Journeys that shaped us

Journeys that shaped us

Mongolia. It was just 4 weeks in total, but at times it felt like months. Little sleep, plenty of challenges, Vesuvius scale stomach bugs, but a month after returning home, I wanted to go back.
I was working at the time as a reporter for a television series called Wild Life. Made in Australia, with the late and divine Olivia Newton John as travelling host. We were sent to far flung places to report stories on endangered species, conservation initiatives, eco systems, wildlife rescuers, the lot. Dream job? Um … you better believe it! So Preston, behind the camera, Greg recording sound and me as reporter/producer, set off with enthusiasm, excitement and maybe a little trepidation to Ulaan Baatar the Mongolian capital. Our flight took us via Moscow where our tripod disappeared, which gave us a first glimpse of what lay ahead. Incredibly, a week or so later the tripod found us! With stories of its own to tell. It was fresh after the fall of Communism and we felt, I must say, a bit like early explorers, even though a great many outsiders had left their footsteps here previously.

With the ground frozen for about 8-9 months of the year, the Gobi desert was our start point, living for several days with an extended family of camel herders. These were bactrian camels, with 2 humps. The first night was unseasonal with biblical summer rains, which swamped the entirely inadequate “kiddies” tents our fixer had organised for us. (photo below) It would transpire over the weeks ahead, our guy – and his wife – were pocketing the difference between what was promised on this trip and what was delivered. In this case, the crew tents! So within 24 hours, we moved our gear and ourselves into the ger (tent/home) of the herder family, where at least we were warm and dry. But the snoring, farting and drinking made for some very interesting days and nights … and that was just from us! 😁

What we quickly came to understand was just how challenging everyday life is for these incredibly stoic and wonderful people. The kids – and there were many of them – all pitched in from an early age to help. From milking goats, sheep and camels, to helping forage for food and washing or fixing clothes. It was chores and survival basics from sunrise to sunset. I had a few pens and notepads that were like precious gold for the kids, as we drew animals and little scenes from their lives. Stripped of creature comforts of any sort really, life in the Gobi is distilled to essentials. Not a drop of water was wasted, every part of an animal from its hide to its bones and organs was utilised in some way for clothing, rugs/blankets or food. You learned the value of everything in your surroundings from the moment you could walk. We admired the women in particular, holding everything together it seemed. Once the sun went down, the blokes were, how do we say it ? Into the grog? The horse milk vodka – airag – definitely an acquired taste, was passed around with enthusiasm. Yowzer, my own experience had me trotting off into the desert for a couple of days with one of the aforementioned stomach bugs! Well I had to try it right?

Everywhere we travelled from the stunning Lake Hovsgol to the windswept steppes, seeing a breeding programme for the magnificent Przewalski horses (below), the people and the landscape touched us. We heard the famous throat singing and filmed a days long festival celebrating horses and horsemanship.

In a bizarre tale nearing the end of our journey our fixer plied himself with whiskey one night and disappeared into the mountains with all our tapes in an attempt to extract some more bucks from us! There were frantic and expensive telegrams (yes telegrams) back to the office and finally good sense eventually prevailed with the tapes returned. Mention must be made of a flight (images in the gallery below) that we felt lucky to survive, bounced around on deck seats facing one another across the aircraft, with all the luggage loosely tied on the floor at our feet. We kissed the ground I think arriving back in Ulaan Baatar. By the time we slumped into our seats on a more conventional jet homeward bound, we were exhausted but strangely euphoric, a feeling I can’t say I’d had before or since. It was the memory of those amazing kids in the desert that stayed with me above everything. I hope their lives turned out ok, maybe they even left the Gobi desert as many young people have done since then. Climate change is making the life of the traditional herder even more complicated.

It isn’t always the pampering and the luxury – as Rob explains in another story on Tanzania – that stays with us. It’s the connection way beyond language barriers between our fellow human beings. Recognition and respect for their strength of character, their ability to deal with adversity. These are the things that make an impact on us when we consider how fortunate we are to travel.

#travel stories

Photography:Simon Reeve