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SAN BEDA CHURCH: The Abbey, The Riots, The Old Rich

July 1, 2013

A week after I visited a monastery run by Benedictine Monks down South, I was reminded of my Visita Iglesia back in April earlier this year. Among the 7 churches and chapels I visited, the most striking in my book was the Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, more popularly called San Beda Chapel. It is a gem waiting to be discovered and rediscovered…… in an area more remembered as the posh San Miguel district in Manila where the moneyed and high society used to lead elegant lifestyles by the banks of the then clean, oil spill-free Pasig River. Quite ironically, it is also known of late as the Mendiola site that bore witness to way too many rallies, even bloody protests, as rallyists marched towards Malacañang.

Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat

This neo-Gothic Chapel was designed by a Swedish architect by the name of George Asp. It would have looked even lovelier when it was consecrated in 1925, with those Sistine Chapel-like ceilings painted by artist-monk Fr. Lesmes Lopez, a Benedictine Monk. Awesome is an overused word, but yes, it is indeed awesome!

You would have thought you’re somewhere in Europe. But naah, this is the San Beda Chapel right in Mendiola!

The stars in the galaxy must have conspired to spare this magnificent church from the destruction of the Second World War. Just a block away from Malacañan Palace by the Pasig River, both structures survived the carpet bombing during the Battle of Manila. Many of its historic counterparts in Intramuros were not as lucky. It surprises me though that not too many are even aware of the striking beauty of this college chapel. One look at the painting of the Apotheosis of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, the retablo and many bronze angels holding lamps to illumine the chapel in a “Rennaissance” kind of way, and you’re transported out of the slums, dirt, grime, chaos of Manila. I can imagine the old rich and elite hearing Sunday masses in this lovely college chapel back then. Can you?

Photo Sourced from the Net

Tags: Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, Manila, Mendiola, San Beda Church, San Miguel District

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Of Monks, Coffee, Gardens and Landscapes

Filed under: Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 13 Comments

June 27, 2013

Nestled in the coffee-planted hills of Barangay San Jose, Malaybalay, Bukidnon is the Monastery of the Transfiguration run by Benedictine Monks. Not many know of this spiritual facility, but I’m sure many are familiar with the Monks’ Blend Coffee from this area. Seven times in a day, these monks sing hymns and pray in a place lush with greenery amidst slopes carpeted in various shades of green.

A gentle reminder to SHUT UP. Entrance to the Monastery of the Transfiguration in Barangay San Jose, Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Here, monks, overcast skies and landscapes seem to work in perfect harmony. No, there are no duvets to cover and wrap tired bodies in the tiny, meticulously clean spartan rooms, but listening to the overriding sound of silence is good for tired souls. Yes, good even for the non-religious.

Sit on the grass and wait for either sunrise or sunset.

This is where one can restore one’s self back to sanity, unloading many of those cobwebs that claimed space in our urban mindsets. Eat, sleep, and be still. The monks pray seven times a day starting with the 3:40 am Matins. The retreatants are welcome to join them. In between the Matins, Morning Prayers and Mass, Vespers and Evening Prayers, you may pray the rosary while walking around the gardens and viewing the hills and perhaps one of the last surviving forested blocks in the entire archipelago. It felt so routinary and familiar to wake up slightly past 3 in the morning and walking out of your “cocoon” of a Guest House towards the Chapel. The bells warn you. The Monks singing in Latin soothe you. It felt so right. So harmonious. And so dark. Before long, varied hues of sunrise colors magically appear on the horizon. Other times, a fog may descend without warning. Literally like touching clouds as they pass by. Feel free to sit on the grass near the Chapel to wait for sunrise and sunset.

The Guest House. Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

Sunrise at the Monastery of the Transfiguration.

Every 2nd Sunday of the month, the growing popularity of the “Breakfast With The Monks” bring in as many as 300 traveling some distance from Iligan City (3 hour drive), Davao (5 hours) and Cagayan de Oro (2 hours). We missed this, but we had the most charming experience of chatting up 2 monks who may have abandoned their vow of silence while we were there 🙂 Fr. Col and Fr. Elias engaged us in a chat about gardens, joked with us, ate with us. I love how Fr. Elias would laugh with us then bring us back to some life philosophy inspired by the Good Book. We share the same mantra about “celebrating life” but I have tons to learn in the area of detachment. 😦

Soon after the Morning Mass. Monastery of the Transfiguration in Malaybalay.

Our Lady of Montserrat.

The pyramid-inspired architecture by the late National Artist Leandro Locsin is a masterpiece to have combined the conflicting elements of simplicity and grandeur. Inside is a large cross hanging above the altar which simply consists of a huge rock. Behind it and illumined by a lone spotlight is the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat donated by the Benedictine Monks of Montserrat near Barcelona, Spain. You can view the Virgin and Child up close by scaling a few steps behind the rock altar.

Museum of Liturgical Vestments. Monastery of the Transfiguration. Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

The Museum of Liturgical Vestments. Lovingly set up and created by Dom Martin aka Gang Gomez.

Within the Monastery compound is the Museum of Vestments. Dom Martin aka Gang Gomez (yes, that fashion designer and icon) truly made an admirable collection of vestments inspired by tribal designs and indigenous materials. Be sure to drop in, along with a visit to the Store where you can buy peanuts and coffee grown by the Monks. St. Benedict medallions and icons are likewise available here.

The Refectory at the Guest House. Monastery of the Transfiguration. Malaybalay.

Keep your tables neat and clean. Glasses, utensils, food scraps in one corner of the Refectory.

Or…….. You can always head back to the Guest House for your snacks of coffee ( Monks’ Blend, of course) and muffins. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are simple affairs. I love how each diner leaves the dining table clean by putting away all glasses, utensils and food scraps after each meal. Dining in silence? Possible. Unless you chat up a monk. 😉 But if you’re not up for a stroll ( i wasn’t after the 3:40 am Matins), it maybe a better idea to crawl back to your tiny, semi-hard, good-for-the-back bed for a power nap before the next prayer and feeding times. Goodnight!

The Corridor to the spartan rooms. Monastery of the Transfiguration. Malaybalay.

The Spartan Room. Monastery of the Transfiguration. Malaybalay. Bukidnon.

Tags: Bukidnon, Malaybalay, Monastery of the Transfiguration, San Jose

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The Many Legends of Maria Cristina Falls

Filed under: Philippine Travels, Travel, travels — 9 Comments

June 25, 2013

If Loch Ness has its monster, Lake Lanao had its Omaca-An. Emphasis on “had”. Monster gone. Omaca-An was no match to Rajah Indarapatra who went in search of his slain brother Rajah Solaiman, earlier defeated by the same giant man-eating monster. The legend goes that Rajah Indarapatra swam everyday for many years in the waters of Lake Lanao in search for his brother’s ring, but failed. In his search, he gathered many stones stretching some distance which later formed the Agus River, the only outlet of Lake Lanao. The same river dropped down a deep ravine which is now Maria Cristina Falls.

The Majestic Maria Cristina Falls. Iligan City.

Now, why name the Falls Maria Cristina in a region that’s predominantly Muslim at the time? Maria Cristina are really 2 persons. Two maidens living near the Falls, in love with the same man. The sisters loved each other very much and their beauty attracted many Datus and Sultans including the son of a Sultan who happened to love BOTH maidens. For this man’s indecision (or infidelity?), each of the 2 sisters sacrificed their lives by jumping from the top of the Falls. Maria, the younger went first. When Cristina learned of her beloved younger sister’s suicide, she likewise threw herself down the ravine. Both maidens gone. And the Sultan’s son? He never married. He buried their bodies under the Falls and named the Falls in honor of the 2 loving sisters he loved and cherished.

The legend about the name Maria Cristina I’ve heard before. Now I’m told there’s another legend from the Maranaw folklore. And this has nothing to do with romance. Rather, it may have something to do with Divine intervention. The legend begins with a mythical hero named Prince Bantugan. The Prince intended to visit the Maranaws with the intention of conquering this tribe. He thus ordered his men to find the biggest and longest tree, and to fashion a big boat out of it. The floating vessel was named Rinamuntao Mapalao, designed with a prow looking like the mouth of a crocodile. Stocked with food, ammunition, and the bravest warriors, the boat sailed with Prince Bantugan along the Agus River, reaching Maria Cristina in 2 days.

When word reached the Maranaws that Prince Bantugan and his warriors have arrived, they gathered for prayer and “sent a storm and an earthquake”. The gods or “tonongs” allegedly heard their prayers upon which Agus River swirled, overflowed and flooded the entire area. Right where the Rinamuntao Mapalao was anchored, the river opened up and swallowed the big boat along with its warriors. The crevice created the ravine over which the Falls cascaded down. According to this legend, the Prince, the warriors and the boat are still within the area, to “rise” only near the end of the world. Meanwhile, the Prince and his army of brave warriors are “enchanted” and exist around the foot of the Falls. Hmmmmm. Quite a story, don’t you think?

Tags: Agus River, Iligan, Lake Lanao, Maria Cristina Falls

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HERE IN THE LAND OF PSY

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — Leave a comment

June 13, 2013

He topped the charts in at least 15 countries and is still hitting it with his signature Gangnam Style song and dance routine. So LSS that almost every kid in my country readily jumps at the song’s first few bars. And when that happens, be sure the adults will soon join the fray. Ewwww, my not so little elves would say.

As my friends said……..the “land of cuteness”. Right, Fely?

K Fashion. K Pop. I look at young men and stare mindlessly, trying to figure out their hairdo. Curly tops, bangs way over one eye, neon shorts and pants. Whoa, so …….. What else, Korean!

The elves would love shopping here!

Look at the facade. The displays. So Korean!

Retail therapy at its best. There’s more. Walks across the night markets of Myeongdong or just strolling past underground stalls in subway stations make you forget the time or take the right exits!

View from Coffee Bean at the 2nd floor of our Nine Tree Hotel.

More shops. Such retail therapy!

Day or night, rain or shine, those cute-sy shops can easily take half a day. Or the whole night. You go at your wits’ ends too choosing where to eat. We tried some of the street food and toyed with the idea of shopping for plastic containers to bring some home!

Frankly, we never tried it. But smells good, must taste good. By the time we’ve decided we’d try it, he was gone!

These I’ve tried. Sneaked in a couple while having breakfast coffee at Coffee Bean!

Psy, Gangnam, K-Pop, Gwiyomi, and more. Trust the Koreans for mastering the art of branding! More than that, they truly patronize their own products. Samsung tablets not iPads, Hyundai not Toyota, etc. Psy may not be a looker but hey, he conquered the world with his Gangnam song & dance! Korea ❤ — a nation getting a lot of world attention on all fronts.

Oh, Psy. How you’ve conquered the world!

Tags: Gangnam, Korea, Psy, Seoul

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Lost My Soul In Seoul

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — 2 Comments

June 10, 2013

It was a Sunday too early. Left Ulaan Bataar midnight and broke our journey for a 2 night stopover in Seoul on our homeward flight. Fine. Only problem is that hell driver from Mongolia ticked on all our “alarms” that we hardly slept on our flight. When we landed in Seoul at 4 am, we were all wasted. A cup of good brew at Incheon’s Cafe Pascucci failed to stir our soul.

Found in Incheon Airport just as soon as you exit, where you can decide to either take the Airport Express train, bus or arrange a limo transfer to your hotel in the city some one hour drive away.

Who can resist this? Across it is the Charlie Brown Cafe, another cute-sy coffee shop. Only in Korea!

Not even the cute-sy coffee shops in Incheon Airport — Hello Kitty, Charlie Brown Cafe — could perk us up. We were completely zonked out! By 5:30 am, we hired a limo cab to take us to our hotel in Myeongdong one hour drive away. Left our bags in Nine Tree Hotel and walked towards the Myeongdong Cathedral (Church of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception) — the very first Roman Catholic Church in Korea. Also the very first Gothic structure in Korea. Took us 15-20 minutes to find it. Could have taken less if we weren’t dragging our feet. Sunday Mass at 7am. That done, we were about to set out for a breakfast place when we noticed a food bazaar beside the cathedral. We took one look at the pancakes, rice cakes, bibimbap, grilled squid, etc and decided we’d best kill time here before checking in at our hotel. Some hours to waste, and we weren’t up to doing anything else that would so much require lifting our ass off those plastic chairs.

Myeongdong Cathedral is the first ever Roman Catholic Church in the whole of Korea. It is also the very first Gothic structure in that country.

Just right outside the Cathedral is this piece of art. I love the facial expression and how the features are very Oriental!

This is where we met our new Korean friends. No conversations in English. Just hand gestures and more. They talked to us in Korean like we were old friends. We laughed when they laughed. We shared our bag of pistachio nuts and they offered us Korean wine and some foods which we understood are best eaten with the wine.

Is this what they call soju? Basta. It’s Korean wine and the locals love it.

Whatever it’s called, we got it for free. Compliments of our new Korean friends!

We stayed more than 3 hours. Every so often, we’d get up to buy some bibimbap, pancakes, rice cakes, etc. while more new friends joined our table. We continued to laugh together. One of them looked at my bibimbap, picked up my bowl, walked to the stall, and returned with my bowl with more added. We continued to eat together. How can you not love these people? We didn’t have to speak the same language to understand and like each other.

Bibimbap!

One of the stalls selling wine and some meat and seafood slices.

By the time we checked in at our hotel, we were ready to collapse. That midnight flight was a curse and we promise not to do it again. But we’ve gained new friends. We may have lost our soul and a good part of the day, but we certainly understood that friendship does not require nor demand much. My friend E explains that we are being “rewarded” for being uncomplaining even when confronted with delayed flights, rain showers, hell drivers and fellow travelers in our group who had a penchant for making others wait. Well….. We don’t sweat the small stuff. No Matata. GWIYOMI 🙂

They talked to us like we understood Korean. We laughed when they laughed. We ate whatever their fingers pointed at. We drank as they poured!

Lovely people. Lovely Koreans!

Tags: Food Coma, Food Trip, Korea, Seoul

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From Mongolian BBQ to Korean Barbecue

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Food Trip, Travel, travels — 3 Comments

June 8, 2013

Who leaves Mongolia without feasting on their Mongolian Barbecue? Stuff your bowl with meats & veggies, make your own sauce concoction, and then leave it to this Mongolian to cook it for you on this round hot rock table.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJZr-D3-42A&feature=youtu.be

But I must say Korean food is something else. We hit the ground running by choosing a bibimbap meal on our KAL flight. Well…… Let’s just say we can’t wait. Of course the inflight meal ain’t the real deal, but it’s a good start. So, here’s how we indulged ourselves in the 2 nights we stopped over in Seoul. Call us gluttons! GWIYOMI……… I’m happy!

JUST CLICK ON THE HEADINGS FOR MORE PHOTOS AND DETAILS:

Ginseng Chicken from YongYang…………for ENERGY!

GINSENG CHICKEN IN YONGYANG

That’s our lunch being cooked for us.

BUSAN GALBI RESTO IN ITAEHWON

Korean Seafood Paella? Looks like it, but spicier!

YOOGANE’S DAK GALBI

Never ever miss this!

KOREAN BARBECUE & MORE

Korean Street Food is LOVE!

NOT TO FORGET: STREET FOODS!

Tags: Barbecue, BBQ, food porn, Food Trip, Korea, Mongolia, Seoul

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Life Of A Tourist Around Ulaan Bataar

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — 5 Comments

June 7, 2013

The best sights are outside the capital. Raw, unspoiled, rugged. But if you’re stuck in the city, why not play the life of a tourist visiting the Square, a couple of museums, some temples and memorial shrine?

One of many temple doors in Bogd Khaan Palace Museum

The climb towards the Memorial honoring Russian soldiers who helped the Mongolians during the war.

Wherever you are in the city, it’s a breeze to combine a trip to the Winter Palace or Bogd Khan Palace Museum ( check this link ) and Zaisan Hill. The latter is a memorial honoring Russian soldiers built on a hill overlooking the city and is a very popular site among locals especially the younger set. Best time to visit is right before sunset. Be prepared to climb up the stairs to the circular Shrine. It can also get crowded and windy late afternoons.

Atop Zaisan Hill is this open air Memorial Shrine. Popular with locals. Typically crowded around sunset time.

From the circular Shrine, one has a 360 degree view of the city.

Another “combination trip” is the Sukhbataar Square and the National History Museum.
The Square gets more vibrant and festive on weekends when locals set up stalls around the Square. Right across the Square is the Blue Sky Tower Hotel, a very modern building wrapped in glass. The Museum introduces one to the grandeur of the Great Mongolian Empire. Mongolians take pride in this and understandably so. And if you still have the energy, a few minutes and few blocks away from the Square is the Ulaan Bataar State Department Store. Along the way are many eateries from Cafe Amsterdam to Mongolian Barbecue eateries to Korean restaurants, as well as many souvenir shops.

Sukhbataar Square. Sukhbataar means “Red Hero”.

The Square and the Blue Sky Tower Hotel, wrapped in glass, blocking a good view of the mountains from the Square!

My best meal in Mongolia was in one of these Barbeque Buffet eateries. You stuff your bowl with all sorts of veggies and meats, then make your own sauce concoction, and let this guy cook everything for you on a hot round stone table. Watch him as he cooks your meal. Quite a performance, plus it’s really a good meal. Not a bad deal.

http://youtu.be/UJZr-D3-42A

Cafe Amsterdam. Coffee House. Wifi and Toilet Break. Same street from the Square towards the State Department Store.

Good coffee and cheesecake too!

The cheesecake in Cafe Amsterdam was good. Good coffee, free wifi, great ambience and clean toilets! It’s a good stop between the State Department Store and the Square. If you skip this Cafe, no worries as the Store has a fast food area though frankly I didn’t enjoy my lunch there. Instead, I enjoyed the sandwiches and coffee in the tiny coffee shop beside the supermarket within the same building.

The Food Court at the 5th floor of Ulaan Bataar Department Store. No like. Try something else. I tried the tiny coffee shop (good sandwiches) on the same floor as the supermarket within this store building. Better!

As we walked back to the Square, we found burger stalls which looked popular among locals. It’s the same stall we found in Zaisan Hill but at the time, they ran out of burgers. (We got lousy corn dogs instead) Further on, one finds the Ulaan Bataar Hotel, the Opera, and a small park.

The equivalent of McDonald’s in Ulaan Bataar?

You’re not too far away from these sites from the Blue Sky Tower and the Square.

Finally, the Gandantegchinleng Buddhist Monastery requires at least an hour to go through the temples spread across a square in this bustling city. A pair of golden feet, a lovely Temple in Tibetan architecture (looks like a Bhutanese Dzong to me), many prayer wheels, a few pagoda temples, and monks chanting in between their mobile calls! The place where the monks pray and chant can do with some repair and sprucing up. If you’re not joining an organized tour, hail a cab to bring you here. You can ask the cab driver to wait up and later drive you to the Museum of Natural History (I’d blog separately on this) and if you hanker for more, go visit the Intellectual Museum and be puzzled with many Mongolian puzzles!

A Bhutanese-looking Dzong in the Buddhist Monastery Complex?

Chant Break: I wonder what these monks are chatting about.

Tags: Buddhist Monastery, Dinosaur, Gandantegchinleng Monastery, Mongolia, Sukhbataar Square, Ulaan Bataar, Ulan Bator, Zaisan Hill

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A Mini Naadam At Chinggis Kuree Ger Camp

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — 2 Comments

If you only have a day to spare, i suggest you spend it traveling down 80 kilometers to the Terelj National Park to engage in cultural immersion visiting rock formations and spending time with a nomadic family. BUT if you only have half a day, your best bet is to watch a Mini Naadam in Chinggis Khaan Kuree Ger camp.

The Ger Camp for tourists!

A cultural performance in one of the tourist gers.

The Mongolian Naadam Festival has its own brand of pageantry as well as intense competitions. Boasting of the “3 sports of men”, Mongolia has succumbed to girl power and allowed women to also compete in Archery and Horse Racing but NOT IN WRESTLING. Our guide explained however that a female once outwrestled a man, prompting the “change in uniform” of the wrestlers. The more revealing uniform has since deterred women from competing. Hmmmmmm. Not very good sports, ehh?

No height nor weight nor age restrictions. Just rough it up! FIGHT!

First to touch ground loses. Easy………..

In ancient times, Naadam — which means games — was held during weddings. In time, the festival included impressive parades of mounted cavalry with the most macho men warming up in an “eagle dance” before a wrestling match. As touristy as it gets, the mini Naadam Fest in Chinggis Kuree Ger Camp was a cultural performance where men wrestlers display their physique on a chilly afternoon, children and young teens on their saddles — often without a helmet — racing across the grassy plains, and men and women shooting arrows at impossible targets.

My friend tries archery. Good luck!

Horse Racing. But they’re just kids!

In this Naadam, we were also herded into a couple of gers. Not the kind where real nomadic families live, but “fancy gers” with animal furs spread over the tent to keep you warm, “thrones” ornately designed to make you feel like royalty, and some of the best performers with a knack for freaking you out. I mean that as a COMPLIMENT!

One of them “fancy gers”. And don’t forget to look up to check out those animal furs!

Thrones to take care of your royal posterior. Look at those furs! Can you guess which animals?

The operatic renditions of Mongolian classics left me wondering how these Mongolians can sound like Russians when they speak, but sound so like their Chinese neighbors when they sing. Amazing. But it was my first to hear “throat singing”. No, yodel is different. Throat singing is in a class all its own. Listen to this clip. I’m sure I’d never explain it enough.

So soon after the “throat singing” we were treated to another cultural performance. It took awhile to “recover” from this last one. This lady contortionist nearly freaked me out. How in heaven’s name does she do that? After her performance, I noticed that she walked on tiptoes, like her feet bones won’t let her press her soles on the ground. I wonder if that hurts?

OMG. This lady freaked me out!

The pageantry of a Naadam Festival.

What an afternoon! Before gunpowder was invented, all battles were won by sheer guts, innate intellect, physical skills and muscle power. My idea of a Mongolian warrior is that of a Gengis Khan lookalike aiming with his arrow while riding a horse at full speed. Fierce!

A Mongolian Baby!

Tags: Chinggis Kuree Ger Camp, Ger Camp, Mongolia, Naadam

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The Murderous Traffic and Skyline of Ulan Bator

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — 1 Comment

June 5, 2013

Back in the city, I lamented how so many high-rise buildings now block the background of some of the lovely Buddhist temples and museum-palaces. I saw no effort in trying to make everything “fit”, aesthetics-wise, with drab architecture spoiling many otherwise lovely sceneries. I am no expert but my simple mind reminds me of the sheer vastness of this land. Certainly unnecessary to “cluster” them modern structures at the back of, beside, or in front of historical treasures like temples and palaces. Neither do I comprehend why there is only ONE road leading to and from the international airport. Surely, there is no issue of where to line the highways across any part of Mongolia?

Bogd Khaan Temple Complex includes the Winter Palace of the last Mongol King.

A relatively better shot minus the obstructions.

In Bogd Khaan Palace Museum, the old temples need a lot of TLC and could have been given lotsa space for a truly unobstructed view. Same is true with the Gandantegchinleng Temples. The place where the monks prayed and chanted (in between mobile calls, mind you!) needed some sprucing up.

Those modern buildings shouldn’t be there. So much space around, why here?

Gandan Monastery Complex. Right in the middle of the bustling city.

While 70% of the 2.7 million population continue to live in gers, I am curious who’d occupy all the high-rise buildings under construction in the capital where 1.2 million live. With all that construction, the city is likely congested. More so with more tourist arrivals. I cannot imagine that lone airport road being clogged any further. Perhaps they could build a new airport in any of those huge vacant spaces around the city and build an express road? I’m sure they will.

Old and new buildings within the city.

Sukhbaatar Square.

That skyline will soon change. And I’m glad we got here before all these changes. It’s NOT exactly RAW, but a vibrant tourism industry sometimes cast a curse on long-preserved traditions and customs, burying with it a culture with so much more character.

Tags: Mongolia, Ulaan Bataar, Ulan Bator

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TERELJ NATIONAL PARK: Treeless Slopes and Sands On Your Tongue

Filed under: Asian Holidays, Travel, travels — 1 Comment

June 4, 2013

Just 80 kilometers south of Ulaan Bataar, the capital of Mongolia, lies Terelj National Park. You don’t find the red sands and sand dunes of Gobi Desert here, but it’s a good introduction to the hard life of nomads here in Mongolia. Treeless slopes and if you’re not careful, sands on your eyes and tongue. It takes a good and long bath to shake off the sands and dirt.

Turtle Rock. One of many. Nature left on its own. Created by Wind and Water.

2.7 million Mongolians. ONLY 15 million livestock. Plenty of meat to eat!

Badlands? Desert? Outback? Wilderness? I honestly don’t know how to call it. The thoughts that really cross my mind is that big question mark on how the Mongolian nomads and their livestock survive living here. It’s a hard life. Both for men and animals. Depending on the season, both move their “gers” — that circular tent which serves as housing — and their livestock pens from place to place. Amazing how they can disassemble such “gers” in a flash, and reassembled in just 3 days.

A day with a nomadic family. This lady welcomed us, cooked for us, ate lunch with us.

Circular tents housing Mongolian nomads. Yurts to some, GERS to them.

Nature seems to have been left on its own, to do as it pleases, in this corner of the world. Rock formations abound…… Forces of wind and water forming caves, monuments and “towers” in vast fields likely rich in an assortment of human and animal fossils. I asked the guide to bring us to Turtle Rock. The rock didn’t disappoint. Neither did Monkey Cave, also called Monks Cave since many monks took refuge here.

Care for a ride on any of these wild horses? Just remember. Do Not Stroke. Do not Scream. me? DO NOT RIDE.

MONKEY between the stones. See it? Monkey Cave is called Monks’ Cave as well.

It would have been a truly exciting day to go horseback riding around the park. Call me Chicken but these “DON’Ts” were enough to keep me from that saddle — DON’T STROKE THE HORSE. DON’T SCREAM. There were more, but these 2 “DON’Ts” will do. Now, there’s the camel too. And TWO-HUMPED CAMELS at that! The one we found looked real tall and pretty. But I’m reminded of my ONLY camel ride in Egypt years before and knew this TALL camel won’t do. Yes, call me Chicken with a capital C. Better safe, than sorry.

For the BRAVE. Choose your horse. Free rides!

Two humped camel! Only in Mongolia and China?

Around Terelj National Park, one finds many tourist ger camps. The nightly rate approximates what you’d otherwise pay for a hotel room. Cheaper if you stay with a real nomad family. It’s good for those who wish to retire at night in the wilds, listening to animal sounds while making a trip to the toilet which is housed in a separate wooden structure, watching the stars if the weather permits, and sleeping around a fire log stove that warms the tent. Us? A day trip will do. We fancy soaking ourselves in a bath tub after a sandy, windy day in the wilds. 😉