photo credit: Chris Myers
Showing posts with label Mongolia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mongolia. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 09, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
the peace of wild things
for today, a poem
that a friend recited
while we were having breakfast in a ger on the Mongolian steppes.
----
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
-Wendell Berry
that a friend recited
while we were having breakfast in a ger on the Mongolian steppes.
----
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
-Wendell Berry
Saturday, June 30, 2007
i'm baaack!
"Сайн байна уу" and " 你 好 " ！
i have returned from my extensive travels in the East, and have much to report!
but first, much sleep.
i haven't adjusted to home time, which is exactly the opposite of Mongolia/China time. that is, 12 hours in the future.
and i haven't quite gotten used to using English again. that will take some getting used to. the words come funny, slowly. give it time.
there are foodstuffs and gifts, words and pictures to unpack!
let's begin...
-stephan!e
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
where'd stephan!e go?
stephan!e is out of town (and country).
please check back for sweet updates & pictures from her wild adventures in the Mongolian steppes!
-stef
Saturday, June 09, 2007
travel advice for those visiting Mongolia
Ugluunii mend!
("good morning!" i'm learning, with help from friends, as you'll see below. keep reading...)
a kindly reader alerted me in my last post that he currently lives in Mongolia. he was kind enough to give me a special list of tips and advice in preparation for my travels to the land of Blue Sky, a special post i will share with you now:
----
A SPECIAL INSIDER'S GUIDE TO TRAVELLING IN MONGOLIA
by Mr. L.Gantulga
Dear Stephanie,
Thank for your e-mail. I was read the your blog from Internet. I am as system administrator and researcher at Mongolian Academy of Sciences. I think that it is possible to organize some trip in Mongolia for you but it is depending your schedule.
Some words:
Good morning – Ugluunii mend.
I – Bi.
You – Ta.
to study – sudlakh.
Thank you – Bayarlalaa.
Bye – Bayartai.
HANDY TIPS
Mongolia considered to be relatively safe place for travelers with no serious crimes against foreigners. Neverless, some precautions can save you money, time and nerves.
• Bring preferably U.S. dollars in cash, $20 and $50 denominations
• Best place to exchange currency is Exchange Point at the first floor of the ARD Cinema, one block west from the Central Post Office as they offer slightly better rates than banks.
• When traveling to countryside make sure to take along cigarettes, soap, colored pens, a couple of bottles of alcohol and sweets as a small gift to cheer up local hosts.
• You can't book domestic return flights in advance, so stop at the MIAT or other companies local ticket office as soon as you arrive at each destination, or see if your guide can take care of it.
• Do not carry big amounts of money with you. Beware of pickpocketers, especially in crowded places or while riding public buses.
• The streetlights in Ulaanbaatar function only along the central streets, so do not walk lately or keep well lit central streets.
• Mongolian drivers do not care much about pedestrians. Make sure to look left and check for an approaching car before crossing streets.
• It is advisable not to eat in small canteens as the quality of food is not guaranteed. And it's better to buy foodstuff from large shops or food markets where cool storing equipment is available.
• If possible, make a copy of your passport and bear it on you while leaving the original in the hotel.
• Do not leave personal belongings unattended. They can easily disappear.
Best wishes,
Mr., L.Gantulga
System Administrator
===========================
Mongolian Academy of Sciences
("good morning!" i'm learning, with help from friends, as you'll see below. keep reading...)
a kindly reader alerted me in my last post that he currently lives in Mongolia. he was kind enough to give me a special list of tips and advice in preparation for my travels to the land of Blue Sky, a special post i will share with you now:
----
A SPECIAL INSIDER'S GUIDE TO TRAVELLING IN MONGOLIA
by Mr. L.Gantulga
Dear Stephanie,
Thank for your e-mail. I was read the your blog from Internet. I am as system administrator and researcher at Mongolian Academy of Sciences. I think that it is possible to organize some trip in Mongolia for you but it is depending your schedule.
Some words:
Good morning – Ugluunii mend.
I – Bi.
You – Ta.
to study – sudlakh.
Thank you – Bayarlalaa.
Bye – Bayartai.
HANDY TIPS
Mongolia considered to be relatively safe place for travelers with no serious crimes against foreigners. Neverless, some precautions can save you money, time and nerves.
• Bring preferably U.S. dollars in cash, $20 and $50 denominations
• Best place to exchange currency is Exchange Point at the first floor of the ARD Cinema, one block west from the Central Post Office as they offer slightly better rates than banks.
• When traveling to countryside make sure to take along cigarettes, soap, colored pens, a couple of bottles of alcohol and sweets as a small gift to cheer up local hosts.
• You can't book domestic return flights in advance, so stop at the MIAT or other companies local ticket office as soon as you arrive at each destination, or see if your guide can take care of it.
• Do not carry big amounts of money with you. Beware of pickpocketers, especially in crowded places or while riding public buses.
• The streetlights in Ulaanbaatar function only along the central streets, so do not walk lately or keep well lit central streets.
• Mongolian drivers do not care much about pedestrians. Make sure to look left and check for an approaching car before crossing streets.
• It is advisable not to eat in small canteens as the quality of food is not guaranteed. And it's better to buy foodstuff from large shops or food markets where cool storing equipment is available.
• If possible, make a copy of your passport and bear it on you while leaving the original in the hotel.
• Do not leave personal belongings unattended. They can easily disappear.
Best wishes,
Mr., L.Gantulga
System Administrator
===========================
Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Thursday, June 07, 2007
hello, Mongolia!
sain baina uu!
that's "hello" in Mongolian. or "Сайн байна уу" to be truly authentic. (that's Cyrillic for those keeping track at home!)
i'll be in Mongolia in a matter of days, researching participatory education and its role in community-based conservation efforts in the Mongolian steppes.
when i first decided to do this, ppl kept asking me "why Mongolia?" and aside from a superficial knowledge of the nomadic lifestyle (which fascinates me, as someone studying communities, their formation and role in education) and what i'd been told about the conservation of their wild horses, i didn't really know...
but after some research, i'm getting pretty excited. Mongolia is one of the few countries that remains relatively un-modernized. and the Mongolia i'll see will be much more authentic than the experience of this travel blogger, who had this to say about Mongolian food:
that's "hello" in Mongolian. or "Сайн байна уу" to be truly authentic. (that's Cyrillic for those keeping track at home!)
i'll be in Mongolia in a matter of days, researching participatory education and its role in community-based conservation efforts in the Mongolian steppes.
when i first decided to do this, ppl kept asking me "why Mongolia?" and aside from a superficial knowledge of the nomadic lifestyle (which fascinates me, as someone studying communities, their formation and role in education) and what i'd been told about the conservation of their wild horses, i didn't really know...
but after some research, i'm getting pretty excited. Mongolia is one of the few countries that remains relatively un-modernized. and the Mongolia i'll see will be much more authentic than the experience of this travel blogger, who had this to say about Mongolian food:
"Many tourists seems to think they are somehow obliged to try local food to get a feel for the local ... food. I have only got two things to say: "you're not" and "don't"."
he instead recommends eating Marco Polo pizza at the Circus everyday, which is what he did. hm... somehow i think i'll fare much better. i'll be living out in the steppes (the grassland) in an authentic Mongolian ger, which are basically tents made of felt!
(that stuff on the roof is cheese made from goats' milk. notice the lack of trees and brush in the background. the desert steppes are fairly devoid of coverage. = makes for interesting (read: awkward) restroom breaks...)
and i'll be meeting and working with nomadic herders on local conservation efforts, particularly the projects to reintroduce the Wild Horses,
a.k.a. Przewalski’s horse (or takhi), these horses have struggled to survive, altogether disappearing from southern Russia and the edges of China, where they once roamed. there are only about 1500 worldwide, and mostly in Mongolia, where the herding lifestyle of the Mongolian ppl may have saved them.
and the Pallas Cat, endangered b/c efforts to control the erupting rodent population, which is stressing the already over-grazed grasslands, with rodenticide may cause inadvertent poisoning of the Cat population.
(aren't they cute?! they hide out in burrows (as pictured), which is how they catch their prey. we're not likely to see one in real life, but i've been training myself to look for the little tufts of white ear fur - the most we might hope to see. more info and another picture here.)
anyway, i have more research to do. this experience comes with a Course Reader that's dense at best, and a whole lotta packing to do. let's see if i can stuff all my belongings for an international adventure into just one rucksack and a purse and still manage to carry it onto the plane!
-stef!e
p.s. for a description of what i'm doing, see this.
(that stuff on the roof is cheese made from goats' milk. notice the lack of trees and brush in the background. the desert steppes are fairly devoid of coverage. = makes for interesting (read: awkward) restroom breaks...)and i'll be meeting and working with nomadic herders on local conservation efforts, particularly the projects to reintroduce the Wild Horses,
a.k.a. Przewalski’s horse (or takhi), these horses have struggled to survive, altogether disappearing from southern Russia and the edges of China, where they once roamed. there are only about 1500 worldwide, and mostly in Mongolia, where the herding lifestyle of the Mongolian ppl may have saved them.and the Pallas Cat, endangered b/c efforts to control the erupting rodent population, which is stressing the already over-grazed grasslands, with rodenticide may cause inadvertent poisoning of the Cat population.
(aren't they cute?! they hide out in burrows (as pictured), which is how they catch their prey. we're not likely to see one in real life, but i've been training myself to look for the little tufts of white ear fur - the most we might hope to see. more info and another picture here.)anyway, i have more research to do. this experience comes with a Course Reader that's dense at best, and a whole lotta packing to do. let's see if i can stuff all my belongings for an international adventure into just one rucksack and a purse and still manage to carry it onto the plane!
-stef!e
p.s. for a description of what i'm doing, see this.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
a specially prepared travel guide
hey to the blogosphere!
for any of you planning extensive travels abroad this summer, as i am, i've assembled a guide to travelling comfortably, healthily, and informedly (yes, that is a word).
i was dreading sitting still on a plane for 15 hours* straight without music or books (i'm travelling extremely light for a 2.5 week trip), so i looked into ways to offset cabin fever and
prevent those aches i get from lack of movement (i'm antsy. so what? i can't even sit still at home for longer than an hour without getting up and jumping around.)
there's also a ton of restrictions on what u can and cannot take on board a plane these days. i had to figure this out too, since i can't risk having any of my already sparse belongings confiscated before i even get to Mongolia.
so all that (and more^!) is available here, at STEPHAN!E'S AWESOME TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE CONSCIENTIOUS AND EASILY ANXIOUS TRAVELLER. (which is really just a link to my del.icio.us of "travel" tags. what do u want from me?)
happy travels,
stephan!e
*i don't know which i'm dreading more, the 15 hour plane flight, or the more than 1.75 days in total it will take me to get there. layovers are a bitch. especially since i'm waking up at 4 am only to be laid over for the rest of the day. and no books?! how will i ever make it?! don't get me wrong, i love travelling. it's the actual travelling (flying, driving, waiting around in airports) that i just can't stand.
^in addition to helpful bookmarks for travelling, there's a random link to a Dubai website. check it out anyway. DUBAI IS FUCKIN NUTS!!!
for any of you planning extensive travels abroad this summer, as i am, i've assembled a guide to travelling comfortably, healthily, and informedly (yes, that is a word).
i was dreading sitting still on a plane for 15 hours* straight without music or books (i'm travelling extremely light for a 2.5 week trip), so i looked into ways to offset cabin fever and
prevent those aches i get from lack of movement (i'm antsy. so what? i can't even sit still at home for longer than an hour without getting up and jumping around.)
there's also a ton of restrictions on what u can and cannot take on board a plane these days. i had to figure this out too, since i can't risk having any of my already sparse belongings confiscated before i even get to Mongolia.
so all that (and more^!) is available here, at STEPHAN!E'S AWESOME TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE CONSCIENTIOUS AND EASILY ANXIOUS TRAVELLER. (which is really just a link to my del.icio.us of "travel" tags. what do u want from me?)
happy travels,
stephan!e
*i don't know which i'm dreading more, the 15 hour plane flight, or the more than 1.75 days in total it will take me to get there. layovers are a bitch. especially since i'm waking up at 4 am only to be laid over for the rest of the day. and no books?! how will i ever make it?! don't get me wrong, i love travelling. it's the actual travelling (flying, driving, waiting around in airports) that i just can't stand.
^in addition to helpful bookmarks for travelling, there's a random link to a Dubai website. check it out anyway. DUBAI IS FUCKIN NUTS!!!
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