Some never get their collar full

Day: 22

Sunrise:
05:55

Sunset:
8:21 pm

Total kilometers:
400

Temperature – Day (maximum):
27 °C

Temperature – day (minimum):
17 °C

Temperature – Night:
17 °C

Latitude:
49°01’802”

Longitude:
104°01’571”

Maximum height:
1415 m above sea level

After the few hours of sleep and yesterday’s eventful day, we feel very tired in the morning. It’s dead quiet outside. “I’ll see if our dog is still here,” I say and am delighted when he greets me wagging his tail. “Well, my good man. You’re already a real go-getter in your younger years,” I greet him and wonder what name would suit him. Tsaagaan arrives at 10:30 a.m. with little delay. He enters the hut in a strange mood. “Did you have a good stay with your relatives?” asks Tanja. “Yes, I did,” he replies curtly. Then we come to the preparation. “Do you have your saddle here?” I ask Tsaagaan. “Yes, I have.” “And the bridle too?” “I don’t have a bridle.” “Hm, we agreed that you’d bring the saddle and bridle. We’ll provide everything else,” I say conciliatory. “I don’t have a bridle,” he replies, and he overwhelms us with an aggressive torrent of words that we don’t understand. “It will be the same as always. He doesn’t keep to his agreement and in the end we give in and buy everything he wants,” Tanja interjects. “Exactly, but at some point even this man has reached his limits and I would say that time is now,” I say and ask Tsaagaan why he doesn’t have a bridle. “I came a long way for the job. I spent a lot of money on the journey and bought a saddle for 40,000 tugrik (€23),” he replies. “I never believe him. Everyone here is related to the nomads. Most people are even still active nomads, including many of those who live in this small town. That means you can borrow a saddle from a relative or friend,” Tanja concludes. “I don’t think he’s sincere either,” I confirm. When I don’t let the issue rest and ask again, old Tsaagaan shows his true colors for the first time. He gets louder and louder until he is about to shout at us. “I have four children, came from 40 km away for this stupid job, bought a saddle and have to work very hard,” translates Taagii. When we hear him complaining about the hard work, Tanja and I have to laugh out loud. “Is it hard work for five people to work on a small two-meter-long and 1.30-meter-wide horse cart? Is it hard work to go to the market with six people to buy ropes and tools or to stand next to the horses, smoke a cigarette and watch the others ride? That’s ridiculous. Yesterday, once again, you agreed to everything we discussed. We paid you an advance and gave you a day off paid for by us. And that’s only after you’ve been on our team for three days,” I say in a calm voice. “You pay far too little for the job. In a mine, you get at least 400,000 tugrik (€229) a month,” he replies. “Okay, then why don’t you work in a mine?” I ask. “Because he hasn’t learned a trade and won’t be hired there,” says Taagii. We are amazed at how a person can change. Yesterday, when he wanted his advance payment, he was friendliness personified and now he is showing himself to be a grasping, dissatisfied and very rude person. “Please tell Tsaagaan not to shout at me. I didn’t do anything to him except ask for the bridle. If he loses his nerve over such a small thing, he’s definitely not the right man for us. What if there are difficulties on the journey? If it gets wet and cold? If someone gets injured? If we are hungry or thirsty? If we are overtired and still have to keep going? There are a thousand reasons that are many times more challenging than a ridiculous bridle. We can’t take you with us under these circumstances,” I say without being able to finish a single sentence because the little man keeps interrupting me, swearing loudly. “I have no desire to accompany you on this stupid journey,” he now shouts loudly. “Well, then pay back the deposit immediately. You’re getting us into big trouble. Where are we going to get a replacement for you in a hurry? We sent Bilgee home just a few days ago. He lives out in the country in a yurt. There’s no telephone connection there,’ I say. Tsaagaan suddenly stands up, leaves the room, slams the door behind him and was never seen again. The apparently friendly little man, a relative of Saraa’s, has made off with a week’s wages. Once again, we were too good-natured.

Ulzii, Tsaagaan’s nephew, sits next to him during the conversation and doesn’t make a sound. Only his facial expression betrays great uncertainty. “Do you think he’ll jump off now?” I ask Tanja. “Who knows,” she replies and asks him if he’s still on the team. After he doesn’t answer, I see our cases swimming away at that moment. Without a companion, the undertaking is hardly feasible. We need at least a third man for the horses, harnessing the wagon, etc. There are four of us, which is our experience on this type of trip with a horse-drawn carriage. Of course, such an expedition would also be feasible without a horse-drawn carriage. Then we would need two packhorses each. However, reporting on the expedition is even more difficult because of the technology involved. Where should we pack the batteries, power box, cameras and chargers? Sure, everything is feasible. But we have prepared this undertaking with horse-drawn carriages and don’t want to give up at the first serious challenge. “I did not change my mind”, comes out of Ulzii’s lips rather awkwardly and stutteringly due to his catastrophic knowledge of English. “Puhhh,” I groan with relief. “Thank God,” I say, thanking him for surviving the first crisis so well, because it could easily have been enough reason for him to run away too.

In the next lesson we will have a crisis meeting. “We need a replacement for Tsaagaan. Ulzii doesn’t know much about horses. He is a teacher and last rode as a child. He also doesn’t know the landscape or the route. I can navigate the route with a map and GPS. But it’s still better to have someone who knows the area with you. Especially a horse expert,” I say. Although we are all a bit down together, I set off with Taagii and Ulzii to visit the car parts market. Despite the low blow, Tanja and I must not let ourselves down and we are forced to prepare for the expedition with undiminished speed.

We meet the carpenter at the market. He joins us to buy two used but good condition car tires, two used rims, new ball bearings, new inner tubes, an air pump for car tires and other spare parts and tools. I now know why the carpenter is accompanying us. This is the only way he can carve another paid working day out of our ribs. However, it makes no sense to start another discussion at this point. If he were to drop out now, we would have to organize the spell all over again.

In the late afternoon, Taagii, Ulzii and I visit the market for horse accessories. I buy 100 meters of rope, seven hobbles, seven halters, seven bridles, a bucket, spare rope, hooks for the cart, suitable screws, waterproof tarpaulin for the cart, two two-meter felt blankets for the winter, six horse blankets and much more. At the same time, we try to reach Bilgee on his cell phone. We are lucky. He still wants to accompany us, but wants to talk about his salary first. Of course, how could it be otherwise. But the main thing is that he is still interested. If the negotiations go well tomorrow then we will have our fourth man again. And who knows? As we believe that everything in life is always just fine as it is, the incident with Tsaagaan may even have brought us something positive. Maybe Bilgee is just the man for us? Perhaps it was a good idea not to opt for Bilgee from the start. At least it showed our loyalty to Saraa. Saraa who has done so much for us.

Back in the log cabin, I repair the door with Ulzii. Last night the door handle broke off when I went outside to tie our dog to another place. A door handle costs three days’ wages. So it’s expensive. Naraa is delighted with the functioning door. It can now be locked again and can be opened without any problems. Then I give Naraa’s son a couple of new sockets. He is about to complete his training as an electrician engineer. “You’ll have a safe house again and no one will get a fatal blow,” I laugh. He says thank you and replaces the old parts with the new ones.

Shortly before it gets dark, we make another detour to the carpenter to check on the progress of the horse-drawn carriage. We are surprised. The tires and ball bearings have been replaced. The horse-drawn carriage is now ready. Now we just have to throw the waterproof fabric over it and sew it to the welded steel frame. I have to admit that the men realized my wishes almost to scale. “I would like my salary immediately, please,” the man demands. “I don’t have any money in my pocket right now, but we’ll bring it to you first thing in the morning. “No, I want it now, right now,” he repeats to himself. “Do you want to go one better tonight or what?” I ask with a laugh. “No, I haven’t had a drink for a long time. I’ve stopped”. “That’s good,” I reply and set off with Tanja and Taagii to Naraa’s log cabin to get the money. When we get back to the carpenter, I ask what he’s getting now. “I worked three hours more than agreed,” he chats, which of course doesn’t surprise us in the slightest. “In that case, I’d like to be generous. We’ll pay you half a day more.” “I’d like a whole day more,” says the raptor in response. “Why a whole day when you only worked an extra three hours?” “That was a misunderstanding. I worked a whole extra day,” he now contradicts himself. “The five of you worked on the horse-drawn carriage for three days. Then there’s the welder and now you want to be paid for an extra day?” “Yes.” “Although I think I’m going to implode, I’ll give the man what he wants. “It’s his karma. At some point, somewhere, he’ll have to give back what he stole from us. Perhaps many times over. It won’t make him happy and it won’t make us poorer,” Tanja reassures me. To make things perfect, Tanja, Taagii, the carpenter and I push the horse-drawn cart to Naraa’s log cabin immediately after payment. Who knows what else the man would have thought of the next day.

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