Bilgee’s bizarre ideas
N 49°42'773'' E 100°11'497''
Day: 362-363
Sunrise:
05:34/05:35
Sunset:
21:16/21:15
Daily kilometers:
1722
Total kilometers:
Grass
Soil condition:
58
Temperature – Day (maximum):
22°C
Temperature – day (minimum):
18 °C
Temperature – Night:
6 °C
Latitude:
49°42’773”
Longitude:
100°11’497”
Maximum height:
1492 m above sea level
When Tanja returns from Mörön in the evening, she reports on her conversation with Bilgee. “I called Togtokh to get a better understanding. She immediately offered to translate the phone call with Bilgee and me.” “Very good. Then there were no misunderstandings?” “None, but the conversation was exhausting and lasted no less than 45 minutes. Whenever I asked something, Togtokh immediately called Bilgee. He answered, whereupon I dialed Togtokh again. It went back and forth like that.” “So, what did he say? Is he coming by July 25th?” “Yes, but without horses.” “Without horses? His boys can’t sit on the horse and cart. It’s far too heavy,” I say indignantly. “I told him that too. You won’t believe what he suggested?” “I think you’ll tell me in a minute.” “The children will run.” “Run?” “Yes, that’s what he said.” “Yes, has he completely lost it now? It’s often over 50 °C in the sun and there’s hardly any shade in this treeless area. How are a ten-year-old and an eleven-year-old supposed to be able to run 20 to 30 kilometers a day in such temperatures? Especially in often difficult terrain. Oh man, the Mongols have ideas.” “It’s impossible,” I contradicted him immediately. Whereupon he said they could go by bike.” “Bicycle?!” I snort and laugh heartily. This is getting more and more bizarre. Tell me, was he drunk during the conversation?” “No, no, he was completely sober.” “And he thinks his boys can cross the three 2,000 meter high passes ahead of us on a children’s bike? And over scree and mud?” “That’s what he means.” “Oh dear. I see black. It just doesn’t sound good.” “I thought so too. Above all, Bilgee was sure he’d reach Erdenet by the end of August so he could get his kids to school on time.” “You see. Just as I suspected.” “Indeed I did. Can’t, you have to write. We might need until mid-September,” I said. “Then I’ll bring my children home early. There are ways out,” he promised. “It seems he wants to keep his promise to them?” “It looks that way. I told him to discuss his proposals with you first and to call back tomorrow.” “Good decision.”
“And how should we decide now?” “If you ask me, it all sounds pretty unrealistic. I don’t know why we should do this to ourselves. The idea of taking his children with us was actually meant as a thank you for his work. Looking back, however, I have to say that although he was the best of all the people we’ve had with us so far and I appreciate that, he still messed up a lot. After all, he demanded 5.7 million tugrik (€3,257) from us to look after the horses over the winter. We could have bought 14 to 16 new horses for that amount. We still don’t know whether Bilgee wanted to rehabilitate himself at our expense with this absurd offer. Then he promised to ride the horses from Tsagaan Nuur back to Mörön so that they would not be eaten by wolves or starve to death in the taiga. The day before, he remembered not to do it. This got us into big trouble and jeopardized the continuation of the expedition for a short time. This year, as already mentioned, he arrived at our winter camp three weeks later than agreed, then Od was stolen from him, he injured Bor through his unruliness and finally he left us two months earlier than agreed just because he got a better job. So if you ask me, it would be nonsense to pay him a full salary and also finance vacations for his children. But since we had promised him to invite his children, I’m still prepared to finance the food for the trip for him and the kids. But we should cut Bilgee’s salary in half.” “Hm, that would mean he would end up paying for the food for himself and his children,” says Tanja. “That’s right. If he really wants to do something good for his children, he’ll take us up on our offer. If he’s only interested in money, he’ll turn it down. That would also show his true motivation.” “That’s a good suggestion. I think I’ll put it to him that way. Do you think he’ll still come?” asks Tanja. “After what we’ve experienced so far, I could very well imagine him turning down the offer,” I think. “Then he would have decided. I would be sorry for his children, but our journey would take a completely different direction.” “Yes, it remains exciting. Right to the end.”
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