After Amy, Yasmin and I had our little Greek island get-away, we booked it back to Izmir where they flew out early the next morning to meet up with the team in Almaty, Kazakhstan.  Although extremely grateful for them staying with me and doing a great job of cheering me up, I found myself abruptly alone.  I boarded a bus back to Emily’s familiar little oasis, the Eris Pansiyon, in Assos.  We drank wine and watched movies on the terrace, walked the ruins, swam in the Aegean, and dined keeping each other company and promising to reunite when she comes to Seattle this winter to see her family.  Can’t wait to return the favor of hospitality, Emily!

On 8/23 we said our goodbyes as I boarded the bus that would take all day to get me back to Istanbul.  At the end of the day I realized that I had stared out the window nearly the entire ride engulfed in a sea of emotions about what has transpired – feeling lucky to have been issued a new passport so quickly, grateful for Amy and Yasmin’s sacrifice of time on the rally in order to keep me company and for Emily’s generosity, anger for having let my guard down for the instant my bag was stolen, guilt for feeling that I let my team down by doing so, and in the background of it all a sad longing for Brian.  It may seem silly to most, but in the 15 years that we’ve been together, this 3 week span will be the longest we’ve ever been apart from each other.

The airport in Moscow seemed eerily vacant for 5pm on a weekday when I landed.  No reader boards about my connection to UB.  Hmmm.  I came across a daunting line of about 250 people tackling 1 airport employee.  The sign above her read “international connecting flights.”  Really?  I stood at the back thinking that there just HAD to be a better way, when another airport employee sauntered up and started yelling, “connecting flight?  Paris, London?”  I sidestepped right over a mere millisecond before all the others, showed her by boarding pass for the UB flight, and she waved me through a little door saying “go!”  Okay!  Gladly!  I passed a few hours in a cafe (the only one open?) which thankfully had wi-fi.  The flight to UB was a long one but it was maybe 2/3 full, so I got comfy in both my window and isle seats.

Coming into Mongolia was one of the most beautiful moments on this trip.  It was about 6:30am and the full moon was still shining over the steppe – amazing.  I was picked up by the very kind manager of my guesthouse at the airport.  Like all the others its in a very drab, run-down Soviet-era concrete block of a building with no sign, one tiny bathroom and a little kitchen for all to share.  But it’s clean and at $20USD a night for my own double room, I can’t complain.  I rested in my room a bit and then ventured out with map in hand.  This is a bit of a strange city, and with all the stories of pickpockets and bag slashers, I couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated and longing for communication with the outside world.  My phone wasn’t working, no matter what I did.  A guy at a phone store didn’t know what was wrong either and didn’t think my problem would be solved by buying a SIM card from him.  Glad he was being honest.  So I found a little French (!) cafe with wi-fi.  I was nearly done composing my emails when the connection went down.  Ugggg.  I looked up to see if others were having trouble, and low and behold I saw a chap with a Mongol Rally t-shirt!  I walked right on over and introduced myself.  I thought he was fellow rallier, but no, it was Rob – one of the top organizers from the Adventurists!  He knew our team well, listened to the short version of my story, and then offered that I accompany him to another cafe that may have a better wi-fi connection.  (Power surges and the like are quite common here.)  Rob was great to chat with as we both finished up our online work and had coffees.

Yesterday morning I woke with a spring in my step!  I was going to be picked up and taken out to the Gorkhi-Terelj national park to ride Mongolian horses, and stay with a family in their spare ger.  I was very happy to have a few new friends in my group – a Swiss girl, 2 Korean girls, and 1 Korean guy.  They all spoke English well so we had a great time together.  We all went for a ride in the countryside led by 2 boys, one about 10 years old and the other 15.  They were very skilled riders and at one point the 10 year old galloped around us shirtless yelling in his most manly voice “I am Chinggis Khan!”  Pretty cute.  Later the father BBQ’d up some beef skewers (which were fabulous!) and we all drank until midnight under the wide open sky and full moon exchanging life stories.

This morning I was taken back to my guesthouse.  After cleaning up I hailed a taxi for the Gandantegchenling Buddhist monastery – Mongolia’s most important.  As I walked in I was approached by a soft-spoken young man who had a portfolio of artwork done by him and his father who was standing nearby.  After a nice exchange about Mongolian horses, I purchased one of his sketches done on rice paper.  At 3000 togrog, I couldn’t say no ($2.75USD).  This monastery was not too unlike those we visited in Tibet.  This one recently re-opened it’s doors in 1994.  The buildings were rebuilt after either being destroyed or used as horse stables by the Soviets since in 1938.  The 26m high golden Buddha was an especially impressive site.

Rather than hail another cab I wondered my way back stopping at a Thai restaurant for dinner where I also finished my 4th book on this trip.  Good thing I had sense enough to grab another at the bookstore in the Istanbul airport where they had a small English section.

Now I’m back in the little cafe, polishing off my second glass of wine, listening to one of the employees strum her guitar and hoping I’ll get to see my husband and team tomorrow.  I miss them all so very much.  My trip ended up being a very different one than expected – namely a beach vacation which I feel guilty about knowing all the hardships I should have endured with them.  I would have traded it all in a second to have been with them through it all.  But as they say, “such is the Mongol Rally.”  And although we’ve had very different experiences these past few weeks, I hope that when we reunite I’ll feel like a true member of Baatar Hero again.

There are many NGOs working in Mongolia, and most pour all their efforts in the capitol, Ulaanbaatar.  But MC is different.  Working in Mongolia since 1999, MC focuses on improvements in the countryside where one-third of Mongolia’s population still lives.  MC’s basic aid philosophy is to empower the people to help themselves to the point where outside aid is no longer needed.  How many companies strive to work themselves out of a job?  MC does, and they do it by employing 95% of their 3500 staff members in the country for which they work.

The meeting started out with the announcement that MC Mongolia recently won the 2010 Disability Inclusion Award given by InterAction and Mobility International USA.  People with disabilities are one of the most marginalized groups in rural Mongolia and the MC team has had impact throughout the entire country through policy change and encouraging a culture of inclusion.  Eighty-nine percent of Mongolia’s persons with disabilities are unemployed and a mere 29% of children with disabilities are in school.  MC’s team envisioned solving both of these problems with first addressing Mongolia’s infrastructure inaccessibility.  They aimed high by proposing to the Mongolian parliament an improvement model based on the U.N. Convention on Rights for People with Disabilities with special focus on transportation, education and construction.  Their diligence paid off!  Starting in February 2010, the Mongolian government now enforces new accessibility standards, the first ever in their history.  Congratulations to MC!

Regarding MC’s economic development efforts, they are creating market opportunities for rural entrepreneurs – work highly regarded by both Mongolian government and non-government agencies for MC’s efficiency and success.  In particular, the Mongol Rally has been instrumental in these efforts by providing capitol for grant programs for the rural self employed.  MC is also helping communities obtain fair microfinancing and creating agribusiness support systems, such as transporting goods to market.   To date, 5 Mongolian banks are now involved in providing fair micro credit with loans totaling $2.66 million.  Another example of MC’s most successful programs for rural entrepreneurs is a computerized grazing predictor model.  With 90% accuracy this program predicts grassland conditions for livestock grazing 60 days in advance for nomadic herders.  It proved so successful that it is now funded by the World Bank.

Finally, an update on the recent disastrous cold weather, called a Dzud, was provided.  Although not consistently cyclical, Dzud’s can occur once or twice a generation with devastating effects.  An estimated 15-20 million livestock have been lost in this year’s Dzud and with it the livelihood of thousands of nomadic families.  As a result, approximately 20,000 Mongolians will move to Ulaanbaatar in attempts to make a living in a city that does not have the infrastructure to support them.  Additionally devastating are the health implications of millions of rotting livestock carcasses.  The Mongolian government provides cash incentives for herders to gather and burn the carcasses, but sadly this time around the funds are slow in reaching those who need it.   Therefore, MC rapidly raised $25,000 to distribute directly to herders to help them get back on their feet.

Thanks again to Mercy Corps and our donors.  The team is looking forward to volunteering with MC while traveling through Mongolia this summer.  Let’s keep working hard together!

Sisalwood is a decorative panel composed of natural fiber composite veneer that is adhered to an environmentally certified plywood panel.  The veneer is made from rapidly renewable plan fibers such as banana bark, sisal, and grasses, and a polymer that emits no formaldehyde or VOC’s.  Sisalwood is used in interior design and furniture applications as a replacement for tropical hardwood-veneered panels. 

While helping to preserve tropical forests, Sisalwood simultaneously provides quality employment to significant numbers of people in developing countries.

Baatar Hero is honored to be sponsored by such and environmentally and socially conscious company.  Please think of them for your next remodeling project!  Visit the Sisalwood webiste here.

BH and JASA will be seated in the studio audience along with current Mercy Corps director of communications, Joy Portella.  Twenty-five very lucky middle school students of Amy’s will also be showing their support by being in the studio audience – the next generation of adventure-seeking charity rally participants perhaps?

Tune in to see the interview on King5, Wednesday, 5/26, at 11am!

The show started out in Ulaanbaatar and the gigantic “Black Market.”  On a busy day 60-100 thousand people shop there for anything from clothing to food.  The animals are slaughtered just on the edge of the city and trucked in to the market where people buy the whole carcass and carry it home over their shoulder.  Sheep’s head is quite a treat, just like a turkey dinner is to Americans, and you’ll conveniently find a whole pile to choose from in the back of the market.  Not so easy to find are vegetables and if you do find them they are smartly pickled for long storage.  In fact, a few pieces of pickles veggies will cost you about $0.40 which is about the cost of an entire sheep’s head!  As this meal is reserved for special occasions and guests, here are a few tips for all my fellow Mongol Rally adventurers if you’re so lucky to be invited to partake in a sheep’s head dinner:

(1) After the hair is burned off, the head will be boiled for a few hours in a pot of root vegetables, which will probably be the only vegetables you’ll see the entire time you’re in Mongolia.

(2) The group elder will divvy up all the goods.

(3) Don’t be a pansy and ask for utensils.  Just dig in with your hands.  The only way to really get all the good bits is by gouging away at the crevices with your fingers.

(4) If offered the eyes, you must eat them both.  You can’t share, it’s really not proper.

(5)  Sorry boys, the palate is always given to girls.  Apparently you’ll really miss out, but you can have some of the tongue.

Mr. Zimmern then took to the Gobi – in a rather comfy looking Toyota Land Cruiser (what the…?) – to experience real country fare.  Upon arriving at a gracious family’s ger he was offered the traditional fermented mare’s milk.  Who needs refrigeration when you have fermentation?  According to Mr. Zimmern, who quite liked this drink,  it tastes like thin sour cream mixed with lemon juice; good to know.  This was followed by snacks made of cheese in just about every form imaginable.  They even had crunchy cheese curds fried in their own fat.  This particular munchie was something soldiers thew in their packs before heading off on a campaign, and it’s still carried by today’s herders for a long day on the steppe.

But even more ingenious was the lunchtime meal preparation.  Okay, this was a little gory, but I found myself marveling at this perfect example of how resourceful the Mongolian people are.  A goat was slaughtered and cleaned out reserving the body cavity.   All the innards were rolled in the goat’s fat and then wrapped and tied with intestine.  The hot stones were placed alternatively with the little packages of goodness inside the body cavity to cook, like an oven.  After the final touch of burning the hair off, the whole goat was opened up and devoured.  Everyone in that ger, including Mr. Zimmern, happily feasted with nothing going to waste.

Of course this isn’t an everyday Mongolian meal.  A family might go 1-2 years before preparing and eating an entire goat in one sitting like this.  But again it is this resourcefulness, even during an apparent day of gluttony, that is so intriguing.  And for a few minutes I traded my Western tendency to be squeamish for the great respect the Mongolians pay to the land, their animals, and to each other.  Their tradition of not having stakes for their gers or heels on their boots so that they don’t pierce the land is both a wise philosophy and a beautiful metaphor.  In a few months I’ll excitedly be packing my bag.  And although I’ll be sure to bring along wet wipes and Lactaid, I will leave my heeled shoes at home.

Click here to watch a few clips of the show.

Citizens, tired of quadrupling energy prices and suspecting President Bakiyev is padding his own wallet with military base leasing deals with the U.S. and “aid” from Russia, stormed the capital of Bishkek on April 7th. After police failed to subdue protesters with tear gas and stun grenades, they opened fire on the crowd killing scores.

It is reported that after being placed in power following his own “Tulip Revolution,” Bakiyev proceeded to rule like a mob boss cracking down on emerging protesters, enough to raise the eyebrows of human rights watch groups which was also one of the subjects of the U.N. Secretary General’s recent visit to the area. Bakiyev also apparently played Russia by accepting $300 million in “aid money” from the Kremlin with a back-door agreement that he would make the U.S. leave the Manas airbase. But soon after the Kremlin’s check was cashed, Bakiyev turned around and told the U.S. that he was increasing rent from $17.1 million a year to $60 million, and the U.S. paid up because Manas is key staging post for NATO operations in Afghanistan. Of course, Putin is feeling Bakiyev is getting what he deserves. “Neither Russia nor your humble servant have any links to the events in Kyrgyzstan,” Putin publicly stated, adding, “When Bakiyev came to power a few years ago he severely criticized his predecessor for nepotism—and now I have the impression that Bakiyev stepped on the same rake.”

Opposition leader Roza Otunbayeva has dissolved parliament and said she would head an interim government until elections are held in 6 months. She called on ousted President Bakiyev, who has fled the capital of Bishkek, to resign, which he is refusing to do via email communication. Things could become tense in nearby oil-rich Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan where we are planning to drive through.

Here’s hoping that peace is close at hand.

The Secretary General called the drying up of Uzbekistan’s Aral Sea one of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters.  Once the world’s fourth largest lake, the Aral Sea has unbelievably lost 90% of its water in just a few short years.  Our team has long incorporated this destination in our route planning as we hope to document and spread the word about this horrible and completely man-made loss.  What used to be thriving ports and fishing villages are now ghost towns with shipyard cemeteries and piers that jut out into dusty emptiness.  How?  The answer is painfully simple.  Soviet water diversion and irrigation projects to grow cotton has literally drained the Sea dry in less than a generation.

The Secretary-General is hoping to convince Central Asian leaders to set aside their differences and work together to stop further water loss and to prevent other such environmental horrors.  But the fight over water rights for farming and hydro-electric dams mixed in with a multitude of human rights issues are proving to be extremely challenging obstacles.  If the cooperation of leadership fails, this could be our only opportunity to view what’s left of the Aral Sea before it disappears forever.

As always, Glenn put on an awesome show doing several shout-outs promoting Baatar Hero’s mission.  Glenn generously donated ALL proceeds of his CD sales for the night to BH.  And the team had yet another successful night of t-shirt sales.  Special props to his wife, Stacia, for some killer back-up vocals and t-shirt peddling, and to friends Mick and Sidney for their generous donation.

Visit Glenn’s website  for upcoming shows, http://glennbellrocks.com We highly recommend picking up a copy of his CD, Slide, at your local Sonic Boom store or at (http://cdbaby.com/cd/glennbell

The whole team went down to the NorthWest Cable News studio this morning for our first interview with the press.  We had a little tour of the production suite and got ready in the green room.  We all got pretty excited when they showed the promo clip before a commercial break, and then they came in to get ready for the interview.  Brian was interviewed by Cam Johnson in the clip above.