I am updating my last journal entry in Mongolia. On the 7th and 8th, I did not really do anything special. On Saturday, the 9th, I left Ulaanbaatar for Erdenet, the second-largest city by population in Mongolia. This was because there was going to be a judo competition there. I traveled there by car with two students, one of the students’ parents, and the head coach. It took about five hours.
After we arrived, we checked into a hotel. After that, I watched some matches that were already going on. The competition lasted for a few days, and on each day, students of different age groups competed. I stayed in the stadium for a few hours and then came back to the hotel.
The room was much larger than the ones in Japan. It was too big for one person. I quickly noticed that there were some snacks and drinks in a small fridge, so I took and ate them. Later, I had to pay for them. I thought they were free. I was like “Do not put things that people have to pay for later in the room!” I am not sure if this is normal in Mongolia, but I could not complain, so I just paid for them.
The next day, the 10th, I went to the stadium to watch the matches again. While I was watching, I started feeling sick for some reason. I stayed until the finals and then came back to the hotel to rest. After resting for a bit, I felt a little better.
In the evening, the head coach’s friend took me to a ger by car. I was tired, so I tried to sleep in the car, but I had to wake up because of the impact from the rough, unpaved roads. As soon as the car entered the grasslands, it started shaking so much that it felt like some kind of amusement park attraction. I was surprised that they drove on terrain like this in a regular car, a Toyota Prius. I was worried whether it was okay, but the driver, her husband, looked completely normal while driving.
The view was insanely beautiful and unreal. There were wild animals everywhere. The car almost hit them several times, but the driver used the horn to scare them away, which was hilarious. After about ten minutes of driving through the grasslands, we arrived at the ger.
As soon as I got out of the car, the air was so clear that I immediately felt much better, even though I had been feeling sick at the competition. There were so many animals, such as sheep and cows. In the ger, I got to try handmade bread, milk tea (which was not sweet), and noodles. They also let me ride a horse.
The fantastic and unreal experience cleared away my sickness for a while. The family living in the ger was so kind. The ger itself became surprisingly warm as soon as they started cooking. I understood how they can survive winters when the temperature drops to minus 40 or even 50 degrees Celsius.
I really enjoyed being surrounded by such huge nature, and eventually we went back to the city. I thought we were heading back to the hotel, but the head coach’s friend and her husband welcomed us into their home instead. They cooked food for us and showed incredible hospitality. Since I came here, I have felt that Mongolian people have the best spirit of hospitality in the world.
I eventually returned to the hotel at about 9 PM. After leaving the ger, I started feeling sick again, so I went straight to bed as soon as I got back. The next morning, I felt a little better, but I still had a headache and felt strange.
We left Erdenet and drove back to Ulaanbaatar. On the way, we stopped for a quick lunch. It also took about four to five hours to return. The crowded streets and loudness reminded me that I was back in Ulaanbaatar.
I still felt sick, so I went straight to bed after checking into the hotel. I realized that I had stomach issues in addition to the sickness. I believe it came from something I ate in the ger. I do not know how many times I went to the bathroom. My stool was not solid at all; it was completely liquid. What made things worse was that the toilet in the room did not flush properly, which made me feel even sicker.
I felt like my luck had run out over the last few days.
All that being said, my two weeks in Mongolia are almost over. I am moving to China today. I still feel a little sick, but it is much better now. I hope I recover completely soon. I appreciate all the people and experiences I had in Mongolia.
