The Camel Family

Fermented camel milk is absolutely delicious. This Kazakh family, living in a remote homestead outside of the tiny village of Ulaankhus, make a living by selling camel milk. They are the only source in the area that supplies this particular item. Apparently, camel's milk is good for the lungs, or so my guide Japar tells me.

Family Portrait of the Camel Milk Family (some of them)

A mock-milking scene was choreographed for my benefit. (The camels had already been milked for the day.)

The patriarch of the family, with baby camel.

The young child was forced to hold the baby camel. It was terrifying experience for both of them.

Flight of the Eagle Hunter

In the far west of Mongolia there still exist Kazakh eagle hunters. The eagle hunters don't actually hunt eagles, but hunt using eagles. The art of finding and capturing a young eagle, 'breaking' it, then training it to hunt is passed on from father to son. Hunting is done during the winter months.

I felt a bit like an exploitative tourist while taking these shots. The hunter has been trained to dress up in his hunting outfit and pose for photo shoots. Of course, a certain fee must be paid.

Family + Eagle

The City of Olgii - 'Stranger than Paradise'

I have been in the far-western Mongolian city of Olgii for a few days now, and will remain for a few days more, until my flight out on Wednesday. It is rather a singular place - a city of Kazakhs in one of the farthest-removed sections of the country.

The concrete clock on this building, near the severely run-down hotel where I am staying, permanently reads 10:10:30. The languages spoken here are Kazakh, Mongolian, and Russian - none of which I can handle - so the chances are slim that I'll find out what exactly the significance of 10:10 and 30 seconds is.

For its size, Olgii has quite a few banks. This one, Golomt Bank, is on the main square. Cows, goats, and sheep all make themselves at home on the dusty city streets.

I have tried to avoid cheap puns on this blog, but I don't have the willpower to resist the temptation here ... to ... avoid calling this... a ... [arrrghhhh - don't give in!] ... a ... a... CASH COW!

A Kazakh bard.

The Kazakh people are Muslims. This is an important point that doesn't come across in Sasha Baron Cohen's faux-Kazakh character of Borat.

Construction of the second (or is it the third?) mosque of the city is now underway.

BEWARE OF OPEN MANHOLES. As in Ulaanbaatar, and all the rest of Mongolia, manhole covers were looted in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union. These guarantors against a hapless ten foot drop into the bowels of the underground were then sold to Chinese dealers in scrap metal. ...I would hate to be a blind man in a Mongolian city.