Yakitty Yak Yak: Only in Mongolia

Mongolia has heaps to offer, it is a country full of natural wonder with such diverse landscape. We don’t often get a chance to venture out of the city so when someone said “Camel Polo”, we though that sounded like a good idea.

Actually getting information about events here is part of the fun. There might be a mention prior to the event in the local English newspaper, but one never expects all the information needed to participate. We knew it was a two-day event over a weekend, out by what we call the “Big Chinggis”, a huge stainless steel statue in the middle of nowhere. No idea about what time, admission costs, amenities available, but hey, this is Mongolia.

We got a group together, booked two minivans, planned a picnic lunch, and thought we had all bases covered. On the Friday night, word was out that the event was in the city on Sunday. Although shifting the event from the countryside to the city would be a logistical nightmare, we did accept that - hey, this is Mongolia, they do that sort of thing. So on Sunday morning we set off, not knowing if we would be watching polo or just having a picnic in the countryside.

The landscape is changing now as the snow is melting and dried grass is being exposed. The roads are still really bumpy and the sun warmed the window on one side of our minibus. From a distance we could see the silver Chinggis rising over the hill, and fortunately a crowd gathering in the surrounding area. The event hadn’t been moved, that was just a rumour.

The car-park was still ice and there was some snow still on the ground when we made our way over to the swelling crowd. The surrounding hills were still covered with snow and the Big Chinggis with his horse sat atop the building that houses a fantastic museum. You can climb the internal stairs to get a panoramic view from the horses head, but I expect the wind up there was cold.

Double humped camels, all plump with hair were watching us as much as we were watching them. We joined everyone else who was thrilled at the dexterity of the rider who could keep his place between the humps while dipping down to connect the end of the mallet with a large leather ball. Young boys were the stable masters, holding the ropes of camels that waited to have their turn.

There were teams who exhibited a strong enthusiasm to win, all sharing a war cry every now and then. The camels looked so graceful as they bounced from one end of the pitch to the other, their hair making them look like oversized Afghan hounds, flouncing in rhythm to their bounds. They looked as though they were hard to control, the riders pulling them from one direction to another following the ball. Occasionally one would slip on a small mound of ice in the middle of the uneven pitch, the snow having been cleared from this area of the field.

Zealous riders would swing their hammer towards the large ball and miss it but connect with the shin of the camel. They were prepared with shin guards wrapped around their legs but the poor animal would still let out a high-pitched cry. There was one camel that had a bandaid stitched to its rump, I wonder what kind of noise he made as that was done.

Bandaid on a bum

We stood at the edge, marked with a piece of tape lying on the ground. More than once the ball would roll over the tape and we would scatter as it was followed by galloping camels.

We had our picinc lunch, rather posh I think, with ample bottles of wine including Moet, plates of food, cucumber sandwiches, quiche, scones with jam and cream. So it can’t be said that we didn’t do it right. Of course the bubbles were drank from paper cups, but hey, this is Mongolia.

Our group of Pole Enthusiasts

Yum, lunch

Camels are prized possessions for the nomadic Mongolians. Not only are they a form of transport and help carting heavy objects, but they are a source of meat, milk and clothing. My camel hair socks have been a blessing through winter. While I was chatting with a guy on the sidelines I asked “How much does a camel cost?” Not that I was planning on taking one home, just out of interest. His reply was maybe 500,000 tugrugs ($350) which is about the average monthly income in the city. So if you are a nomad, it would be an advantage to have a good breeding pair.

Those birds are really heavy

They Killed Kenny

Friend being interviewed for Korean TV

Every ger should have it's own basketball hoop

It was a gathering of expats and Mongolan’s alike, the locals dressing up for the occasion. Kids looked cute in mini deels and couples with matching finery looked splendid atop the camels. I couldn’t help but think that it could reflect the time when Chinggis really was on top of his horse in this very same field. Legend has him finding the silver batten that he took into battle to create his empire.

Hey mum, look at me

Would have to have been the softest seat in the house

Regal spendor

Modern Nomad

As the sun started to sink, the air got cooler and we decided to pack up the picnic blanket and head home. We trundled back through the mushy grass, waved goodbye to Chinggis and headed back to the smog of Ulnaanbataar. Our little event in the countryside was over, we had, yet again, been witness to something that was unique. But hey, this is Mongolia.