Travel has changed so much in recent years. Everything from the choice of destinations to the kind of experiences being pursued are broadening. Much of this can be ascribed to the rise of experience holidays where travellers are seeking meaningful memories that will enrich their lives. A common question I hear often from these travellers when speaking of a prospective area to visit is, is it touristy?
The question highlights two aspects of how travel is changing. Firstly, with the emergence of responsible travel and the story that Thailand had to close one of its beaches so it could recover from years of intense tourism, people are becoming more conscious of how their travels could be negatively affecting the area. And secondly, travellers are looking for a more authentic experience than before: to absorb themselves into the local culture and customs; experience a different way of life; and to see things from a new perspective.
But sometimes, the reasons for travel are even more personal and poignant than that. Travel photographer, Kairi Aun first flirted with the idea of visiting Mongolia when learning about the root of her mother tongue, Estonian. It’s one of the few European languages that doesn’t belong to the Indo-European language group. Kairi elaborates: “The theory is that the reindeer herders of Northern Mongolia settled in northern Scandinavia – where the Sami people live today – because the ice was receding towards that area during the last ice age.”
So far, Kairi has made three trips to Mongolia and she has no intention of stopping, with a fourth in the offing. Her most recent trip took her to Lake Khuvsgul which hosts an Ice Festival every March. The goal of the festival was to drive tourism to the area during the off-season. But the lake sits 400 miles away from the capital, Ulaanbaatar, so getting there is neither easy nor cheap.
As an experienced traveller, Kairi opted for a slower option: “We chose not to rely on unreliable flight schedules (mostly caused by changeable weather conditions) so we had a local driver take us there from Ulaanbaatar. It was a great decision not only for all the places we got to see on the way but also because the flight did get cancelled and many people got stranded in Ulaanbaatar, unable to reach the festival.” So there we have it; don’t fly, drive.
But that’s only one journey. Kairi’s experience of travelling around Mongolia hasn’t always been that easy: “The country only has about 6000 miles of tarmac paved roads”. As a comparison, the UK has about 262,000 miles of paved roads. A big difference indeed especially if you consider that Mongolia is about six times bigger than the UK.
After a long journey of gawping out the window as the scenery swipes past, Kairi stayed with a local man called Bambak. He kindly moved out of his winter house so that Kairi and her party could enjoy a bit more space and protection from the elements compared to staying in a ger. Sounds warm and cosy!
“That did not mean it was warm and comfortable in comparison to what we’re used to back home. Temperatures outside dropped close to -40C; it felt like you could use a knife to cut the cold air. The temperature inside the house was just right for a bucket full of water to get frozen solid overnight.” It’s all part of the adventure, right?
One thing that I noticed about imagery a few years back, after looking at some old shots from Iceland, is that it’s utterly terrible at conveying temperature and that’s certainly the case here. Although there’s plenty of ice, there’s no snow to signify the piercing cold and if you didn’t know where these images were taken, some of them look quite warm and pleasant. But don’t let that deceive you as Kairi points out: “It’s certainly not a trip for the fainthearted.”
So how was the Mongolian Ice Festival? “What a celebration! The pride that people carry, showing off their outfits, with their heads up high.” Mongolia is ethnically diverse with 21 different regions (called aimags). The clothing of festivalgoers (long colourful overcoats called deels) represents their aimag and with so many activities taking place from ice wrestling to tug-of-war, there’s plenty of friendly competition to go around. It all seems rather jovial. Kairi attributes this to the ice: “The slippery surface seemed to bring the inner kid out of everyone. Even the parents, who pretend to be there to support their kids, show equal pleasure in coming down an ice slide on their backside.”
Sliding is certainly the motif of the festival, sometimes by choice, sometimes not. I’m sure the lake has experienced many other sliding enthusiasts over its lifetime because, as a classified ‘ancient lake’, it has held water for over 2 million years. Furthermore, the lake is Mongolia’s largest (in terms of volume) and as a result, provides much of Mongolia’s drinking reserve.
But how does this work during the winter months when it’s frozen? “Large pieces of ice get cut out of the frozen surface and stored in a pile next to a house. When water was needed, a piece had to be brought in and melted in a bucket above fire.” That’s certainly different from just twisting a knob on your tap and herein lies the beauty of travel.
Beneath the slippery shenanigans, loud cracking noises provide a haunting yet poignant soundtrack to the festival. Kairi tells me that this served as a “reminder of nature’s power and of where we are.” She confesses that she had to stop at one point to gauge the safety of the car park: “It was a few hundred strong and in the middle of the frozen lake. I looked over my shoulder a few times for reassurance in the presence of emergency services. A saying came to mind, ‘When in Rome…’ – the locals didn’t seem to worry so why should I?!”
The worry subsided quickly as Kairi took an 8-mile sledge ride along the lake to have lunch on an island. She reminisces with warmth: “Going full speed on this old wooden sledge, mounted to the back of horse, brought tears of joy to all of our eyes.”
But apart from joy or looking for the roots of her language, what else does Kairi look for when travelling? “I travel to remote areas to meet people and witness their life, filled with worries that are more primal to ours, being more survival based rather than being about the luxury and riches we desire. I’m looking for an alternative ‘real’: joy in the simple pleasures of life; real struggles of life that people face daily; and the kindness of humanity in the middle of it.”
Did she find it? “So many times, over and over. The good and bad of Mongolia’s version of ‘real’ keeps calling me. Like how you cannot step into a river without getting wet…you cannot come back from Mongolia unchanged yourself. To visit Mongolia, for me, is a spiritual, humbling experience.”
One story that Kairi endearingly retells is of a girl and her baby sheep as shown in the image above. On first glance, it’s a beautiful scene depicting an element of rural Mongolian life as a young girl happily cradles a lamb in her arms. But Kairi says the story has some touching details which aren’t obvious in the image: “Somebody accidentally left the door open and a baby sheep escaped, running to find its mother. The girls jumped up and out into the sand storm without even taking any extra clothing to stay warm while they retrieved their pet.
“In the meantime, I was wearing my merino undergarments and five layers on top of that still feeling cold. Forty minutes of running around to outsmart the herd followed. The chaos made me forget about the cold for sure. The image in question is of the eldest of the girls walking back with a lamb in her arms while the worried mother has left the herd to follow her. It was a simple moment but so full of joy, laughter and drama at the same time. This is how life in Mongolia is.”
This all started because we were curious about the ice wrestling image featured in this article. The image seems to effortlessly evoke questions from viewers: Is that a wrestling match on ice? What? Where? How? So we decided to find out and that’s how this story came about. So if you see any images that piques your curiosity and would love to find out more, get in touch and let us know on our social channels.
Get a taste of Mongolia through Kairi’s travels. Stroll through her Mongolian Ice Festival lightbox here.
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