Jumping the Shark/Dismounting the Camel … you decide

It’s tricky business, dismounting a camel. Not your usual, everyday, American experience. As the tall animal drops onto its front haunches, kneeling down, you have to lean way back in order to avoid going head over hump into the sand. It is a bit of an adjustment, a bit unsettling, a bit frightening. At least that is my experience.

So we are back in Mongolia. The newly named “Price Posse” has taken over the only operating room in the town of Arvaikheer, Mongolia. ‘Lonely Planet ‘says to skip this place unless you need petrol. We are here for two weeks.

Getting here was the hardest part … overnight to Beijing, layover, flight to Ulan Bataar, reunion with some dear friends from this far away land and then onto the van. Nine hours crammed into a van with our luggage and lots of snacks but no shock absorbers. We bounced through the desolate Mongolian countryside on relatively paved roads. The vistas were beautiful, the monotony quieting and the bouncing, mildly traumatic.

We stopped mid-way through at this mirage of a tourist trap know to locals as “Sandy Land.” And there for $5 US I learned about dismounting a camel. We were led around by enthusiastic young entrepreneurs (mine wearing a ‘Harvard’ hat) and soaked in the experience of being so far removed from what we know.

And now, we have dismounted the camel. Ice cold showers, nothing but mutton, rock hard beds, bring your own toilet paper, massive candy consumption and the laughter and love that come from working through all of it as a team. Adjusting the balance, stepping off gracefully, not toppling head over hump. It is just another grand adventure …

Allison and Suz in the Van ... 

Mongolian rest stop

"Price Posse" in "Sandy Land"