mongolia
2006-06-18 10:43 p.m.
in the short space of 2 and a half days, ive been on a camel, a jeep hurtling through the desert, a funny pod-shaped vehicle doing the same thing, slid down a steep sand slope on a little wooden board, been suspended high in the air from a balloon, and been on a wildly cantering, out of control horse. (out of my control, anyway).
the first day we arrived in mongolia, we went straight to the gobi desert which had been transformed into a recreational park.
the temperature wasnt really THAT bad, not really the purgatory i imagined deserts to be. it was just like a slightly hotter afternoon in singapore.
the first thing we did was go camel riding, which was really fun contrary to what ive heard about it being torture on the butt. then we took jeeps and bumped our way through the desert, then boarded the abovementioned pod-shaped vehicle and did that again. after that, we went to the main attraction, the sand slide, which was quite a disappointment because our slide down was quite slow because we didnt know how to control the board.
from there, joy and i spotted this hot air balloon attached to a couple of stringy looking harnesses and decided to take a closer look, only to find ourselves stuffed and buckled into the harnesses and lifting off. it was a really queer feeling, not really like riding in a hot air balloon because our legs were dangling down, but it was pretty fun because there was this feeling of lightness, like we were floating.
after that we left the desert and went to the grasslands which were pretty pathetic because the grass was sticking out in little tufts and the whole thing looked rather barren. then we went horseback riding, or rather attempted to ride, because the horses only obeyed our orders when they WANTED to, which wasnt most of the time. but it was still very fun, being sort-of in control of a horse. unfortunately we couldnt go very fast because of the uneven land and the trees.
the second day, we had breakfast and straightaway went horseback riding again, this time in the desert. it was a lot more thrilling than before because we were on our own, and there were no boundaries as to where we could ride, the desert was so huge. we rode different horses this time, and the first horse i got was apparently one of the faster ones. i didnt think much of this at first because i thought we were going to do what we did yesterday, walk and trot, but then our tour guide started us off on a GALLOP, and my horse reveled in it.
i didnt, however.
at first, the galloping was fun. i was pretty much in control and could finally apply some of the stuff i learnt a long time ago about posting and such, and the horse was a lot more reactive than my previous horse was. however, the ride back to the starting point was disastrous.
i thought i had my horse at pretty much its max speed already, but when we turned back, it decided it wanted to show off its REAL speed and started a mad dash back. and that's when i lost the scanty control i had. my hat flew off, my feet lost the stirrups and i was gripping the iron rung on the saddle like my life depended on it. (come to think of it, it DID.) there was no way i could have stopped the horse because that would have meant taking the reins FIRMLY in BOTH hands which was impossible because i would fall off if my hands left the iron rung. so all i could do was hang on.
well of course i managed or i wouldnt be writing this now. thankfully the horse was just in a hurry to get back and stopped when we arrived, so i was able to dismount safely. despite this harrowing experience we continued riding, though of course i chose a different horse.
cantering this time was fun again. its wildly exhilarating to go at such speeds on a horse and to finally know what that naggy teacher meant about posting being beneficial for the rider rather than the horse, and to know that you're in control. we probably looked really cool, with our cowboy hats and all.
after galloping a few more rounds we finally had to leave because we had to visit the genghis khan museum. i wont elaborate because it was so deadly dull, but at least i know who mulan was referring to when she said 'khan' in the disney movie. i bet these mongolians would be completely pissed by how they were drawn and depicted in that movie.
well gotta go now, ta.
