This is the second installment from the Hope Haven West Mongolia Wheelchair seating mission. There are 24 volunteers on this trip and this is a journey across Mongolia to 5 different cities and villages to seat those in need in a wheelchair. To donate and support Hope Haven West, please long on to www.hopehavenwest.org
Part 2
Naadam National Festival
This was an eye-opening day. Mongolia has an old culture documented well over 2227 years. Chengis Khaan was as brutal as the legends say, but he was also a master leader, leading the Mongols to create a big country, capture most of Asia and introduce order to a huge part of the Asian continent. The celebrations both cover their founding and their recent independence. The city shut down for this, less the bars thank goodness. Even some of the restaurants in commercial buildings did not open during the festival. We were treated to a huge show in the city stadium featuring the history of the country from the farming, to the conquests, the horse riding skills and then the culture and the arts of the modern day. Despite the relentless rain, it was a wonderful show and then we hit the local good booths in the square outside. Downtown Ulannbaatar is very walkable and easy to navigate. Our quest to find a rooftop bar was successful with a great sunset drink at the top of the Blue Sky. We were treated to a Naadam festival banquet and learned many of the local cultural dances and the throat singing, in both traditional and modern fashion.
The celebration fireworks were insane. I had always wondered what fireworks were like in Asia, and just as I thought, they are bigger, badder and much louder and the shows go on for a long time.
