Spiders and horses and wrestlers, oh my!

So. We have returned from the countryside. We were supposed to get back two days later than we actually did, but...

Here's how it all unfolded:

After scurrying around UB searching for a driver (with many false confirmations) and buying enough food and supplies to last us for a few weeks, we set off on Saturday around noon. We were driving on a lovely paved highway when we took what I thought was a brief detour onto unpaved dirt roads because there was roadwork. Turns out the "roadwork" was in fact the road needing to be built. So 95% of our drive was on bUmPy dusty roads. Picture being inside a vigorously shaken container of orange juice. For six hours at a stretch. It was intense. Granted, we were in a Toyota Landcruiser with seat belts (!), air conditioning (!), and a driver, Bat Baatar, who wasn't drunk (!) and actually tried to make the drive comfortable (!). This was high class living.

We only got one flat tire during the whole trip (see photo), which, according to Jaspal, is amazing.

Our first night was camping, during which we made a moderately passable version of bengan bhartha on our gas stove. I also had the delightful experience of peeing on my pajamas when I misjudged the direction of the wind at 3a.m. We awoke by a lovely river, with a horse enjoying the view (of us?) nearby.

Our final destination was The Great White Lake (Terkhiin Tsaagan Nuur) and on the way we saw a beautiful Buddhist monastery, and some incredible scenery (not to mention thousands of goats, yaks, and horses).

At the lake (nine bumpety hours later), we decided to stay at a ger camp, which has little gers that tourists can sleep in. This would have been lovely, had it not been for the camp's inhabitants: millions of spiders, grasshoppers, moths, and other assorted buggies. Usually, a spider or two here and there don't bug me (pun intended). This, however, was different. They were EVERYWHERE. On the floor, in the sinks, on the walls of the gers, on the ground, in the restaurant, in people's hair...I think I will have nightmares for months.

The next day (I spent the night huddled, sweating and terrified, in my sleeping bag), Jaspal awoke feeling very ill. So K, MB, and I decided to take a trek (only about 40 bumpety minutes) to the local Naadam festival, where we hoped to see horse racing and wrestling. We did, kind of, though it was definitely a small-town version.

Upon our return to the ger camp, we broke down and confessed to poor Jaspal that we couldn't take it any more and wanted to leave. Right now. So poor, sick Jaspal told the bewildered driver and camp owners that we were "tired" and wanted to leave. We drove five bumpety hours back to a town called Tsetserleg and stayed at a glorious, beautiful, spider-free guest house run by foreign missionaries. I kept seeing spiders and hearing flies every time I closed my eyes, but the latte and scrambled eggs the next morning banished those horrendous visions.

On our drive back (bump, bump, bump), we saw another Naadam festival, which was a little more happening, as well as an action-packed horse race. It was super cool. The scenery on the way back was amazing. Sky, sky, and more sky.

We made it back to UB at around 11:00, and unloaded all the supplies we'd barely touched. I think I have a rash on my butt from all the bumping around in the car.

Sigh.

Once again, the fact is made blatantly obvious that I am a city girl. I don't know how Jaspal puts up with me.