting up out of nowhere on the vast flat expanse that is the gobi desert, a natural barrier for wind and whatever lies on the other side.

The land dotted with hundreds of white gazelles, darting off here and there as we disturb their grazing.

Quiet and empty, we eventually find a family with three gers where we can stay. The family invite us in, serve Georgian tea (with animal fat and salt) and Arias eats what only looks like horse penis. It doesn't go down so well and let's leave that story to the imagination. Let's just say it involves digging an emergency hole. The man of the ger shows us some of the gold he has found with his metal detector, Aggie says these people are known as 'ninjas'.

Aggie tells us about how it is custom in the gobi to be able to stay wherever there's a ger, occupied or not, it is ok for you to sleep there and use their home as if it is your own.

She tells us of the drought in the summer, and how it is predicted to bring an extremely harsh winter, why many nomads are slaughtering many of their stock in preparation so at least they can get some money, and why meat now is very cheap because of this. How mining companies have made an already dry gobi drier, rivers and lakes completely gone, particularly because of gold mining. It's heartbreaking, knowing how resource rich and beautiful the country is, and hearing how it is being exploited by other countries taking the majority of the profits. Yet the people remain hopeful. Hopeful for a protective and prosperous future.Read more
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Rachel Horton Orient to Occident
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- Nov 29, 2017
- ☀️ -26 °C
- Altitude: 1,032 m
- Mongolia Hentiy Aymag Undurkhaan 47.3194, 110.655647°19’10” N 110°39’20” E
Day 85
Day 13
November 29, 2017 in Mongolia ⋅ ☀️ -26 °C
What a wonderful day. After a lazy morning in our ger playing our newly learnt card game, umo, or 108, and listening to the eagles, we headed over to the dunes to climb the biggest one we could. After an hour or so of climbing, using desert grass to help us up when we could, we made it to the top. Wow was it worth it, sand dunes for miles, some giant, some tiny, sculpted beautifully by the wind. Pristine lines in nature, untouched by man. When silent, the singing dunes sang their earth song, vibrating under our bodies, reminding us of connection, oneness, the great power of nature.

After breathing it all in, appreciating the view, we attempted to play in the world's biggest sand pit by sliding down, which turned into running and rolling as we werent slippery enough.

After emptying the equivalent of a whole dune out of our shoes we drank tea and rested until supper.

Supper was a team effort and lesson in making khuushuu, a traditional Mongolian fried filled dough pocket, resembling a friend Cornish pasty. Terrible for you, but delicious.Read more
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