Art By Tali Landsman

In the morning the weather had turned cooler and cloudy. At breakfast, Tuya, our guide, and Nasaa, her husband and our driver, seemed quieter than usual as we shared our food. Later in the day, we found out that they had had an argument, and Tuya had joked that she might need another husband, which Nasaa did not find amusing at all! We left our ger camp and drove in silence towards the city of Erdenet. A couple who spends so much time together can easily rub each other the wrong way, if they are not especially mindful about not doing so. As humans, we live with our imaginary ego structures which are well-defensed, hard crusted and full of sharp edges. While traveling, tired and out of our comfort zones where we have established routines that calm and appease us, we tend to be more sensitive, or get irritated more easily. It is important to watch over your mind and not get carried away with moody thoughts and feelings, not only for your own well being but also for the good of...

I n the morning, in our Morun hotel's restaurant, we had for breakfast a large fresh salad with a plate of vegetable fried rice. A group of four Austrian men who were sitting at a table next to us, asked with envy if we could please communicate with the waitress and order for them a large salad also. They admitted that they had eaten nothing but meat during their whole trip so far, and said that they were heading towards Huvsgol Lake, the direction from which we had come. They asked us for tips about what to see, and seemed happy to hear that they would be able to eat some smoked fish in Hatgal on Huvsgol Lake, which would be a nice change from what they've been eating. We chatted with them and offered advice about how to travel with more nonchalance and acceptance around Mongolia, since they seemed very distraught that our hotel again had no power and no water this morning. They nodded with agreement, and said that they did not mind skipping their morning shower, just that not...

From Huvsgol Lake, we drove south towards the city of Morun (also spelled Mörön). We first stopped again at the port village of Hatgal to buy some lunch as we planned to find a nice picnic spot and eat our lunch along the road.   We were very excited to go to see the ancient Deer Stones located about an hour northwest of the city of Morun.  Very few ancient monuments exist today dating back to the Bronze Age that are as well preserved as these Deer Stones. Maybe the dry climate has helped to preserve the Stones, or possibly their remote location has protected them from archeological bandits, but I was surprised to find so many beautiful and tall Deer Stones just standing, untended, in a vast open field. There was no gate, no fence, no guard and no entrance fee. There were a few signs explaining the significance of the Stones, and we saw no other tourists until we were ready to leave. Several local kids rode bareback on horses in the surrounding area, giving the Deer Stones a r...