Last Friday at the Steppe Inne of British Embassy, three very talented and good looking Mongolian young ladies played some great music.

Everyone was impressed with, not just their presentation, but their music skills as well. When they first walked in, the women in attendance greeted the musicians with “oohs” and “aah”.  I don’t believe any of us really were ready for the well dressed women to walk in…  I do know this though: their musical skills were really quite good.

Check out the video below:

Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj speaks about Mongolia’s mining situation on Bloomberg.  President Ts. Elbegdorj says he expects a deal on Oyu Tolgoi within a week (video posted on September 25, 2009).

Of course, we have since learned that an agreement was reached on September 30th with the official signing for the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement to take place on October 6, 2009, a “baljnyam” and “dashnyam” day which is considered an exceptional day according to horoscope and only occurs once a year or so.

In any case, here is the Mongolian President’s interview with Bloomberg.  On a side note, if he carries through everything or at least half of what he has been saying, Mongolia will be an awesome place to live and to do business.  Enjoy the video!

Please feel free to comment below.  Cheers!

On a sunny morning on Tuesday, May 5th 2009, I noticed some green leaves on trees for the first time this year.  Finally, Ulaanbaatar is seeing vegetation and green for the first time since fall.  Winter is usually filled with white, brown, and grey colors.  And, early part of spring is usually filled with brown, the color of dirt.  Needless to say dirt is everywhere

…

Then on Saturday May 9th, it is snowing…

The dust storms this year have been few and far between.  Thank you the gods of weather!

…

NOTE: This was in my draft folder for at least four months now.  I have to publish it now.  Otherwise, I should just delete it.  If you are interested, I will post more information next Spring.  Cheers!

While talking to a friend today, I visited Google Maps, a function within Google that I used to use back when I was in US daily.  I had stopped using it in Mongolia because there really is not much to show for… But guess what I found?!

Mongolia IS on the Map!

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia map on Google

I could not believe it, but I am very happy about this.  Finding places is always a pain, especially for tourists, foreigners, and Mongolians like me who don’t always know where everything is located.  The thing is… in Mongolia, people don’t use street names.  No one knows street names here.  Everyone goes by places… as in where something is located next to some place that people know.  Often, those places don’t even exist anymore, but the name remained.

In any case, the Google Maps has the names of places on the map.  How cool is that?

Of course, the extra features such as traffic and street view are not available in Mongolia yet.  However, that is probably only a matter of time.  This will be very cool.  Imagine taxi drivers in Mongolia not wanting to drive somewhere because they saw traffic jam on Google maps.  haha!  It might be five or ten years to go, but it’s coming I tell ya!

This is very exciting news for me.

BTW, I pulled up the map with terrain.  It worked great.  Check it out.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia map on Google with Terrain

As noted in the image above, the 13th and 15th districts are misplaced.  They are actually located EAST of the Suhkbaatar Square in the center of the city, NOT to the west.

All in all, I am just very happy.  This just made my day.  I might go have a vodka shot to celebrate!

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA – Starting tonight at 24:00 clock, Peace Avenue will be closed in portions for construction from West 4-way intersection (baruun durvun zam) to East 4-way intersection (zuun durvun zam).  The purpose of the construction project is to expand Peace Avenue and to add underground pedestrian crossing in an area near a hospital named “Iontsei”.

The first part of the project will involve section of Peace Avenue from West 4-way to State Department store and will take roughly 15 days to complete.  The section of the road from Mongolian State University of Education to the Wrestlers Palace is expected to take 28 days to complete.

FYI: Peace Avenue is the main road connecting Ulaanbaatar and is the longest stretch of road in the city.  It runs West to East.

About the Road Construction Project

This road construction project has been approved for this year’s budget at three billion tugrugs, equal to little more than 2 million USD.  Current exchange rate is running at 1456 tugrugs (a.k.a. tugrik) to one US dollar.

The western portion of the road construction will be completed by “KTK” and “Tugs Zam” companies, while the eastern portion of the road construction will be completed by “Yalguulsan” and “Urgun Gobi” companies.  Ulaanbaatar City Roads and Transportation Authority and Standards Oversight Authority (please correct me if I do not have the correct English wording for these governmental agencies; either I could not find their website or their websites did not have English language).

As a result of the construction activities, there have been changes made to 32 distribution routes and 370 bus routes.

To NY Times: On August 3, 2009, you published a story about Genghis Khan’s 131-foot statue in Mongolia.  The story was written by a journalist named Dan Levin and was well written overall. The only real issue is that your journalist had the audacity to end his post with something along the lines of Genghis Khan and Hitler being the same thing!!

This is totally unacceptable.

First, Chinggis Khaan, the correct spelling for Genghis Khan, is Mongolia’s beloved hero and the founding father of our nation.  He is beloved and respected above anything else in Mongolia.  To us, he is like Abraham Lincoln, God, and Chuck Norris put together.  All jokes aside, your journalist and your post is no laughing matter.

This is how your post ended:

“Mongolian tradition respects our grand ancestors’ names,” she said. “To really honor him, it’s much better to use his name on only premium merchandise.”

Other Mongolians skew a bit more toward realpolitik in their devotion to Genghis Khan, even if they are happy to drink to his memory.

“He was a cruel man but he led our country to greatness,” said Toguldur Munkochir, 25, a bank teller unwinding at the Chinggis Khaan bar later that night. “If you look at Lincoln, Hitler and Julius Caesar, it’s kind of the same thing.”

99.99999% of Mongolians do not feel the same way as this guy “Toguldur”.  Chinggis Khaan is NOT the same thing as Hitler.

I don’t want anyone to be upset with this Mongolian guy.  I give him the benefit of the doubt because a) he likely had been drinking as he was at a bar at night and b) author may have twisted or misinterpreted his wording or meaning.  Plus, I just cannot believe a Mongolian person would say that Hitler, Lincoln, Caesar, and Chinggis Khaan are all “the same thing”.

What really bugs me is the Dan’s use of wording “realpolitik”.

The use of this word implies somehow that this quote is descriptive or fitting of the real feeling of the Chinggis Khaan.  Surely, there still are a few remaining negative thoughts about Chinggis Khaan in the west, despite the fact that he was named The Man of the Millennium by Time Magazine and despite the fact that Jack Weatherford’s “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” opened so many insights into the real Chinggis Khaan.

However, to make a far-fetched claim based on one quote from a guy at a bar at night is surely not utilizing proper journalism techniques.  Vast majority, if not all, Mongolians do not view Chinggis Khaan in the same light as “Toguldur”.  As such, the term “realpolitik” is not fitting in the manner in which it was used.  In fact, “realpolitik” is may be in the way in which Dan is using to push his views onto the world under the New York Times brand name.

And, does this “Toguldur” guy even exist?  Is he a real person?  Is he Mongolian?  Who knows!

The point is that the damage has been done.  This story has been spread over all over the web.  Dan Levin was successful in pushing his views onto the world.  Just try googling (searching on google) for key terms “TSONJIN BOLDOG” or “Genghis Khan Rules Mongolia Again”.

Here is the original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/world/asia/03genghis.html?_r=2

NY Times Needs To Issue an Apology

If you are not from NY Times, then please write emails to the following people.  They need to issue an apology, retract the last two paragraphs of this post, and notify all websites which have re-posted the information of the updated post.

The email addresses are: letters@nytimes.com, webeditor@nytimes.com, executive-editor@nytimes.com, managing-editor@nytimes.com

On Wednesday July 29, 2009, Tim Cope gave a presentation at Cafe Amsterdam in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on his horseback trekking adventure across the steppes and grasslands of Mongolia to Hungary.   Tim spoke of the challenges and issues he faced while traveling during zud (extreme cold winter) and deserts (up to 50C high) from Mongolia through Kazakhtsan, Russia, and Ukraine on the way to Hungary following in the footsteps of Chinggis Khaan, the correct spelling of Genghis Khan.

Here are some highlights of interesting notes and things of which he spoke.

Tim Cope’s Journey Across Steppes of Central Asia

The first question that seems to come to everyone’s mind… Why did you decide to travel this route?  As you may know, Tim actually traveled trough Mongolia with a friend back in 2000 on a bicycle.  He traveled from South to North (i.e. China to Russia through Mongolia).  Apparently, he even was arrested for not using public transportation in China.

But something about Mongolia really left a mark on Tim: it was the first time in his life that he had been in “a very big place with no fences”.  Long story short, he “ran into some horsemen that inspired him” and got the idea that he should travel through Mongolia on a horse.

A fun fact about Tim Cope’s travel through the steppes

• The most number of days without a shower: 24

“A man with friends is as wide as the steppe”

During his journey, Tim realized the truth behind the Mongolian saying “a man on the steppe without friends is as narrow as a finger. A man with friends is as wide as the steppe.”  Getting through the countryside safe from the harsh weather, wolves, and possible thieves couldn’t be done easily without the help of friends and making connections with the people on the steppe.

Note: I have referred to the Nomads as people of the steppe.  Both terms and definitions can be used interchangeably in this context.  For whatever reasons, I have used the steppe or people of the steppe more so than nomads.  However, this post could probably be used to gain some insights into nomads and nomadic ways of life.

“Never enough days for planning”

Tim found that there was not a single day that he did not face issues and challenges.  There were days he wanted to pack up and call it quits.  The thing is that there really is not enough days for planning.  And, there actually is no way to plan for the entire trip.  As he said, there will be challenges and issues that we just cannot plan for.

The most important thing is weight

Tim said this in reference to traveling on a horse.  He mentioned that “a horse can travel 300km in a day, but you could kill a horse in 50km” to highlight the point that keeping light and taking care of the horses is of utmost importance.  He said that keeping the horses fed and watered was the biggest challenge.

Zud, a freezing severe winter weather in Mongolia

Tim ran into zud in Mongolia.  During zud, a Mongolian term describing freezing severe cold weather, literally everything in the area is frozen and covered in centimeters thick ice sheets.  Plants, grasses, and gers would all be covered in by this freezing winds and weather.  This makes it very difficult to survive, let alone find food for the horses.  Tim Cope mentioned that he met a family in Bayan-Ulgii, the western-most province of Mongolia, that had one horse survive out of 300!

During zud years in middle of 2000′s, Mongolia lost millions of herds to zud.  You can just imagine seeing the tragedy of so many animals frozen to death in blistering cold weather with temperatures easily dipping much lower than 40C.

My own addition into the story–>Interestingly, goats have a way of surviving cold weathers.  When sheeps freeze, often goats are found standing on top to survive”

“Time in the steppe is measured by the seasons”

Tim Cope’s trip was originally planned to be completed within 18 months.  The actual trip took 3 1/2 years.

The lesson learned: in the steppe, one cannot put a deadline because as soon as you put a deadline on time, you are set to fail or not reach it.  Three times Tim picked a time for his mother and his family; and, all three dates were not met.  “Time in the steppe is measured by time.”  And, you cannot rush time nor weather conditions.  He learned this quote in Kazakhstan.  He tried leaving one small village in the winter 9 times (I believe this is what he said), but he failed all nine times due to a variety of reasons.

“If you ever have to rush in life, rush slowly”

This is a famous saying in Kazakhstan and what Tim really learned from being stuck during the harsh winter weather there.  After failed attempts to leave, Tim forgot his plans and started again in spring.  And, this was really the beginning of becoming a nomad for Tim.

Tim also made a very interesting point to all the travelers, visitors, and even the nationals of Mongolia: “You can’t really appreciate the summer in Mongolia if you weren’t here for the winter.”

In the steppe, hospitality is obligatory not a choice

During his travels, Tim recalls meeting a nomadic family with 17 or 18 extra mats for traveling passerby’s.  It’s very difficult to survive in this harsh weather without being hospitable to others and also being hospitable as well.  In Kazakhstan, there is a saying that when you are supposed to host guests and doing so brings good karma and chases bad karma or spirits out through the top opening of gers or yurts.  And, visiting is not just an hour long chat.  Each one is a three day feast.  After a while, it was very difficult to travel without being invited in, so Tim started traveling in a very wide circle around the homes of people in Kazakhstan.

There is another quote that helps describe the hospitality of the steppe people.  The quote goes something like this: the first time a person is a guest, the second time he/she is friend, and third time he/she is family for life. (Please correct me if I’ve misspoken on the first or second meeting/visit).

There is also another great quote: “mountains never meet… but people do”

By the way, it should be noted that Tim spent 14 months in Kazakhstan and really learned the majority of his knowledge about being a nomad and understanding the ways of nomadic life there.

Summer heats in deserts

One of Tim’s major challenges were the extreme hot days during summertime in deserts.  The highs reached 40 or 50 degrees Celsius, and it became very challenging for him or the horses to travel.  As such, his major challenge was to find a shelter before the sweltering heat and sleeping during the day to travel at night.

There were so much more…

There were so much more that he spoke and talked about in his hour and a half long presentation that I simply have ran out of time.

There were things like:

• Tim’s experience with wolves in Mongolia
• Thieves stealing horses and finding them back – on two different occasions in two different countries

During the Q&A session, he covered things like…

• He had a great dog travel with him from Kazakhstan, but he couldn’t bring the dog to Australia because of the costs involved until just recently.  It was something like $10K to bring back the dog.  It was a very happy reunion after maybe two years of separation.
• Had Kazakh horses and they were donated to children’s riding organization in Hungary
• Kalmitia – jungars or uigars
• black sea
• Tartar people
• Hungars – people from central Asia
• Finding sponsors which funded maybe for half his trip.  The planned costs were about $10/day excluding horses and equipment.

I believe he is working on a book

So, if you are interested in learning more and reading in depth about his horse trekking adventure across central Asia and Europe from Mongolia to Hungary, where the steppe ends, you might have to wait for the book to come out.

Judging from his presentation skills, Tim’s new book could be a best-seller.  During the presentation, Tim had a way of truly conveying the thoughts and feelings as if we, the audience, were traveling ourselves… but he did so in an interesting, informative, but also very fun manner.  He had lots of great jokes, which I cannot duplicate here.  You just have to wait for the book to come out just like the rest of us. 

When the book comes out, I will make sure to notify everybody who leaves a comment with interest here on this blog.  Maybe Tim will give us discount. 

Photos of Tim Cope at Cafe Amsterdam

Lately, it has been raining nearly every day here in Mongolia.  And, it has been pouring.

Throughout history, Mongolians are known to have worshiped the eternal blue sky during times of the great Chinggis Khaan (often known as Genghis Khan) and before/after that.  Maybe we have maddened the skies, but it has been opened as it’s just been pouring.

The rains of July 17, 2009

This rain was highly destructive.  29 people died from the ensuing floods. Eleven were from Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia.  More than 130 families have been displaced from their homes as their gers (traditional Mongolian yurts) were washed away in the floods.

This was a very sad day, but I hope we, Mongolians, will learn from this.  I hope we will learn to respect our mother nature and re-learn and re-live at least some of our past traditions.  I hope we will not be cutting down trees so much.  If we do, at least plant trees for every tree cut.  It seems that the international industry wide practice that is used in the lumber and wood industry worldwide is to plant two baby trees per every tree cut.  I hope that we will not be throwing all of our trash everywhere.  I hope that we will respect our waters and rivers and do our best to keep them clean and running freely.  I hope that we will not be building our gers and homes in the flood plains or near the river basin.

There also was another damage that I should mention: the collapsed bridge in Zaisan.

Zaisan houses some of the wealthiest and richest Mongolians on the southside of Ulaanbaatar.  I don’t have all the right details, so please feel free to correct me here and also anywhere within this blog post if you have the right information.  In any case, I heard that the reason the bridge collapsed was because the soil underneath the bridge became unstable.  Now, this maybe has nothing to do with the fact that many constructions have taken place near the river basin.  This might also not have anything to do with the rich river soils being towed away for use in construction.  In any case, we should probably be more respectful and caring for the Mongolia’s beautiful nature that our forefathers preserved so pristine condition for us for thousands of years.

The Zaisan bridge was down for three/four days.  Much of the traffic to/from this wealthy portion of Ulaanbaatar (or Mongolia for that matter) depended on this bridge had to be diverted to many miles north or south.  In Zaisan, it seems some shops and garages were flooded as well.  Many expensive Land Cruisers, Mercedes, and other expensive cars apparently floated and banged against each other.

July 17 rain in Mongolia from my office

Well anyway, here is a video recording I took from my office on July 17th.  This is before realizing much of the ensuing impact and devastation. It is a mild video and does not show any of the floods or wreckage. It just shows how heavy the rain was.

Hailstorm on July 21

Here is a video I uploaded on YouTube that shows a hailstorm that took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on July 21, 2009. The hail size was probably 2-3 times larger than normal hail size. It’s incredible that it has now been raining nearly everyday since Naadam. There is a traditional Mongolian saying “Autumn after Naadam” and also something about rains coming after Naadam as well. However, the rains have been frequent and intense this year. The last few years were actually quite a bit dry.

Here is the video:

References and Resources

If you are interested in reading more about the rains in Mongolia, here are a few other resources.

In English:

• Mongolia suffers worst flash flooding in decades by 3 News
• UN health agency joins relief efforts after deadly floods strike Mongolia by United Nations News Centre
• “Deadly Mongolian Flood Rescues Slow” on New Tang Dynasty Television

In Mongolian:

• Хvчтэй аадрын улмаас 29 хvн алтан амиа алдлаа by Olloo.mn, Mongolia’s top online news portal

Additional Note:

It seems now that the United Nations Chief is in Mongolia to address Climate Change.  UN chief Ban Ki-moon has been in Mongolia since Sunday and have been meeting with herders who have been impacted by the climate change the most.  Read more here: UN chief in Mongolia to highlight climate change

North America Mongolia Business Council’s (NAMBC) 12th Annual Investor Conference & Prime Minister’s Roundtable will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on September 14-16, 2009.  Registration is discounted for Mongolian businesses, NGO’s, and professors/students with USAM.

About NAMBC & Investors Conference

North America Mongolia Business Council and the Investors Conference are two of the longest running organizations and events promoting business and trade with/in Mongolia.  The nice caveat about the Investors Conference is the opportunity to hear from the Prime Minister directly and to have the opportunity to have your question answered.

Discounted Registration Ends Soon

Additional discounted registration of 5% is available until July 24th, 2009.  After September 1, there will be a $50 surcharge.  Hotel group discount at the Kempinsky Khan Palace Hotel ends August 26th.

To learn more about NAMBC and about registering for the Annual Investors Conference, please visit: North America Mongolia Business Council website.

On Fourth of July, 2009, America’s 233rd Independence Day celebration took place in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  The event took place at the Star Apartments in the Embassy district from noon to 4pm and was open to Americans and locals alike.  The cover was 7,000 tugrugs (aka tugriks), which equate to about five US dollars.  Locals and non-Americans also had to have an American friend or acquintance in order to enter and enjoy the American Independence Day celebrations.  The cover included two drinks and a fair-style menu that consisted of bratwurst or burger with side potato salad and pork ‘n beans.  There were heavy dose of security around the perimeter.

Shortly after purchasing the ticket and walking in with an American friend (if you/visitor were not an American) and navigating through the secure pathway to enter the mini park / community lawn of the Star Apartments, the visitor was greeted with an “All-American” muscle car that is the Carol Shelby Ford Mustang.  I must say that it did look quite nice.

Carol Shelby Ford Mustang - can't get any more american than that!

There was the army/military band

And, plenty of shops fair-style... just like in the US

Big tents to sit down in and consume those tasty burgers and bratwursts

Last but not least, there were some kids singing… They started off with the “Proud to be an American” song followed by Marvin Gaye’s “Aint no Mountain Too High”.  I was able to record portions of the former.  I started the recording midway through but the Mongolian kids really did start off quite strong.  Needless to say, the crowd loved it.