M-whY

I wasn't as confident about my own footing, so I waited until daybreak to venture to the toilets. Breakfast was served at 0900. I don't think pastries and omlettes are considered Mongolian cuisine, but no one was complaining. While eating, I spied a bow and arrows in the corner.

"Do you want to go shoot?" asked Naki when he saw me handling the weaponry.

"Can I? Sure!"

Archery has long been a tradition in Mongolia, though nowadays, it's not as popular as other sports like wrestling. Naki took me outside and measured off a distance of 20m, setting up ten wicker rings into a pyramidal target. "Hold it like this," he said, giving me a few basic pointers, and we took turns letting arrows fly. The instructor wasn't much better than the student, in fact, my arrows often landed closer. Twice, I even hit the thing. Recall I admitted incompetence back at the last fortress of the Great Wall. Today, I was markedly better. Must be the Khan effect.

Across the plains, a nomad led a herd of horses and tied them down at the camp's corral, giving us mounts for our next activity of the day. Justine claimed to have allergies to every living creature on the face of the earth, so she stayed behind while Kirsten and I saddled up. Horse ride too has had a long history in Mongolia. Revolutionary calvary tactics were an integral part of Genghis Khan's military success. It wasn't uncommon for his forces to rout armies several times its size.

Now the last time I went riding in Pittsburgh, I had a stubborn animal that would lose in a race with a sloth. My draw today didn't seem much better. He followed closely behind Naki and Kirsten, refusing to break rank and become the lead horse. This wasn't cool, because their horses had somewhat of a flatulence problem. When I tried encouraging a faster pace, he responded by coming to a standstill.

"Chu! Chu! Chu!" I repeated, trying to get him moving again. "Go!!"

"Not 'Go!'" laughed Naki. "'Chu!'"

A group of Japanese tourists who had started ten minutes after us were catching up. Exhibiting more pack mentality, my horse refused to move until it was part of a group again. Our regiment of ten (four Mongols and six tourists) rode across the landscape, past frozen creeks and herds of sheep and cattle. The guides chased each other around on their more lively steeds. The tourists tried to do the same.

"It sounds like we've all got colds," said Kirsten of the 'Chu's!" Eventually, my horse broke into a trot, and for two seconds, even a gallop, but not because of anything I said. He seemed to only understand the Mongols.

In two hours, we covered quite a distance, to where the trainer kept the rest of his beasts, before returning the way we came. Lunch was a filet of chicken, again, probably not authentic local cuisine. (Come to think of it, what is? Mongolian BBQ?) The van was waiting to take us back to Ulaan Baatar afterwards. On the way, Justine asked what people here thought of Genghis Khan.

"Chinggis Khan? People here call him Chinggis Khan, but Genghis Khan is okay too. Both are correct," said Naki. Then, answering the question, he continued, "Mongolians think of him as a good leader. Like, leader of Mongolian independence." In other words, a hero.

Justine and Kirsten had also inquired about a local market they saw from the train yesterday. Naki had advised against going alone, citing the presence of pickpockets and calling it dangerous. He offered to take us instead, though while there, I've never seen anyone so uptight. Each time one of us wandered off to look at something, he visibly tensed. As always, he was extremely helpful, but the longer we stayed, the more tightly wound he became.

"Women like to shop," I said to him as the other two were checking out leather boots. It worked. I managed to get a smile out of him.

Not too much is known about the Khan himself; His birth, death, and burial all remain open to speculation. This probably adds to his mystique, but to avoid the same from happening to me, I dutifully retired to my room that night, documenting and blogging each day of my own world conquest.

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!