No electricity. No running water. No problem.

What's the longest you've gone without taking a shower? I've just went 7 days without a drop of water touching my body. Uffda. No, it's not pleasant to not be able to shower for a week straight, but if that's what I have to do in order to see Mongolia, so be it! 


Throughout our Mongolian adventure, we stayed in a large tent, known as a ger. A ger is essentially the Mongolian name for a yurt. This is what the nomads of Mongolia live in. It's the hallmark of Mongolia. The ger is always constructed with the door facing south, to allow them to tell time with the use of the sun. The walls are made up of criss-crossed wooden pieces and the outside is covered with a waterproof white material. It's heated by burning wood or dung in a stove placed in the middle, the chimney sticking out of the roof. The bottom is sealed by the dried poop from the animals. The beds are placed around the perimeter of the ger and there is usually a table situated in the middle. The wooden sticks leading up to the roof are painted in bright colors, along with the wooden dressers and beds inside the ger. Each ger had it's own feel.  It's nice to see the Mongolians still living in these traditional dwellings. 

Ger ceiling

I've decided I would be too sleep deprived to care for any of my animals if I lived in a ger. In the winter, the stove needs to be fed about every 2 hours in order to maintain the warmth. However, we also stayed in a couple gers that could go 4 hours without adding any wood or dung. I guess it just depends on the quality of the insulation. Anyways, if I was a nomadic Mongolian, I would allocate my husband for the stove feeding job. I need my beauty rest :) I wasn't as lucky with my European  travel partner counterparts. I was usually stuck with the daunting task of feeding the ever-dying fire. Tim seemed to sleep more sound than a drunk homeless person in Times square. He was a city slicker and of no use. Johannes was more handy. Soooo, I took it upon myself to be the fire feeder. I am proud to tell you all that I am now an expert fire maker. All these handy skills I pick up around the world. I'm quickly becoming a jack of all trades. Ha!

Sometimes, I would arouse from my sleep in the middle of the night, shivering, to discover that the fire had went completely kaput and I would have to restart the finicky fire. The boys were snoring. I would proudly crawl back into my sleeping bag as the fire snapped, crackled and popped it's way to heating back up the ger. At first, this fire starting business wasn't easy, but I learned a lot after closely watching the way the Mongolians did it.


There was usually no electricity in the gers we stayed in. Sometimes there would be a car battery with a light bulb attached, or a couple of candles. 
As you would have guessed, there is also no running water. This is where creativity comes in. In the summer, the nomads will usually take a bath in the lakes. In the winter, a pour-over shower is usually erected in one of the gers. 

Nomadic Mongolians are quite impressive hard-working individuals. We stayed with a total of 5 different families and every one of them had strong work ethics. Their livelihood depends on it. They care for their animals scrupulously. This takes up most of their day. After inquisitively watching them, I realize what a hard job they have in front of them each and every day. The men are hardy and the women aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. They are earthy people, close to nature. This simple, down to earth lifestyle was charming to me. I really grew to admire the Mongolian nomads. I caught myself thinking "this would be a good life out here, I wouldn't mind living here". So simple, relaxing and serene. Perhaps I will retire in Mongolia one day....

The toilet was usually a small shed, sometimes uncovered, located a good distance from the ger. We stayed with one family for 2 nights. It was the most frigid location on our trip. I would cringe each time I had to use the bathroom, knowing the uncomfortable feeling of the icy wind on my butt. I squatted privately behind the short wooden wall, only to expose my bare bum when I stood to pull my pants up. Yep, you will quickly lose all modesty in the Mongolian country side. The toilets out here are simply 2 pieces of wood over an open pit. Put one foot on each board, squat and do your business. My visual imagination painted a picture of one of the boards breaking, sending me into the thick poop and pee mixture, Slumdog Millionaire style. I don't recommend visiting the Mongolia countryside if you're the least bit girly or squeamish. Here's a picture of one of the nasty toilets....sorry, I wanted you to see :)

Apart from the unsanitary bathroom conditions, the Mongolians live a pretty amazing life. They are lucky to live in such beautiful landscaped land and I can tell by their attitudes that they are happy people. I haven't met one impolite Mongolian.