Mongolia - August 2023
Mongolia is four times the size of Italy but has only 3 million inhabitants compared to our 60 million.
When I decided to go on this trip, I didn't really think about how vast it was and planned a tour that I had to revise later. I cycled 1500km across white steppes as far as the eye could see where I only encountered Gher (typical white tents) inhabited by nomadic shepherds.
The most significant experience I had was every evening: I would arrive near the Nomads and ask to place my tent near theirs for safety reasons, I would make myself understood by using google translate since no one speaks English outside the capital. With a nod, the answer was always 'yes'. From there I had about 15 to 20 minutes to set up the tent as I was then always invited to their gher for dinner. It didn't matter if they had already eaten, in any case they cooked for me. Obviously the dialogues were reduced by the use of translate where we wrote and tried to understand each other, although after 21 days I started to understand the questions as they came up every evening. These people, who live by shepherding and move around disassembling and reassembling their gher carried by camels, are of an amazing goodness and generosity.
In the Gobi desert I had the privilege of meeting a gentleman (shirtless photo) who has lived on the edge of the Khondoor dunes for as long as I can remember and has never seen anything outside the Gobi desert. He is a gazelle hunter named Heenkie. After a few nods he invited me to have a vodka with him and his friends. No translate this time, an absurd empathy was created as if they knew what I was thinking and vice versa. I listened to their chatter and drank in the meantime. Mongolia, apart from the landscape, is above all made up of good people with innate hospitality.
Andrea
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