-getting a haircut
-going horseback riding at Stepperiders for a weekend
-giving a talk about Nomadic Gardens
-having a drink in the Blue Sky Lounge, one of the fanciest bars in Mongolia
-eating a gelato sandwich at Ti-amo (too ridiculous sounding not to try before I leave!)
-sampling a few last restaurants
-selling my extra stuff and packing
So far I've done the first two, and have a plan to give a lecture on Tuesday, October 16th at the American Corner of the Natsagdorj library. I'm excited about it!
So yes, 2 things off the list have been completed. I felt that an Asian hairdressing experience was necessary before I left. First of all, getting your hair cut here is super cheap. I went to a very pricy place and it cost me about $20. That includes hair washing, conditioning, scalp massage, cut, and some sort of wonderful organic hair mayonnaise treatment. The scalp massage was a bit overly vigorous, but otherwise the experience was quite nice, and my hair is as soft as silk after all those treatments.
We also managed to get out to Stepperiders for a weekend. Since the first time I went I've been itching to go back, but I've been way too busy with my research project. This time we got another big group of Fulbrighters and friends together and headed out Saturday morning. When we arrived we had some tea and got our riding gear on and hit the steppe in the early afternoon. The weather was spectacular, the last beautiful days before the winter sets in. It was warm and sunny, about 65 degrees with a warm breeze.
I had an ace up my sleeve for riding this time, an excellent pair of leather boots that I bought at the black market. Usually, "the black market" is just a nickname for Narantuul market and doesn't refer to a sketchy place where stolen goods are traded and sold. In the case of my boots though I'm not so sure. Outside the market proper is a small area that looks like a neighborhood garage sale. Random used clothes, shoes, tools, and phones are offered for sale. I occasionally peruse the items, and this time spotted a fabulous pair of handmade leather boots. And only 10,000 tugrug, wow! That's like $7! So I bought them and happily headed out, and only when I got back home did I have a moment thinking "I might have just bought someone's stolen boots". Hmmm.... I hope not though.
So, equipped with my possibly stolen riding boots, I hopped on a big shaggy beast of a pony whose description was "he likes to run" and we set off. For the first 30 minutes my pony mostly just ambled along and avoided going downhill as much as he could get away with. When we reached the flatter part of the steppe though, he decided that, as advertised, he likes to run. He took flight across the steppe, racing a few of the other fast horses and running for home at breakneck speed. It was a thrilling experience.
The next morning we went for another ride. I opted for a quieter pony who turned out to have a soft mouth and a willing attitude. After another great riding experience we gathered up our things and went back to the city. It was a great weekend dose of countryside therapy.
"Likes-to-run"
My second day pony
Heading out!
Matt and our friend Alban
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