“If you can dream – and not make dreams your master; / If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;” (Rudyard Kipling 9-10).
I would have to say good-bye. Our group was no where near finding a solution after endless discussions and arguments. Andy changed his mind the next morning. One of the solutions proposed last night was to let Moran and Asher take the car to Tsagaan Nuur and meet back in Moron in 6 or 7 days. The Germans had made up their minds and insisted on keeping their original plan. They would take the car, the driver, the guide and continued to lake Khovsgol.
I first heard of the Tsaatan people from a Turkish couple I met in Irkutsk, Russia. They pointed to a location the map showing where I should visit. They told me they wanted to find the reindeer herders and made it all the way to Moron and learned that they needed to drive for another day to Tsagaan Nuur, then spend at least another day on horse to find the people. They could not find any group to share the cost and found a guide who demanded $1500 per person for the two day trekking. Unable to find any alternative, the couple gave up the idea. They got me intrigued but thinking how difficult it was, I too gave up the idea. In Ulaanbaatar (UB), I didn’t meet anyone who wanted to do the same thing. They either ran off doing their own adventure or booked standard tours to Central Mongolia, the Gobi desert, horse riding, etc. I completely forgot about the Tsaatan.
Meeting Moran and Asher reminded of one of the few things I really wanted to do in Mongolia.
“Every 100 meter higher up in the mountain, the temperature lowers by 1 degree C,” explained Andy. “I don’t want to put myself in danger. I don’t have proper equipments. We [with Suzi] live in Austria, we know how cold it can be in the mountain. Asher, you said that you have never seen snow in your entire life. And Moran didn’t even have flashlight.” Andy put forward his arguments.
“We will buy what we need in the market. I don’t need anything. I will show to you, I’ll bring nothing.” Moran retorted. “
“Sorry, we are Germans. We need to plan ahead. It’s our second nature. We need to buy more food for the entire 7 days. You know how our stove not working properly? It took 30 minutes just to boil water. Up there, it will be colder and windier. How are we going to cook?”
“I don’t care about the food. I will just eat bread. I will buy food from the Tsaatan and stay in the tepee.”
“It will take you 9 days to complete the trip. We don’t have time.” Andy put forward another obstacle.
“No, it will take us just 6 days. 3 days by car to Tsagaan Nuur and return. 3 days to find them from there and return to Tsagaan Nuur.”
I stopped listening as I knew no-one would yield to the other now. One group would definitely go on a strenuous trip to find the Tsaatan at all cost and the other would opt for a relaxing vacation.
What about me, “the most reasonable and moderate”? What did I want? Should I stay with the Germans or go with the Israeli.
In my heart, i wanted to find the Tsaatan people. It was on the back of my mind every since Irkutsk. I could relate to Asher, a young photographer in his early 20s, who wanted to build up his portfolio. He was looking for something authentic and had specific images that he wished to take. “I spent all my money to come here just to take these photos.” Moran, in her late 30s, didn’t have a mission like Asher, but from a brief talk with her, I guessed she was on another no-less important mission, searching for herself. The Germans were in a different camp. Neil flew here for a 3-week vacation and just wanted to have a good time. Andy and Suzi took time off from work and study to travel for 8 months, a long journey, but they were not lost and needed to search for something.
These two types of personalities exist in every situation of your lives. They represent reason and intuition. One analyzes, one just go with it. One gathers facts, details and maps out an execution plan. One has an idea, plan a little, let nature takes it course and hope for the best. You need them both. Many things that you will do in your life need evaluation, analysis, preparation and planning. However, there are cases when you need to abandon your logic, reason and trust your heart.
I had been shivering for the past three days. I couldn’t sleep well in the tent having four layers of clothing on me in addition to the huge sleeping. I didn’t feel comfortable at all every time I stepped outside in the open steppe. Having bad blood circulation to my fingers and my toes, I couldn’t feel them whenever I got slightly cold. Nonetheless, I’m sure I could have been fine to enduring another seven days. I didn’t mind sitting in the car for 15 hours. I didn’t mind eating proper food as food wasn’t proper in Mongolia and even more so during camping in Mongolia anyway.
But I couldn’t help but taking Andy’s warning about the weather condition on the high mountain. Being very inept in nature, I completed trusted the Germans/Austrians whose knowledge of their surrounding was as good as my reciting the alphabets, who hiked in various terrains and weather conditions as I walked in my own backyard. Furthermore, I began to feel comfortable sitting in the big van and having my stuff, useful and useless stuff spilled all over it. Splitting with the Germans now meant I needed to repack, organize and carry them all. I wasn’t sure if we would ever get another car to take me up there. The two Russian guys had been hanging around here for a few days now to wait for reasonable priced transport taking them to the North. Last, I felt a sense of obligation to the Germans whom I knew first and had been in contact for the past month discussing about the trip. I could not just leave with the people I recently met a few days ago.
In the end I let reason rule and stayed with the Germans. I tried to forget about my decision but I couldn’t help thinking about it during my time at the lake where I had very good time. Sometimes I secretly wished the Israelis couldn’t make it so I could justify and felt good about my decision. I did 3-day horse trekking, a fun and easy ride along the lake. It was easy it was to ride the horse here in Mongolia with proper guide. The challenge and difficulty I imagined when I heard of the one-day horse trekking from the Turkish couple was unfounded.
We returned to Moron 6 days later. Guest who was here before us? Moran and Asher had arrived before us and just left a few minutes ago. Not only they found other travelers to share the vehicle cost, they found another Israeli couple who wanted to do the exact same thing and had arranged everything in advanced and in a way gave them a lift. Not only they found the Tsaatan, they found them only in one day, half a day shorter than the information provided in the tourist office by the professional guide who knew the region. The only setback was they indeed had to drive for 15 hours straight under rough road condition. It was very cold up the mountain to sleep in tepee. They had problem to communicate with the people because they didn’t have any translator. I guess they didn’t have good food either but you got the point.
“Do you feel sad now Cindy?” Suzi asked me.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I replied.
It’s very important to know what you want in life and be clear about it. Asher and Moran had a very clear images of Mongolia that they wanted to see: the Tsataan reindeer herders. The Germans, though not specific about sights and activities, were also clear on the definition of their vacation. Both got what they wanted in the end. Being the moderate, the most reasonable, I accomplished nothing. wasn’t happy anymore after the incident. I didn’t like my decision because I knew I took the easy way. The Germans never pressured me to stay with them but I felt some resentment to them and their style of traveling afterward, which never occurred to me until then. But it was all my doing.
It is easy to look back in hindsight and see how things should have been. It doesn’t happen like that in life as your decision and the course of actions precede the outcome. It’s important to balance and to know when to let reason guide you and when to follow your heart.
(You can check out Asher’s photography here. His photos from Mongolia have been featured on BBC.)
I'm a motivation explorer, personality type hacker, behavioral investigator and storyteller. I help startup founders, entrepreneurs, and corporate managers to understand themselves, the people they manage and how to get the best of their people. Specialty is in psychological personality types and brain-based methods. When I don't do the above, I hop around planet Earth with TravelJo.com to learn the Art and Science of people from everywhere and to give you all the free travel and tips and advice in many cool destinations.
My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
