Ray left last Thursday and through no fault of his own, he missed two connecting flights. After going via Shanghai instead of Beijing, and $700 for a new ticket to Mongolia with a different airline after he missed the first one, it was no surprise that his luggage didn't follow him to Mongolia. After two days without luggage they have finally been reacquainted. Needless to say he wasn't the happiest chappy in town. Here is his email:
My bag finally arrived and I was taken out to the airport at 11pm last night by my Kazak friend who seemed to be the only person in the world who wanted to help me. He came in from his two days off to take me late at night which was great because I needed someone who could communicate with airport officials. I paid him a bit extra but told him he had to save it for his six month old son. We had a great time "talking" again in the car and when he was telling me about his son he moved his hand around his face and said Puppa and then pointed to his nose which I told him how to say in English and said Mumma meaning his little boy looks like him but has his mothers nose.
We did the trip from AB to Erdenet today; about eight hours in two minivans through green grass covered rolling hills and plains as far as you could see at any time. There were many gurs, herds of horses, cows, sheep, and goats with the occasional larger settlement with a mixture of gurs and "modern" houses near some sort of industrial complex but most of the time it is vast open and empty space and rarely any trees. We stopped off on the way to see a build that an American team had just done. The walls are large concrete blocks with polystyrene balls in them to lighten them and there is a timber framed roof. We only have eleven in the team now as two others didn't make it but I think we will get it done in the six days.
The team is all good people but very different and includes a mother and daughter as well as a mother and 25 year old son. I am already enjoying the company. Erdenet is exactly what you would imagine a town built during the Soviet period to support a large mineral exploitation project to be like and there are still pictures of Lennon and Stalin on some of the buildings most of which are run down and very unattractive. It is not somewhere you would come as a tourist. The mine here employs 7000 people and together with their families they make up the population. It's nearly 11:00pm and the Kareoke blaring next door has just stopped so I might get to sleep now.
We start the build in the morning. Hope my dog is being well looked after.
Love from the steppes
