The 5 years old kid was on a horseback, his older sister walking nearby on the river bank. The valley is lush green and hundreds of white sheep graze. The mother walked slowly and enjoyed the scene and fresh air.
The father walked down with the nomadic family host to visit the neighborhood with horses.
The mountains on the back side and Tuul River are floating in the front. There are no buildings or highways in the valley except for distant locations. Ger is Mongolian traditional accommodation made out of wooden frames and felt covers. It was used for centuries and convenient for not only nomads but guests from the United Kingdom. The yurt had a double bed with soft mattress and standard table and chairs. Covered with a traditional style blanket. Hand washing stand was near the entrance and flexible bench chairs were inside. Ger is called yurt sometimes.
The location was only 100 km away from the capital city Ulaanbaatar. Around 25 km was a dirt road across the rolling hills. It was the paradise of a nomadic family and their herd. No disturbing noise of traffic. It was far from tourist camps and heavy traffic.
The family spent a night in the ger and jogged along the river while the wife of the nomadic family was milking cows. For breakfast on top of the regular egg and bacon, bread and jam there was fresh butter cream and homemade flat bread called bin. That was a delicious treat.
After that the family rode to the hills to observe wild horses before they climbed up. They made perfect timing and herds of wild horses and a few red deer were just walking up hills. The father had binoculars and everyone took a turn to observe up close. On the way back they took another route where there were some bushes and birch trees on the road.
The host family cooked deep fried beef pockets called khuushuur for lunch and it was garnished with cabbage salad and fresh cucumber and tomato.
In the afternoon the sun was bright and perfect for kids to jump into the stream. In the afternoon the next door neighbor located 3 km away invited us over to show us how they do milking horses and making fermented mare milk. Then about 10 people started playing airag (the fermented mare milk) drinking game called dembee. It was similar to a finger guessing game but with special songs and phrases during the game. It was hard to catch up but they were so fast singing and guessing the number and catching the winning points by the other hand. Later the khorkhor was served, which is real Mongolian barbeque. As a tradition because there were foreign visitors they started a mini feat and party. It was not like western party, instead they started singing traditional folk and modern folk songs.
In the next morning we headed to the next nomadic family in the sand dunes. We have a choice of riding a two-humped camel or sand slide. Kids are going to experience something authentic.
Mongolian ger stay among the nomadic community is truly authentic experience.
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