Leaving Mongolia

 Its 2020, the year of Covid. Who would have thought 2020 would have been known as the year of Covid. The year every plan went haywire and the world stood still.

We received the news that hubby was to move out of Mongolia sometime in mid May. And we only managed to leave Mongolia in mid August.

There is ONE prevailing factor about Mongolia. Something anyone who wants to live in Mongolia (at least for now) has to know. Mongolians have a very very nomadic mindset. What does this mean and how did this relate to me?

Well, when you are a nomad, what you would need to do is plan to go somewhere but only start to pack and go the very morning you have to leave. You can't pack up your ger too early because you still need to sleep the night. And who knows whether the next morning would proof to be sunny and good for travel or cloudy and therefore stay put another day?

So, with this mindset to battle with, we got our final paperwork literally at the LAST hour before we were due to leave. But leave we ultimately did.....

Things we had to struggle with:

1) MIAT was operating an evacuation flight and therefore they didn't want to check Max right in to Malaysia. We had to call Korean Airlines and push our travel agent to send us a one liner email stating that Korean Airlines has been told and therefore MIAT could under this assumption check the dog right through. THANK GOD we had this one liner super unofficial email. It didn't really matter how the information comes to them, as long as it comes, especially in their own language, they are fine with it.

2) We had to obtain a Letter of Understanding from the Malaysian Embassy in China to state that we could go back to Malaysia because of the Covid situation. We received a copy of this letter only at the airport at 5am in the morning before our flight at 8:30 am.

3) The actual booking of the flight, only one week before the departure date. So, we had to move along with all other plans - cargo and dog paperwork - by faith that the flight would be booked on the date we wanted.

When it comes to getting official documents done, Mongolia is not very friendly to foreigners. Some Mongolians believe relationship is the way to go to get things moving. Others feel their countrymen need to be pushed and bullied a little so as to not be pushed around. I guess like in all matters, it does depend on who and what you need to deal with. 

How did I feel leaving Mongolia?

In truth - relieved. Maybe because leaving was so hard to plan. I am relieved everything worked out well. 

Maybe ask me a few weeks from now, I could list the multiple things I am missing about Mongolia.

It's a beautiful country. I loved who I had become in Mongolia. I was never much of a mountain person but the mountains of Mongolia brought me a peace I had never known. And the one thing Mongolian culture has taught me is to be in the moment. Don't get too busy planning and forget that today is not done yet. It is not an easy experience to deal with. But like our journey with God, it starts with one first step.

Before the storm, the calm memories include....

Date of arrival : 4th July 2017
Date of Departure : ?? 2020

So after 3 years, I am truly acclimatized....NOT! I don't think I would ever be completely. But I will miss the Autumn and late Spring weather. I will miss the idea of putting on a jacket and looking prim and proper leaving the house. Jackets always tend to give you a more 'proper' look!

I will miss some shopping - branded shoes are really cheap here compared to Malaysia! And admiring the myriad of colors of cashmere when I visit their largest and oldest store - State Department Store.

I will miss some imported spices that I can find easily here as compared to Malaysia - like cinnamon bark or cinnamon powder, fresh basil and rosemary and dill and thyme, even the dried variety.

I will long for my korean stuff ! Kimchi of many varieties can be found even at any regular supermarket. And gochujang sauce of several brands etc. I will miss the ease I can walk into a Korean restaurant and eat my ox knee soup, kimchi stew or bibimbap.

I will miss some of the uniquely Mongolian produce - like seabukthorn and blue berries. I will definitely miss the milk, ice creams and yogurts.

I might even miss the large chunks of meat at the market.

I never used to shop alcohol in Malaysia and I think I'll miss how cheap the variety of alcohol is available in Mongolia. 

I will miss the mountains in Mongolia seen anywhere you go around the city. I will miss the differences in color of there mountains as the trees go through the seasons. I will miss that they are an endless range of peaks and valleys. 

Daily personal necessities and home care

Mongolia provides all the basic necessities you will need IF you are not particular about what brand you need to use. Since being here, I have moved away from the normal brands I am used to buying towards Korean (yes, korean again) stuff.

It has been said that no one really knows beauty like the koreans! Their shampoo, cleansers, moisturizers etc. - all nicely packaged - smells good and are effective. You can get some international brands here too but well, they come with heftier prices. And truth be told, you will be able to find an equally effective korean/russian or maybe even a local alternative. Well, unless you have some uniquely specific problem.

Where do we shop?
We go to Emart, a korean chain shopping center to get most of our daily necessaries. Mainly because there are shelves and shelves of variety in colorful vibrant packaging! From shampoos to skin care to foot scrubs. And as specific as micro bristle toothbrushes to facial masks! Oh, for the love of cheap facial masks that leave your skin tingling and soft!

Apart from Emart, our other favorite shopping place for sutff we don't need shelves and shelves of - house hold detergents - is Nomin. Nomin is the largest local chain supermarket. The reward system in Nomin is really good and we have had our total bill slashed in half many a time. Which makes me want to buy almost everything else we need in Nomin.  Who doesn't love a big discount when you check out! Also ask any Mongolian and most of them will tell you to go for the 'Sir' brand for home care which surprise surprise can be found in Nomin!

And, I never expected this and found out a little too late but you will need to get in touch with some Mongolians for this, there are many online shopping sites for personal care products too which sometimes offer very good discounts. The Mongolians love it. We love it too.

FACEBOOK is the place where products and cash exchange hands at an alarming rate. You can get almost anything at a cheaper price from the many online shopping sites on FB.

So all in all I would say Mongolia will make you look pretty and will keep your house clean.

Oh, and they have IKEA too and also AMWAY products but not the 0.5mm pencil lead!

From tropical to 9 months of cold - what do I wear?

Ulaan Batar is known to be the coldest capital city in the world. Coming from a tropical country like Malaysia the idea of going to the 'Switzerland of Asia' seems so cool!

Well, cool is an understatement! My first winter was downright depressing, essentially because I was not used to the lack of sunlight in the long dreary months of winter. The weather starts to cool down by early November and right up till May we still get bits of snow.

It's end of May now and I'm occasionally still in my Uniqlo winter jacket. Most of the other time, since maybe April onwards, I'm in a regular fleece jacket. And then through out the summer months, I am in track pants and short sleeves. Come September, my 'Japan winter jacket' will start emerging and that will keep me till mid November. My most used jacket will be my long winter coat from December till March - worn every single time I leave the house.

If you are moving to Mongolia, purchase winter jackets from here. Perhaps the few things you can purchase outside of Mongolia would be the Uniqlo stuff - their thin thermal wear is great coz you can add on layers without much bulk - right down to thermal underwear if you can.

No other winter apparel will be able to help you stand up to the 'deadly' -40 C which hits you in January. And sheep and yak wool, with the occasional cashmere, will adorn your closet space in no time - for your head, your ears, your neck, your body, your legs, your feet and even on the souls of your feet. You'll find all these here and you will need them if you want to spend any time outside getting as much sun as the 5 hours permits. And yes, the sun rises close to 10 and set by 3.

Cashmere in Mongolia is of high quality and really worth the investment. Especially if you are an avid traveller to cold places.

Rain. It seldom rains in Mongolia and even when it does, you don't really need a huge umbrella to weather the rain. Just a water proof hoodie and some rain boots (which you can get here) and you'll happily go splashing in the soft rain of Mongolia - as opposed to the harsh torrents in a tropical county!

I'm in my 3rd year now. And if anyone asks me, I would still say I am a tropical girl. But this cold is bearable now. I guess my clothing too has equipped me to handle it better. Like my Mongolian friends tell me "You just need to know how to layer yourself well!" And indeed there is an art to it. An art I have perfected. 

Cooking in Mongolia

So, before going to Mongolia, there were 2 consistent remarks told to me from everyone.

1) There are no chinese herbs found in Mongolia. So bring what you need from Malaysia.
2) You won't be able to find fish.

So, yea, I packed my chinese herbs and packs and packs of anchovies - in original form, powder form and pickle form.

If you're chinese and from Malaysia, chances are you will love your herbal soups and noddle soup with anchovy based stock, so the first thing to put in your luggage would be these.

Most of the other chinese sauces you will need can be found here, but either imported from China or Korea. So the usual dark soya sauce and light soya sauces will taste slightly off. They DO NOT in my 3 years here carry vegetarian mushroom sauce, a replacement of oyster sauce. You will be able to find red and green and mung beans once in a while.

AND the most important thing to note is IF YOU SEE something that you want or need, but 3-4 of it. Because once it's sold out, it may take some months before it is restocked again.

There are more and more spices and herbs found now. You can cook up curry with the spices available. And there are loads of western spices - rosemary and basil and dill etc.

What is found in great abundance and quality here is flour and cheese. You will get a wide range of cheese and different types of flour for all kinds of needs. Once in a while I see potato starch and corn flour, glutinous rice flour and normal rice flour. Kind of every base you will need if you crave the Nyonya kuihs.

But I have never seen glutinous rice itself and definitely NOT pandan (screwpine) essence or leaves.
Desiccated coconut can be found - also when they bring it in - and the Mongolians don't use it often so what they bring in lasts some time.

MEAT of all kinds is available - usually in BIG CHUNKS - unless you go to the more 'refined' shops where you get them in smaller cuts but the price of course differs. Once in a while I get these huge chunks of pork cuts and throw them in the pressure cooker or the oven. Rub on some fresh rosemary or dried, some spices and it's as good as it gets.

Potatoes (of all kinds) and carrots I would say are so sweet here. I heard the reason for this is because the land can only be used for a couple of months each year and so during the long winter months, the land has time to replenish itself.

FISH you can get - although imported - from Korea and of late Vietnam. Good enough for a spicy or even stewed fish dish and even a simple steam if you don't mind the fish fat turning to jello in the steaming plate. Mackerel from Korea can be found too and good for a grill or any korean way of cooking. You can even get frozen prawns once in a while and fish fingers which well, does hold the texture of fish.

There are only 2 kinds of green vegetables suitable for chinese-style cooking. Mainly - siew pak choy and spinach. There are other greens that you can find like the occasional, hunt high and low kangkung and some cabbage/lettuce family greens which works for the garlic and oil quick stir fry. Otherwise it's white leaf vegetables - and by that I mean chinese cabbage and napa cabbage. Of course the next best favorite would be broccoli and cauliflower. But anything root or tuber like, chances are you will find it in Mongolia.

FRUITS cost a bomb mainly because they are all imported. But close an eye to the cost and you can get your variety, going out of your fruit budget maybe once a month.

All in all, if you are alright with Korean food, you will be alright in fact enjoy Mongolia.

Because sometimes it's hard to get off the ground

It's not the first time I'm starting a blog. I hope and strongly feel this would be my last blog though. I'm starting a new public blog to document facts not too personal about the countries I visit in this 2nd half of my life.

No, it did not start due to a mid life crisis. More of a career move on the part of my husband.

So, with Philippians 4:12 in mind and peace in my heart, I nod to hubby's question if he should start looking out to develop his career.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Leaving Malaysia to me at this time would mean giving up my high paying job, leaving my newly bought and furnished 2 year old house and giving away my dog. Why I never thought to bring the dog with me was largely due to my preconceived notion that my mum would give me a 'nothing-better-to-do-then-ask-for-trouble' look. And nope, I was too much of a scaredy cat to deal with it.

So, a couple of months down the road, one day hubby and I began to speak with courage the reality of moving the whole family to Mongolia. Looking back, God made us ready even before humans did. We began to talk about our impending move to Mongolia even before we got the official letter of offer. 

And so in May 2017, hubby left for Mongolia. He arrived, found a place and bought a car. Finding a place to rent was relatively easy since the websites for rental were well listed. I had already gone through the listing and contacted an agent to show my husband a few places that looked promising. When we arrived in July 2017, 4th of July to be exact, everything was already set in place. The kids and I (and mum) moved into our furnished apartment since all our equipment had already arrived before we even did. We also could hop into hubby's car the very next day to go around the city for a look see. I cooked my first ever dinner that night itself with the meat and vege hubby had bought in preparation of our arrival. 

In Mongolia, it's fairly easy to get a good 2nd hand car. Hubby was happy to buy his Toyota Harrier.

And since I'm on the topic of driving, in Mongolia we have both left and right hand drive cars. The rules are so lax in this matter due to political-import reasons. But you 'should' get a left hand drive car given the laws of the road. We got a right hand drive car, same as Malaysia within the car so that suit me fine. But I had to keep reminding myself to drive on the right side not the left side.

Apartments in Mongolia was usually quite small. So, you will have to look hard to get a place with good sunlight in almost every room. I say this in 2020 but even as I have been here fore 3 years now, apartments are coming up at an alarming rate. And anyone moving to Mongolia in the next few years might find it easier to find a comfy place. Out rent, determined in 2017 and contracted for these 3 years, set us back USD1800 and utilities, internet etc. set us back another USD200-300. I'm talking about a 3 bedroom apartment in upper middle class residential areas. The name of our apartment complex was called Rivergarden. 

I love the area we are staying. Just behind the complex is the main Tuul River and after that the Presidential Palace so there's lessor development where we are. So, whenever we drive home, it's like the hills beckon us home to peace. I think my life in Mongolia would not have been so serene if not for the place that we stay.