The Gobi Desert, Baga Gazryn Chuulu

We’re camped out in Scott’s blue North Face tent in Baga Gazryn Chuluu, a place in the Gobi Desert that was a 6-hour bus ride south of UB and another hour west by car. We’re between some large piles of rocks. In front of us toward the desert road are four gers (a ger is a yurt) owned by one family. One ger is for the family’s use, their home, while the other three are for tourists, although, according to the daughter Gira, the family ger will go to tourists if the need arises. If this happens, the family will sleep in a camping tent, like the one Scott and I are currently in. Even though the beds in the ger are quite affordable – only 5,000 togrogs per bed; around US$4 – we opted to pitch the tent anyway. Scott had to feel there was a reason for him hauling the heavy thing through three countries.

The tent has proved its worth, staying put through horrendous winds, but it does not keep tiny particles of dirt and sand out. We’ll see if it stays dry, although the grey clouds that were threatening half an hour ago seem to be breaking up revealing a nice evening sky.

The family of the ger camp comprises of a mother, father, and two daughters. The camp is also home to three dogs who are friendly. Their main job is to protect the family’s large herd of sheep and goats from roaming, hungry wolves.

This afternoon when Scott and I were resting in the tent after a morning of wandering around the desert, Gira came over to the tent on her bike. She asked, “Do you look my sheep?”

At first we thought she was asking if we wanted to visit her sheep, but after a few moments we realized she was asking us if we’d seen her sheep while we were walking around. Gira explained, “The goats are here, but no sheep.” We told her we hadn’t, unfortunately, seen them.

It’s easy to imagine sheep, no matter how many, getting lost in this land. It’s vast and there are so many granite rock outcrops to hide between and behind. On our morning walk around the area we climbed the area’s highest “mountain” at 1,760 meters. We also scrambled over rough rocks, walked on dusty ground, and in the process spotted, in the far distance, a group of wild camels. We wanted to get closer but they seemed to be walking away from us at the same pace we were walking towards them. When we gave up chasing the camels, we came across a large herd of seemingly wild horses, including a few ponies, evidence that it is, indeed, the season to collect mare’s milk, most of which will get turned into a Mongolian vodka for the festive mid-July holiday of Naadam.

A rest stop in the Gobi on the way to Baga Gazryn Chuulu from Ulaanbaatar. The ger next to the bus is a restaurant.

Gobi roads - mere tracks in the sand and dirt.

Our first night at Baga Gazryn Chuulu.

The summit of the "peak" at Baga Gazryn Chuulu.
The blue thing you see here is called an ovoo, a religious and spritual marker usually placed on top of hills and mountains.

On our second day wandering around the desert, we came across hundreds of small, colorful, fast lizards (but not fast enough to elude Scott's grasp).

Gira, the ever-faithful herder, and her younger sister.

The father and mother of the ger camp we pitched our tent next to.
The day we left, they were coming back from town. The young couple that drove us to Baga Gazryn Chuulu from town stopped when we saw them (they are all related). We all sat on the ground for an impromptu picnic of beer (from a plastic two liter bottle)  just bought in town and braided smoked cheese that Scott and I contributed.