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.