Mongolian Madness Part VIII
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<p>....................</p><table border="0" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="0" width="516"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" valign="top"><p><strong><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><strong>18-09-2009</strong></font></strong></p><p>.................... </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" height="414" valign="top"><font size="1"> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">With only a few hours sleep last night between the bitter temperatures and the howling wind we took slow heavy steps to reach the main room of the camp. The Spanish couple wwere already up and surprisingly still inside. Odd? They should have caught a plane to UB at 7:00am. A few minutes later and with coffee in hand we were hearing their story. Their flight delayed due to the high wind.</font></p> </font> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">My conversation was stopped mid flow, when I looked out the window and stared in disbelief. Just ten feet from the window sat two huge hunting eagles. I was so desperate to get outside I completely forgot to excuse myself from the conversation.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Running back to the Ger I grabbed the camera and sprinted back to where the eagles and their owners were now standing. The two eagle hunters could have stepped off the set of Ghengis Khan and the birds were simply incredible. Both with wing spans in the 2 metre range. I spent the next hour photographing these amazing birds and their owners. I’m ashamed to admit that in my excitement I’ve completely forgotten the names of the two Mongolians.</font></p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep17_eagle_hunters_2411.jpg" border="0" /></p><p> <img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep17_eagle_hunters_2438.jpg" border="0" /></p><p> </p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/hunting_eagle.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p> </p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">OK, I know this sounds a bit over the top but to be with these guys felt like such a privelidge, you could almost feel the history and culture and the pride both these men took in themselves and their birds. Their posturing and pose almost regal.</font></p><p> </p><p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/eagle_hunter_cuddle.jpg" border="0" /></font></p><p> <img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep17_eagle_hunters_2451.jpg" border="0" /></p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep18_eagle_hunters_2522.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep18_eagle_hunters_2554.jpg" border="0" /></p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/2009Sep18_eagle_hunters_2525.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p> </p><p><img class="external_image" src="http://www.2ridetheworld.com/gallery/mongolia/images/chapter_4/eagle_hunter_1.jpg" border="0" /> </p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">With my memory cards full we needed to get some jobs done. Heading over to the other side of town and into the black market, we needed to find a new 21” inner tube for Lisa front tyre. I was also on the hunt for a new tubeless tyre valve. Whilst we were at it some engine oil would be pretty handy. We just don’t need 4-5 litres which so far is all we can find.</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Two hours later and we’ve perused hundreds of stalls all stuffed with shoes and clothes but not a sniff of the stuff we need. The cold was getting to us as well, so after flicking through our lonely planets we easily found the ‘Turkish Resteraunt’. The warm inside felt great and slowly our hands regained some feeling. We ordered a great oily soup and Lisa loved her noodle dish, with two strong coffee’s the bill came to 7,000 Tug ($5 - £3)</font></p> <p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Back at the ger camp I spent the afternoon catching up on website jobs and diary.</font></p><p>Tomorrow we'll head back into Russia. </p></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" height="13" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p>