Uuhai!

Uuhai!  (or hooray!)  That's what the crowd shouts out when the archer hits their mark.  In Mongolia it's a bit different, it's not about hitting a bullseye.   In Mongolia the goal is to knock down 33 "surs" or smaller targets (a little bit like angry birds - but with arrows instead of birds).  Each team has four arrows to get to the 33.

While classified as a manly sport - women do compete in archery (as seen here).  Not pictured here, but we all tried our hands at this - trust me harder than in looks. 

Bökh or Mongolian Wrestling

First off, we really have to talk about the outfits.  Let's start with the Jodag - or the jacket.  The legend goes that it is open because once a great wrestler defeated all and then ripped open the jodag to reveal she was a woman.   From then on the jodag had to be open (this is a manly sport after all).   When wrestlers are defeated, their opponent unties the jodag to show that they are out. 

You also have the shuudag - I'd call them briefs.  They are small and tight to keep the opponent from getting a good grip and prevents tripping.

Then you've got the boots - or the gutal.  And last, but certainly not least - you've got the hat. It's a little hard to tell, but the hat is knotted at the top - it's supposed to symbolize power and frighten away enemies.   And, let's face it - it's super cute on these two little guys.

But let's talk about the actual matches.  While we watched a few rounds at the stadium, it was much easier to figure out on tv. 

Here are the basics.  There aren't any any weight classes or time limits

You are out if your knee, elbow or for that matter your entire upper body touches the ground.   It seems (we tried to figure this out on our own - so you might not want to quote me) that the longer the round goes the more places they are allowed to grab.  After so much time both wrestlers can grab onto the jodag - and if they still can't get each other out - there is some grabbing of the shuudag. 

Then there is the dance.  Generally they imitate falcons or a phoenix, and will circle the standards in celebration before taking on the next opponent.

It really is something to be seen.

Naadam Opening Ceremonies

The opening ceremonies for Naadam kicks off the three days of festivities.  We were told right from the beginning that there the pagentry alone was worth the effort.  I should say that this was one of the hottest tickets in town.  And honestly, it was a bit of a trick trying to get them.  The standards (pictured to the right) are made of horse hair and they are brought in to signal the official start of the games.

 As I mentioned, tickets were a bit tricky - but thanks to very good Mongolian friends we were able to secure tickets.  I'm not certain that my pictures here really capture it, but suffice it to say it was a great parade of many of the traditional Mongolian costumes and dances.

You'll also notice in the pictures that there performers all have outstretched arms - this is a very old, very traditional Mongolian greeting.  Essentially the entire party was welcoming the crowd before the games.

One of the biggest cheers went to the Mongolian Olympians - sports (especially the manly kind) are taken very seriously here.

Naadam - the three manly sports

So, I've been promising for some time to post a bit about Naadam.  It's quite the event in UB and throughout Mongolia.  Since it's based on the three manly sports of wrestling, archery and horseracing and I have a thousand pictures (won't bore you will all of them) - I thought I'd break it into a couple of different posts.  Let's start out with a bit of history....

Naadam is the most widely watched festival in the country, and has existed for centuries in one fashion or another. Originally it was a religious festival as an annual sacrificial ritual honouring various mountain gods and to celebrate a community endeavour. Now it formally commemorates the 1921 revolution when Mongolia declared itself a free country.

History aside - it was good fun and a little bit nuts a little like Mongolia. 

BRRRRR......

It's sort of like Mongolia wanted one last parting shot.  It seems that they've turned off the hot water again.  Not planned, no timeline for when it will be fixed.  So if I have 4 days until I head out of here, it begs the question of whether or not I'll have 4 days of cold showers. 

An interesting look at UB

So, I've been terribly remiss in posting lately.  Partly - it's because my time in Mongolia is almost up and I've been trying to finish a number of things - and partly because I can't seem to get the internet to work at my apartment.   Infrastructure can be incredibly frustrating here.  Sometimes a plug will work, sometimes it won't.  Sometimes the water runs a lovely rust colored orange, sometimes not.  It's just hard to tell.

I was sent a link to a video that talk a bit about some of these issues - and gives a fairly good look at the city.  It was interesting to watch - as I've been to most of the places shown - if you let me I'm sure I'll bore you with my own narrated version once I get back.

Before the link, the one thing that I should definitely say is that I have been very, very lucky living where I do and having access to services - as you'll see it's not always the case.

With that, here's the link: http://www.mad-mongolia.com/news/mongolia-news/ulaanbaatar-infrastructure-10975/ 

And - I'll spend sometime posting this weekend about Naadam and a few other bits.

Remember the care package?

You know - the one that was being held hostage by customs.  Well, I have to admit defeat.  I've been beaten by the customs agent.  Definitely disappointing.

A somewhat long story short:  because of the declared value, it has to go through several additional steps to actually get the package.  The attorneys at the company had been trying to get an appointment to start the process.  Because they had so little luck, I went out to customs with Burnee to try and get the package. 

What we learned there after standing in 5 lines over the course of 3 hours (I could see the package but wasn't allowed to touch it) was that because of the declared value on the package: UPS has the provide the manifest, each item has to be inspected and the cost evaluated, then the tax is assessed on the value around 15% - 25% of the total value.  Then the custom charges kick in which are based on the amount of shipping, the value that they assess it to be and the difference that might be with what was declared, etc. etc. 

Because it’s Naadam (big national holiday here) we can’t even begin the first of the 7 steps (I didn’t outline them all here – and I got confused not sure it’s actually 7 at this point) – until July 18^th or 19^th when the proper custom official returns from holiday.  It can take several weeks to go through all the steps at which time – I’ll likely be back in the US and because it has my name on it – no one else on the team could pick it up.  So…  I asked them to ship it back. Ok – not so short but I feel a bit better after the rant.   And - a complete bummer that we didn't get to enjoy it.