At Least it Didn't Snow

A few weeks ago I was asked if I would like to join a group of doctors traveling to one of the northern provinces to conduct screening and cancer prevention education. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity to see a little more than the confines of Ulaanbaatar. I really didn’t have any expectations, and that might have been just as well.

There was a meeting to make plans for the week-long trip, but of course nobody told me when it was, so I missed it. Not a good start. I asked what I needed to take but there wasn’t anything really, just warm clothes, because snow was forecast. I didn’t know where we were staying, but that was OK, I would have phone reception.

I had to be at the front entrance of the hospital at 11am Sunday morning, ready to leave at 11.30 for the 5 hour drive. So I was there promptly at 11 and waited till 11.20 before I started to worry. A quick phone call to the foreign relations officer (because she speaks English) and she checked, only to call back and say I needed to be at the back entrance.

Not to worry, I eventually found everyone as they were packing up the 3 cars that we were traveling in. I was appointed a translator, a nice young guy who works for the Khan Bank, who have sponsored the campaign. It seems that I have joined one of the last trips that have been happening over the spring and summer. Khan Bank, the largest in Mongolia, has financed the project, which has visited every province and, from what I have seen, have done a brilliant job in raising cancer awareness in a country that sees it as its biggest killer.

We took off through the city and my new friend told me we were lucky because there was a black road (bitumen) all the way to Sukhbaatar, the city we were heading to. Once out of the city the landscape changed and it was easy to avoid the silence by looking out the window enjoying what was spinning past. In the distance was a huge statue of the Buddha at the gateway to a cemetery and we suddenly came to a stop. The driver rummaged in the glove box and took out a bag of lollies. He crossed the road and stood at the top of a culvert and threw the lollies into the grass. He was making an offering to his ancestors. I did wonder how they felt about having to leave their resting place and walk across the open space to retrieve the sweets, but I guess we were on a schedule, so couldn’t stop too long.

Back on the black road, my English-speaking friend and I talked about religion, spurred by the sweet throwing, and he told me he was a shamanist. Of course, this then kept us chatting for a few more kilometres until we took a sudden left turn, doing a bit of cross country till we stopped by a creek. The cars were turned into a circle, just like cowboys and Indians, and they acted as a wind-break. Out came a picnic of cabbage salad, kim chi and lumps of cooked mutton. We all shared the meal happily, bottles of water and iced tea preceded the vodka. This proved to be the first in a long week of cabbage, mutton and vodka.

We all piled back in the cars and took off down the black road and more stunning scenery. It was windy and I had to smile when we drove past two little boys, breaking pieces off of a block of styrene foam and delighting as it flew away. It was simple play but I did think about the impact on this beautiful environment.

It was getting dark when we pulled into a little clearing and met the director of the hospital we were going to. We all climbed out, shook hands and climbed back in again, following the old Russian style ambulance on a dusty dirt road and through a forest. Lights in the distance, surrounded by a white picket fence, marked home for the next week.

We had ger accommodation in the middle of no where, as in no toilet, no shower, no internet and no soft mattress. But it was warm, heat from the old iron fire in the middle of the ger, and we were well cared for. We had dinner followed by a long string of toasts with vodka shots.

The "bathroom"

Next morning we went the 12 kms to the city in convoy, arriving at the hospital in plenty of time for the opening ceremony. This was held out in the sunshine, we all had T–shirts advertising Khan Bank and formed a long line before the large gathering of staff, community and TV cameras. There were lots of speeches, Mongolians love them, and lots of applause but I’m not sure what for because it was all in Mongolian. What had my camera out was the opera singer in a stunning blue strapless gown, it did look a bit out of place at nine thirty in the morning. Then we moved inside for more speeches and gift giving without all of the onlookers. This over and done with and it was down to business.

Front of Selenge Provincial Hospital

The doctors all took off to respective rooms and I was led to the head nurses room. She is a beautiful young lady who is very friendly but only limited English. All of the ward nurses were bringing in their report and the thing I noticed most was the amount of bling they were wearing. Sparkling rings were matched with sparkling earrings, and there were even hair-clips to match, wouldn’t get away with that in Australia. A large portrait of Florence Nightingale dominated the room and there was some pretty good training equipment. A photo album was displayed in front of me with photos of their domiciliary service. There are four teams of nurses who visit patients at home and tend their needs.

I took a tour of the Outpatient Department and I have to say I am pretty impressed. They have an obvious commitment to community education, running pre and post-natal classes, rehab and exercise classes and health promotion posters all over the walls. Nurses have regular education sessions, which are compulsory. There is a child-minding centre on site for the staff run by paediatric nurses. As part of my visit, I joined in with a day session of nursing education on cancer care. Included in this commitment was a short interview for the local TV. All I said was translated but I can only hope accurately.

On day two I was delighted to be told I could have a shower at the hospital…yeah. I thought I could tough it out with a bird-bath every morning and night but discovered I am too much of a princess. So Tuesday became Shower Day. All days previous now known a BS (Before Shower) and days after, AS (After Shower).

Of course it wasn’t all work, we did do some sight seeing. After work we would head off to local attractions. The first (1 day BS) was a trip to Russia, well at least over the border. I was a bit worried that I didn’t have my passport but no worries, a few words from the hospital director and they just waved us through. We spent about twenty minutes taking photos before doing some duty free shopping and back in the cars on the black road. It was getting toward sunset when we stopped at a little gazebo structure and all huddled together trying to stay out of the wind for speeches and vodka shots. I could see a pattern developing here.

Russian border

Left foot Mongolia, right foot Russia

Back in the camp for dinner, more speeches and vodka shots. I had been warned by an Australian friend that this is par for the course at Mongolian functions and she had given me the tip of only putting the glass to my lips which was just as well, because the lady serving made sure you never saw the bottom of the glass. My friend had also warned me to take some food along and I am so glad she did. Our menu has been as follows-

Breakfast: Hot milk, bread, jam, salad, mutton soup, lollies

Lunch: Hot milk, bread, fried pancake (more like batter), salad, mutton soup

Dinner : Hot milk, bread, salad, beef soup, vodka shots, lollies

 Are you getting the picture? There was a variation to this, one morning we had rice porridge. Between lunch and dinner there was always pre-dinner vodka, where ever we may be, accompanied with bread, sausage, speeches and lollies.

Hospital cook preparing lunch

Mmmmm lunch

Some of the scenery we saw was breath taking, I don’t think my photos do it justice. Unfortunately it was always in late afternoon, just as it was getting cold and dark. One evening (1 day AS), after work, we took off down to the river where two small tents with tables and chairs had been put up. It was freezing! There was a potbelly stove giving us a bit of warmth but we were all told to huddle into one of the tents. You guessed it, speeches and vodka. I was encouraged to be the first to empty my glass in one go before anyone else could down their own. I was becoming proficient by this time and I welcomed the warmth the alcohol induced.

Back out to the stove where there was now a big lidded bowl boiling away. As the lid was lifted steam escaped and hidden under the vapor was a lot of offal. I mean liver, lung, heart, intestines. The doctors pointed out all the various organs, quite good at their anatomy, for dinner I was told. A few had gathered away from the wind in the van and I was called over too. Not wanting to offend and honestly glad to be out of the wind, I climbed in too. Just as well, because the car started up and we were away back to the camp. I was glad we had left the offal behind. But not so lucky, because it reappeared on the dinner table.

Overlooking Selenge River

Monument to Chinggis Chan's first wife made from Mongolian marble

Back street of Sukhbaatar

Kids will be kids

Where's Wally in the forest

Driving into Sukhbaatar

By day six, (3 days AS), I was rather pleased with myself that I hadn’t caused an international incident. I just hope my country appreciates what I did for it. Friday was closing ceremony, we would be finished by eleven o’clock and were again given matching red t-shirts. I was expecting to gather at the front of the hospital but, surprise, into the cars and to the City Civic Centre. This turned out to be a much bigger affair, the whole auditorium full of flag waving, uniform wearing senior citizens. There were speeches (of course) that I timed because I was bored. Seven in total with an average time of sixteen and a half minutes. When that was over, it was outside to more speeches, the brass band and a parade of the flag waving senior citizens who disappeared down the street.

Although our departure had originally been planned for Sunday, midweek this was changed to Saturday and I have to say that by then, I was ready for home. Saturday was sightseeing day. Of course I wasn't told of the plans for the day, it was just go with the flow (again). But I did know we were going to see The Mother Tree. As we made our way off the black road, just about every tree was adorned with a khadag, all colours, the silk scarf’s blowing in the breeze. Driving between the trees on a dusty road it was like we were in the valley of the khadag. A few bumps later, we were at The Mother Tree, which really looked like a pile of different coloured silk, dripping with a creamy white coating.

Before ducking our heads at the cubby hole entrance in the fence that appeared to be made of blocks of compressed grass, we were handed a bag of grain and a small carton of milk. I was told to follow what everyone else did. Getting closer, it was obvious the creamy white coating was milk soured in the sun. We walked around the tree, throwing grain and milk over the fallen tree trunk. Incense was lit and there was a mat surrounded with silk scarves where you could kneel and whisper your wishes down into the roots of the tree. There was an abundance of bird life feeding on the sprinkled grains and wasps hovered over candy and biscuits left on an alter as offerings. I was told that Mongolians come here to worship, having a mix of Tibetan Buddhism and  Shamanism.

"And for Christmas I want....."

We gathered in our convoy of cars again and I wrongly assumed we were heading back to camp to head home. I am glad I was wrong. We took off to a spot near the Russian border where two rivers meet. We climbed what seemed like a mountain to take in the most spectacular view. I raised my camera but was told no, first we had to have a drink, vodka of course and speeches. Here we also ate a picnic lunch, all provided by the hospital, they were gracious hosts.

Another round of drinks

I did get to take photos, the most beautiful panoramic view. The rivers wound around autumn coloured trees and the last railway station before Russia punctuated the line. Horses grazed next to a farmhouse in the distance and cows formed a conga line through a field. Birds caught the thermals on the edge of the cliffs and I just soaked it all in thinking "how lucky am I". I wonder what it will all look like under snow. Family groups of Mongolians shared the spot with us and paid homage at the ovoo (pile of stones) on the top of the path.

Walking around the Ovoo for good luck

Then it was back to camp...and lunch. Our departure was delayed until the next day because at 4pm, it was too late to travel the black road back to UB in the dark. It was an early start in the morning, so an early night.

Up at 5.30 and eventually on the road at 7. The advantage being that I got to see the countryside waking up. The hills have the sweeping look of sand-dunes and in a shallow valley was a ger, the smoke from their fire just hanging in the sky above, unmoved by wind. I thought that if it wasn't for the power lines running over the hill, it could be a scene from the last centuries. As we moved around a hill, I was brought back to modern day with a herder on a motorbike taking his goats out to graze. Goats are a popular herd, their coats producing the valuable cashmere wool. This has become a bit of an environmental issue for the country with the over grazing of grasslands.

Farmers were working hard at this time to gather grass to store as winter feed. During the harsh winter, known as zuds, herders can loose most of their animals because of lack of feed. Once cut, small piles of harvested grass are left on hillsides before it is collected. Utes, about the size of a Hilux, are hidden under the mobile haystack as it is taken back for storage.

Several stops on the way home are a chance for a toilet break, chat and sips of vodka for some. All to soon there is more traffic on the road, the air is clouded with pollution and the countryside turns into the city. But at least I am home safe and sound, ready first for a hug from James then a l.o.n.g hot shower and a meal of veggies. Tonight I will be in my own bed.