Ancient Capital, Monastery and Hot Springs

The camp staff waving goodbye to us on the damp morning.

Zayain Khüree Monastery Museum.

The inside of the active part and the chanting monks.

A golden eagle on display for tourist pictures.

Scenes on route to Tsenkher.

Sunday, July 1^st

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

We woke up to rain and it rained pretty much all day. It was a soft rain, but we did need raincoats. We had breakfast and then waved goodbye to our hosts.

Our first stop today was at the ancient capital of Mongolia, Kharakhorum. This was the city that was first started in the 13^th century by Chenngis Khaan and continued by his son. Over the centuries the city was destroyed by invaders and excavators are exploring it today. There was a modern museum there that was constructed in 2008 that told us about the history of the city and the empires of the Khaan. Buhuu told us a lot that I could not understand or relate to because of my ignorance of the history of the area. I knew the general concepts we had learned in school, but not the rich details. He mentioned Atilla the Hun and Marco Polo and it all left we wondering about how it all fit together time line wise. I learned that I knew very little and it left me wanting to learn more about it. There was also a display about a massive tomb and shrine complex they had recently discovered dating back to the 8^th century that had been constructed for a Turkish nobleman. The tomb was 42 metres in length 2 metres wide and 7.5 metres deep. The tomb’s main wall and tunnels were covered in murals that had never been seen before in Central Asia. I didn’t take any photos there because of the weather and the ancient city was mostly ruins. I declined to pay the fee that the modern museum charged you to take photos inside.

Next, we visited the Zayain Khüree Monastery Museum at Tsetserleg which dates back to the 16^th century. The whole complex was ringed by a wall with stupa turrets and inside was an active temple and a group of other museum temples. We went to the active one and watched as the monks chanted in unison. We stayed and listened for a while before going to the museum section. It had three temples that displayed buddhas and protector statues. One had three large statues of the past, present and future Buddhas. There were other sections that had examples of different styles of art depicting the Buddhist elements. It was actually very interesting and Buhuu gave us a wealth of information.

At this point we were pretty wet and chilly. We drove to a supermarket where we could buy the supplies we needed and water. Then we went to a local restaurant where I had a delicious goulash.

In the afternoon we drove through the country side. Things were looking greener with all the rain. We drove past thousands of domestic animals, a few trees, nomadic ger homes and a few small villages. We drove up into the hills where we saw some yaks with the other animals and several pine forests. We stopped for a couple of scenic viewpoints, but it was grey and cloudy and still damp. At one point we had to take a detour off-road that took us 28 kilometres out of our way around two villages where there is an outbreak of hoof and mouth disease. They are worried about vehicles spreading it by the dirt on their tires. It has been going on for a while and has impacted the exporting of their animal meat.

Eventually we arrived at our ger campsite for the night at Tsenkher. The camp is not quite as attractive but is basically the same concept, except this one is built near a natural hot spring and the waters are pumped into two pools. Buhuu asked Tony and I if we were okay sharing out ger with Bryan as his roommate never arrived for our trip and GAdventures had no idea why. Bryan is 73 and from New Zealand. We moved in and then had dinner in the camp restaurant. I had a beer and along with Letitia, who was born in Quebec, toasted Canada Day. After dinner most of us went for a soak in the very warm pools before heading off to bed.