ILLNESS..... AN UNWELCOME VISITOR!
JOURNAL ENTRY NO. 13
Wandering around the city of Khovd, we visited the Manchurian Ruins at the Northern end of the main street. It is amazing to actually be able to stand on “a piece of history”, literally. The Manchu (ancient Chinese Dynasty) occupation of Mongolia lasted for a couple of centuries and they left behind many monuments and fortifications which over the years have been left to decay. It wasn't a very pleasant occupation – the Manchu's slaughtered many Mongols – but that era is well and truly over ...... thankfully!
2nd - 19th AUGUST 2007
Khovd City to Altai City
Mongolian Rules ..... now here is a pretty neat game of table pool. We are going to introduce it back in Oz when we get home and make it rich ...... we hope!!! Taking a stroll thru the local outdoor market area we stumbled onto this exciting variation of pool as we know it. It basically involves a deck of playing cards, breaking with the wrong end of the cue, potting the number on your cards .....and gambling ......SWEETAAAA!!!
Needless to say Caveman was in ..... taking on a pool shark disguised as a local woman. She was all smiles to begin with but seeing as Cavey seemed to be winning she turned into the “Great Mongol Shark” and decide enough was enough – Caveman needed to be beaten! It came down to one ball that they were both fighting over, had drawn a sizeable crowd and the pressure was on. Cavey lost (to the disappointment of the crowd) and had gambled away 100 TOGROG! (Mongolian currency), which, when converted is approximately 10 Aussie cents. What a fortune!!!
While all this was going on Dyl was busy cacking himself and filming – capturing an awesome moment on tape – for eternity. Sulking off, Cavey asked Dyl for a game and we drew another crowd as they all wanted to tell us how the game should go ......it went on and on ......the crowd grew smaller and smaller ...... and it went on ..... and on ..... as neither of us are very good at playing pool.
Back at the hotel and checking the maps we realised that the next section to Altai City, approx 500 km's South East of Khovd, would be through some of the harshest environment we would face on Ride to Everest! It was through the Western edges of the renowned Gobi Desert.
We set out. 2 Days in, traversing a very sandy corrugated road, we encounter a massive sand/ dust storm and a fork in the road. Stuck for directions as this fork was not on the map (which is not unusual for Mongolia) and the sign had “Altai” pointing in both directions, a passing truck stopped and offered a direction which matched our compass bearing. Just in the knick of time-again. We were learning to assess the most travelled road directions by now and followed after the truck . In Mongolia, you can sometimes find over 30 different roads all heading in the same direction..... they constantly change depending on rainfall, wind, driver decision and corrugations.
The next morning we awoke to a frightening surprise. As Dyl awoke and clambered out through the vestibule (front section of the tent) and started to prepare some brekky, he moved bags and gear around to get the required necessities. As Cavey awoke and went to put on his shirt, lo and behold, there was a viper (one type of poisonous Mongolian snake) curled up in his shirt. Aaaaaahhhh! Oh Crap! Oh Shit! “Grab a stick quick.... and the camera... and the med kit... and my will.... and.... and.... and...!
Nice surprise first thing in the morning. No harm done, viper hustled to the safety of a nearby rocky cavity ( we didn't want the little fella to get hurt because of all our movement ha ha ha ha ha!), brekky eaten we continue on our way.
With some massive mountains out of the way we progress across some open plains and into the heart of the Western Gobi. Temperatures were still reaching the 40°C mark and fluid intake was phenomenal! We were both carrying 10 litres on each bike and were having to pump more out of streams when possible. It was here in the middle of the boonies, that Cavey was struck down with some sort of stomach virus. Barely able to stand, he spent 2 days laying in 40°C heat, in an open tent (minus the inner) as shelter, eating little, drinking little, and basically asleep. The med kit came in handy that's for sure! For these two days Dyl got to know the locals, visiting their gers, getting water from the well, trying different cheeses and dairy products and keeping his eyes on his “patient”.
On the dawning of the third day, Cavey finally back on his feet.... somewhat.... we prepared for the next leg. We had been informed that there was no water for the next 250 km's! Oh Crap! What to do?! We loaded the bikes, stopped at the last local well, and filled every container we had including our 2 Ortlieb Watersacs with another 10 litres each. We now had about 21.5 litres of water each. 5 X 2 litre drink containers – 10 litres; 1 x 10 litre watersac – 10 litres; 2 x bike water bottles 750ml each – 1.5 litres = 21.5 litres. 2 drink containers were placed on top of one pannier each, 1 between rack and pannier on each side, and one cable tied under the handlebars – this worked perfectly and gave an amazing amount of stability and balance. The 10 litre watersac was hung off one side – this destroyed the balance especially on the sandy rutted track but we we were sure to quickly consume enough water to even it up again! No wuckers mate!
15 km's down the road and emerging from the wilderness into a tiny town called Darvi, Cavey wasn't feeling too crash hot. After stopping for a snack and drink (coke and snickers) we tried to find the local well. Instead we met a local couple making mud bricks for their 'Dom'. Now it's Dyl's turn to fight being crook.... at this point sickness is like an unwelcome visitor.... lingering in the shadows waiting for us to wear out then pouncing like a cat on a mouse. Dyl ended up being the "runs" king again, crapping all night in the thorn bushes.... ouch!
Finally after a night, day and night spent on the bog, we head out again. We buy some local deep fried bread, refill the water sacs (seeing as we had used the shower attachment for a great shower the night before) and delved into the emptiness of the Mongolian desert.
Up and down, straight and bumpy, long and dry.... it carried on like this for 5 days. Everyday we rationed water and food and made the most of the early hours to ride in the cooler air. At one stage Cavey had to stop as the stomach virus had passed, but the effects hadn't! A ditch looked as good a place as any (in Mongolia its totally fine to go to the toilet wherever you want to) Dyl recovering from his bout, had the same idea. Seeing as we were in the middle of nowhere we hastily dismounted the rigs and ripped down the shorts and knicks and went to work.... so there we were, best mates emptying the contents of dinner and brekky into a nice sandy roadside pit!
Unfortunately for us, 2 vans packed with people came hurtling over the hill at that moment and the long, corrugated road brought them ever closer. Cavey just kept shouting to Dyl “just keep your head down mate, don't let them see your face!” It took all our strength to keep facing down. Not a pretty sight! Vehicles passing with a cloud of dust, paper being thrown to each other, a covering of dirt and sand and we were in hysterics. Man what a crap.... at least we weren't wiping when they passed by!
Pedalling into Altai City was a relief. A massive wind blew from behind us and Dylan was literally being blown uphill into Altai (something he had read about and never thought he would experience!), Cavey was busy chasing his hat all over the Steppe. Green grass, blue sky, friendly faces, water and most importantly good food was just over the crest....
We had survived almost 250 km's without water or food top-ups. Hardly any people to be seen. A simple 6 day dirt ride had turned into a grueling 14 day epic!!! From leaving Novosibirsk to arriving in Altai City, Mongolia, Dyl had lost approx 10 kgs of body weight, Cavey had lost approx 14 kg! Now we are looking good.... now we are really ..... really ...... ridiculously ....... good looking ....... NOT!!!