Christmas Mongolian Style
Thomas and I spent Christmas weekend in the ger of malchin (herders) who live in a park north of UB. After driving to the village of Terelj, we hired this Russian jeep of uncertain vintage 
(see photo) to transport us across the roadless park to a lovely valley about 20K to the northeast. There we were welcomed by Nara and Choindon, who own about 100 mal (cows and goats, primarily) that graze in the surrounding hills. Nara is a spry and energetic 65, and Choison is 80 years old (see photo). 
Their eight children are all grown and gone, so they take in the occasional tourist to keep from feeling idle.
Nara is an accomplished cook—the kind who takes special pleasure in stuffing you so full you secretly vow never to eat again. She served us four meals a day and never the same thing twice. At that rate, we sampled just about every dish listed under “traditional Mongolian foods” in our guidebook. If you have ever wondered how many different dishes can be created out of meat, salt, fat, flour and water (with the occasional carrot or potato thrown in for fun), you should go see Nara.
Here's Thomas relaxing after another big meal.
Soon after we arrived, Nara sent Choindon out to the food cache to retrieve some “white foods” that they had frozen in five-gallon buckets at the end of the summer. Once inside the ger, it took two days for the tarag (yogurt) and tsotski(cream) to thaw. We drank the sour yogurt with a little bit of sugar for dessert on Christmas eve, and we spread the cream (which Nara called “Mongolian butter”) on bread in the mornings. We also had milk fresh from Nara’s cows in our salted tea (suutei tsai).
When we weren’t stuffing ourselves full of fat, salt, and dough, we spent our time hiking in the nearby peaks.
The weather was fine (highs above zero each day), and the few inches of snow posed no problems for footing. We surprised four very skittish deer in a forested valley one morning. We saw numerous fox and wolf tracks, and several varieties of birds that we couldn’t identify, in addition to the familiar chickadees and crows.
One of the best things about the weekend was being forced to speak Mongolian for four days. From the moment we arrived in Terelj, not one person we encountered spoke a single word of English. I would have been up a creek without my phrasebook and dictionary; but I think I held my own all things considered. Thomas learned all the most important Mongolian phrases: "Hello, how are you?", “Thank you,” “Drink tea!” and “Eat!”
(see photo) to transport us across the roadless park to a lovely valley about 20K to the northeast. There we were welcomed by Nara and Choindon, who own about 100 mal (cows and goats, primarily) that graze in the surrounding hills. Nara is a spry and energetic 65, and Choison is 80 years old (see photo). 
Their eight children are all grown and gone, so they take in the occasional tourist to keep from feeling idle.Nara is an accomplished cook—the kind who takes special pleasure in stuffing you so full you secretly vow never to eat again. She served us four meals a day and never the same thing twice. At that rate, we sampled just about every dish listed under “traditional Mongolian foods” in our guidebook. If you have ever wondered how many different dishes can be created out of meat, salt, fat, flour and water (with the occasional carrot or potato thrown in for fun), you should go see Nara.
Here's Thomas relaxing after another big meal.Soon after we arrived, Nara sent Choindon out to the food cache to retrieve some “white foods” that they had frozen in five-gallon buckets at the end of the summer. Once inside the ger, it took two days for the tarag (yogurt) and tsotski(cream) to thaw. We drank the sour yogurt with a little bit of sugar for dessert on Christmas eve, and we spread the cream (which Nara called “Mongolian butter”) on bread in the mornings. We also had milk fresh from Nara’s cows in our salted tea (suutei tsai).
When we weren’t stuffing ourselves full of fat, salt, and dough, we spent our time hiking in the nearby peaks.
The weather was fine (highs above zero each day), and the few inches of snow posed no problems for footing. We surprised four very skittish deer in a forested valley one morning. We saw numerous fox and wolf tracks, and several varieties of birds that we couldn’t identify, in addition to the familiar chickadees and crows.
One of the best things about the weekend was being forced to speak Mongolian for four days. From the moment we arrived in Terelj, not one person we encountered spoke a single word of English. I would have been up a creek without my phrasebook and dictionary; but I think I held my own all things considered. Thomas learned all the most important Mongolian phrases: "Hello, how are you?", “Thank you,” “Drink tea!” and “Eat!”
posted by Susanne D. at 1:14 PM
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