Travel costs suddenly more than twice as high

Day: 149

Sunrise:
09:24

Sunset:
17:15

Total kilometers:
1146

Soil condition:
Ice, snow

Temperature – Day (maximum):
minus 30°C

Temperature – day (minimum):
minus 30°C

Temperature – Night:
minus 35°C

Latitude:
51°21’785”

Longitude:
099°21’046”

Maximum height:
1475 m above sea level

As promised, Shagai and Dalai come to visit us to talk about the schedule and organization of the trip to the taiga. “So, did you find any jade stones?” I ask. Yes. A really big block. This will bring us around 20,000,000 million Tugrik. (11.428 €) We’ll get it out of the taiga with a four-wheel drive truck at the next opportunity,” he says proudly. “Twenty million? That’s a fortune,” I reply in amazement. “It is. But we have to divide it between 18 men. “Well, then each of you still has 1.1 million,” (€628) I calculate. “Yes,” he replies with a laugh.

After the usual talk about the hot brew, a cup of tea and a few cookies, we get down to the real topic of the visit. “Well, I need two helpers and as it gets dark early we have to allow two days for transporting your yurt and fetching the wood,” Dalai translates her husband’s words. “Two extra men?” I ask after a long pause for thought. “Yes, it’s a lot of work,” answers Shagai confidently. My gaze touches Tanja’s eyes. The brief communication is enough for us to agree that Shagai wants to rip us off here. “Uh, Shagai?” “Yes?” “Dismantling a yurt takes no more than an hour. Why do you need two men for that?” “It’s not for the yurt, but for fetching wood,” he replies. But as we have already paid him 60,000 tugrik (€34) for the wood and this sum usually includes the felling and transportation, we are surprised. Nevertheless, we must be careful not to upset this man in whose yurt we live. After another pause of silence, I say; “Well, your men get the normal salary of 6,000 tugrik (€3.50) per person per day.” “They do the same work as me. So they should get the same. That means 8,500 Turgrik (€5) per person,” he replies via Dalai, which leaves me speechless.

Suddenly Jock storms into the yurt as usual. He also wants the same daily salary and to take two men with him. That would mean we would have to pay six men a salary for two days. “How much is the trip going to cost?” I ask Jock, although the price was fixed weeks ago with Ayush at 70,000 tugrik (€40). “80 liters plus our salaries,” he says dryly without looking at us. “80 liters for 60 kilometers? Your truck guzzles like a jet. How much does 80 liters cost?” I want to know. A liter costs 1,662 Tugrik. (0,95 €) All together 133,000 Tugrik (75,- €)”, we hear. I don’t even have time to gasp as he jumps up as usual and storms out of the yurt without a word. “He wants 167,000 tugrik? We had agreed 70,000 tugriks with Ayush. That’s far more than double. We’ll never pay that,’ I say angrily. As is so often the case, it’s all about money. And as is so often the case, the Mongols don’t stick to the agreement. “So it’s not just Shagai that wants to rip us off, but now Ayush too. They know that we are dependent on them and are shamelessly exploiting the situation,” says Tanja, disappointed by the eternal haggling over money. To avoid showing our bad mood, we put on a good face.

“Ah, you have your own chainsaw?” says Shagai, pointing to my chainsaw lying on an aluminum box. “Yes,” I answer briefly. “Can you handle it?” “Yes, I can.” “Then you don’t need any help making wood?” he asks in a voice that carries a hint of disappointment if you listen carefully. “No, I make the firewood myself,” I reply, glad to have practiced using the saw.

Before our two visitors leave, we arrange our departure with them for December 23. “I’ll tell you the time of our departure,” I say to Shagai. “I’ll be there on time,” he replies

Meanwhile, we add up our money. “It’s getting close,” I say. “Nobody could have expected that we would need more than twice as much as calculated,” Tanja replies. “It’s a real problem that the nearest cash machine is 300 kilometers away from here,” I ponder aloud. “Well, it will be enough. We absolutely have to negotiate with Ayush. He can’t just more than double the price like that,” Tanja replies. “Hm, the old codger is stubborn. I think if he names a price and then raises it, he’ll stick to it. He has us in the palm of his hand. The old fox knows that very well,” I conclude.

In the evening, we call Tsaya to let her know how things are going. “Oh, please don’t bring so many people with you. We won’t be standing around when you arrive. By which I mean that we are happy to help you. It’s enough if you bring a piece of rope for the reindeer for each Tuwa who helps you. They are happy about that,” she says.

We look forward to your comments!