The Mongolian Outback: Day 5 - The Flaming Cliffs

On day 5 of our overland trip we left the Singing Sands for the Flaming Cliffs. On the way, we stopped for lunch in the 11,000 inhabitants town of Bulgan in a small restaurant with one cool kid with an orange muscle shirt. The mother/owner’s son was a happy, confident boy around 6-7 years old. He wanted to take pictures with us. We were more than happy to oblige. It was good fun. 

We then continued to Bayanzag AKA the Flaming Cliffs. If Tsagaan Suvarga reminded me of the home of the Jawas then Bayanzag reminds me of the home of the Sand People. In this location, scientists first found recognizable dinosaur eggs in 1923. Velociraptors, Asuronithoides, Protoceratops, and other dinosaur remains have been found.

We overnighted about 10 km away in an open area group of gers. 

The owners had a herd of camels. Two men lassoed a young camel from the herd who really didn’t want to be lassoed. They semi-tied him up, came in with a knife, and then splashed some type of liquid from a 2 gallon container on the wound. Standing there like a slack-jawed yokel, I didn’t realize what was happening until it was done. They had just castrated one of the male youths. I could feel my lower innards creeping up inside me and my knees press together protectively. Ergh….

The gers were also next to a mini saxaul forest. Saxauls are typically the only tree found in the Gobi desert and are listed as at risk of extinction. Their bleached-white, knobby bark was beautiful. 

While walking around the “forest”which was just a group of shrubs in an otherwise shrubless hundreds of miles area, we were approached by some Mongolian kids selling some pretty b-level trinkets - various hand sewn (but not well) items for high prices.

As a general rule I don’t buy from kids while traveling. I’ve read all the guide book reports, seen the videos, and have experienced first hand the incentive system of parents forcing their kids to sell instead of attend school or engage in other activities because tourists feel sorry for the kids. But… we’d already spent 5 days in a car driving across Mongolia, patience was low, and Soledad felt like we “owed these kids to buy something” because they had ridden their bicycles all the way out to where we were and had already started showing us their wares. I tried to explain to Soledad my whole incentive theory, but as previously mentioned, patience was short and curtness ruled the evening. So I gave Soledad money, walked off back toward camp, and she bought a little white, semi-formed camel for $8 (in a country where the average annual salary is $394). 

Back near the ger, night had fallen, the young entrepreneurs had gathered, and Soledad and the kids had walked back from the saxaul forest. With the full group around I interviewed the 5-8 year olds.

Me: “How often do you work?”

Kids: “Every day.”

Me: “How long each day?”

Kids; “We leave before the sun comes up to catch people at breakfast and continue till night” (in Mongolia in July that’s 15 hours and 51 minutes)

Me: “What do you do with the money?”

Kids: “We give it to our grandma”

Me: “Why do you sell instead of your grandma?”

Kids: “Because we are better at it.”

As I write this, it’s actually November 29, 2019 (I’m catching up on the blog) and we haven’t bought anything from a child since. As Milagro learned at her school in River Place, mistakes are opportunities to learn. . The white semi-camel doll? It got lost shortly afterwards.