Portraits of Western Mongolians

It is often a challenge in Mongolia to take pictures of the people. Mongolians are a bit shy when it comes to pictures, and are protective of their privacy. Like in many places, no one likes to have a random camera shoved in their face! Doors for portrait photography only open after you've built up a bit of a relationship with someone.


Here is an 'official'-style portrait of the lama of Khovd Sum.





The lama and his niece have a special relationship. She hasn't learned to talk yet, but follows him around and asks for sugar cube handouts when he's drinking tea. Here's a picture of her in the small Tibetan Buddhist temple.

The following two pictures were taken by Mongolians who wanted to have a hand at using my camera. This is the interior of a ger in Khovd Sum.

This is the portrait taken by a young boy of his two friends.

The town of Ulaangom has only one pub - Gold Pub. The bartender is a charismatic girl named Soyoloo, who speaks a bit of English.

The City of Ulaangom

Ulaangom must be one of tne of the least photogenic cities in the world. To make matters worse, it could be dangerous to take pictures of locals without their permission. On the other hand, Ulaangom has some interesting train car diners.

This one is out of service.

Diners or cheap local restaurants like this one are known as 'guanz.'

An apartment block.

The grafitti here, whether intentional or not, is sheer genius. The Mongol hordes led by Chinggis Khaan were known in the west as the 'Tatars' or 'Tartars,' though the 'Tatars' were in fact a completely separate clan.