Naadam time!

The 11th, 12th and 13th of July mark the Naadam festival, one of the main events on Mongolia's calendar. During Naadam people throughout Mongolia gather to watch competitors compete in wrestling, archery and horse riding tournaments. I thought it would be good to experience a countryside Naadam, and escape the crowds and tourists in Ulaanbaatar (which hosts the main festival). Thus, I headed off with some of my VSO friends to visit Choibalsan, a city to the east of Mongolia.

The journey – we braved the local bus system, and were packed into a sturdy Russian machine. As we took our seats the rest of the bus began to fill up with a variety of items. We soon found ourselves surrounded by televisions, car tyres, large suitcases, boxes of fruit and vegetables. The Mongolians certainly make the most of any spare space available! The passengers were surprised to see foreigners take the bus – not many people travel to Choibalsan, and those that do usually take private jeeps or the plane. It was quite an interesting and fun experience. Whilst the journey took 16 hours, we had plenty of breaks along the way. However, it was great to finally make it to our destination…

Choibalsan City - Choibalsan is an interesting place. The city used to host over 40,000 Russian troops. But at the end of the Cold War the troops were ordered to leave the country. As a result, the city’s population halfed in the space of 48 hours. It’s completely mind-boggling to think that such a thing could happen. The results are still being felt today - as the Russians went, so did the jobs. Now Choibalsan has one of the highest rates of unemployment, around 50%. Also, the Russians were the managers of the local industries. After they left the remaining Mongolian population had little idea of how to run the factories, shops, etc. The Russian half of the city is now mostly in ruins or has been looted. People are divided on how to view the Russians. Some local residents hate them for leaving, whilst others think of them fondly, and wish that the “good old days” would return. A VSO volunteer very rightly pointed out that one shouldn’t just think about the hardships that the Mongolians went through during this period. The Russian troops and civilians were dumped across the border and left to fend for themselves. They had to leave much of what they had collected (including Mongolian wives/husbands!), and found themselves left in the Russian wilderness during the extremely cold winter. Not such a great reward for years of loyal service…

There are a few VSO volunteers based in Choibalsan, and it was interesting to see their own volunteer experience. They are a lot more isolated, and have few other English speakers to talk to. I think they probably get a bit lonelier than UB-based volunteers. However, the pace of life in Choibalsan is a lot more relaxed. They also don't have to put up with Ulaanbaatar's pollution levels, or the anti-foreigner attitude of many of the capital's residents (people in Choibalsan seemed a lot more interested in foreigners, and were generally very friendly). We stayed with Jultz, a Filipino volunteer. He looked after us very well, and served us a great variety of delicious food. High up on the list was a dog meat stew, which was actually quite nice! N.B. Mongolians do not usually eat dog meat, but Jultz had managed to get his hands on some because of a strange situation. He is a social worker, and was helping a poor family. The grandmother of the family got sick, so it was decided that they had better kill the dog (it was all they could afford). They very kindly gave Jultz a small amount, and thus he had some to share with us.

Naadam Festival – the volunteers and I made the trip to see the wrestling, archery and horse racing competitions. I think the most dramatic was the horse racing. Many young children took part, and large amounts of spectators turned up to watch. It was sweet to see families wish their children good luck before the race, but a bit surprising to see how young the competitors actually are – it seemed like some were only 5 or 6 years old! One sport I would love to try is the archery. I’ve always had a respect for the sport, and the competitors look very cool with their bows.

To see photos of Naadam/Choibalsan please feel free to visit http://picasaweb.google.com/schliner/NaadamInChoibalsan

Now I’m back in Ulaanbaatar, and the city is full of tourists. Things have slowed down at work (many people take the post-Naadam period off as holiday), so life is a little bit more relaxed. Big hug to you all,

Robert