All things considered I'm lucky to be here. Things aren't perfect but they could've been a lot worse. I made the bus on time. Actually I was four hours early. I was deeply concerned about catching this one, even skipping out of class early to purchase my ticket. I took a taxi over early on knowing how awful traffic can be in UB. No need. Even though Taxi took an hour to travel twenty minutes distance I arrived a half hour before departure time. I sat around like a goon, waiting for us to leave. People kept showing up late, hour after hour as the bus crew struggled to load thee ridiculous luggage people brought. Meanwhile the engine was having problems.
Finally we took off, but not ten minutes later they stopped to apparently switch out the engine. WTF? Again we lurched forward only to stop at a police check point for god knows what. By this point I needed to pee. I asked "Toilet?" to which they yelled "No!" Someone else calmed me with a quiet "five minutes." A half hour later I was getting ansy. A young man approached me and said they'd be a while longer so we'd better pee now. This was the first of several piss breaks.
And so relieved I took my seat and the bus rallied on, this time in earnest. Thus began the worst bus ride of my entire life, like a grey hound from hell. FatUgly decided to sit next to me. I called him FatUgly because he was as ugly as he was fat. Nice enough guy but extremely blunt in a Mongolian way. He wouldn't make a gesture to get my attention or elicit my aid, he merely reached across me to shove curtains aside that he might see out the window.
I'm sure the shocks on this old tub had given out long ago, and they easily could've during such a run as our current journey. What few paved roads we did encounter were so badly neglected; they probably hadn't been repaired since their inception circa 1950. The next step down was the hard packed gravel roads which had seen their fair share of use, but the poorest by far were the muddy washed out tracks that cris-crossed the steppe haphazardly. Not only were these hellishly bumpy but they were such an eye sore as to ruin all scenery.
At night FatUgly fell asleep. E very time our bus would hit a but his massive girth would fall against my scrawny frame, pressing me into the window. I think my shoulder acquired a slight bruise from this constant annoyance. What's more the window seat on that bus was poorly insulated. Over the course of the night I could feel my left side core body heat plunge while my right side, warmed by FatUgly, maintained a toasty even heat.
I was jarred awake by the bus jolting through trench scarred steppe. I looked out the window into deepest night. Suddenly, bizarrely, I saw a green tinted flare trailed but sparks falling through the sky. Judging by it's height and distance I thought it was a meteor, but I've never seen a shooting star trail sparks, nor shine green. A Mongolian phenomenon? Behind us a half moon rose orange and fat, waning. I regret I'll be without full moon on this trip. Perhaps it will make for better star gazing. If only thee clouds would clear.
As the dark began to fade I found I couldn't sleep. I watched the land as the light grew. A wide valley ravaged by watershed and truck tracks confronted us. I was amazed by our drivers abilities to navigate. He doubled back several times yet still found the way. As the others woke around me I heard a commotion. Out the window in the distance stood a lone wolf. from our vantage he looked no different that a coyote. Allegedly such a sighting is a sign of good luck. Later, an old woman who had seen me taking photos earlier, pointed out an impressive mountain. They even stopped the bus for me to steep out and snap a few shots.
Eventually we arrived at our final stop, a town called Muhrun (my phonetic spelling/unofficial.) I was met by Gambaa a friend of Erca's who took me out to eat and showed me to the taxis. However, all the drivers to my next stop (Khatgal) had already left. Tomorrow we'll find one.
Gambaa and his wife Boloroo spent the rest of the day showing me around town and making me welcome. Tomorrow I shall grab a taxi to Khatgal and be off on my adventure. As for now I'm in good hands. Surely my luck won't hold. Good night.
