Everything revolves around money

Day: 21

Sunrise:
05:54 pm

Sunset:
8:23 pm

Total kilometers:
400

Temperature – Day (maximum):
25 °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

“Tsaagaan told me yesterday that he wasn’t happy with his salary,” Taagii reveals to us over breakfast. “What? That can’t be right? We’ve discussed everything with him in detail. How am I ever supposed to understand the Mongols?” I curse quietly. Tanja and I discuss how we can deal with the situation. It makes no sense to take a companion with you who is unhappy from the start. Later, when Tsaagaan comes to the log cabin, I ask him about the salary. “What about my salary?” asks our translator Taagii in between. “We never talked about a salary for you. You came to Erdenet of your own free will. If you had asked us about a salary, we wouldn’t have taken you with us. We have Ulzii as a translator, even if he hardly speaks any English. Apart from that, you are paid by Saraa. Oh man, how am I supposed to understand you all? We’re not a bank that can be robbed to the last penny. You’ve seen the whole situation now. You’ve realized that we’re constantly being ripped off and now you’re supposed to translate the situation with Tsaagaan and use the moment to negotiate your salary. I’ve already given you 25,000 Tugrik on top of Sara’s salary. Voluntarily for your good work. It’s legitimate that you want more. But it would be nice if we had known about it beforehand,” I explain and am no longer sure whether all the many explanations and agreements make sense, despite a passable translation. Ultimately, most of the people around us only want one thing at the moment and that is money. After a brief discussion with Tanja, we agree to pay Taagii the same salary as Ulzii and Tsaagaan. He is delighted and continues translating.

“So Tsaagaan. Let’s talk more about your salary. We pay you US$ 200 per month in Tugrik. That’s 50 US$ above the average. In addition, you get free food and we buy a horse especially for you so that you can ride with us. All you have to bring is a saddle and bridle. You have confirmed that you have this,” I repeat our agreement for the third time. “Are you okay with that?” “At what rate do I get the dollar?” the dry words leave his mouth. “1,200 tugrik for one dollar. That’s the rate at the bank.” “I would like 1,250 for one dollar”. Tanja and I look at each other and agree not to negotiate any further at this point. “Good, that’s how it should be,” I reply, and his face brightens again. “Well, then we’re like a family from now on. All for one, one for all,” I say and shake the man’s hand again. “I would very much like to accompany my wife today. She wants to go to the countryside to visit our relatives. Can I have the day off for that?” Tsaagaan now asks sweetly. As the horse-drawn carriage is almost finished, we don’t see a problem,” Tanja replied. “But I’d still like the deposit for the first week. We can’t leave without the money,” he asks kindly. Tanja and I agree to fulfill this wish for him too. I count out 62,500 Tugrik (36,- €) and hand it to the man. He says thank you and leaves the hut. “See you tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m.”, I call after him because we need him tomorrow for further preparations. “I’ll be on time!” he replies with a laugh.

“We should have taken Bilgee with us. I don’t think Tsaagaan is suitable for a trip like this,” I think. “It looks like his main motivation is money and not the trip,” Tanja agrees. “Not a good motivation,” I conclude.

Around lunchtime, we take a look at the progress of horse-drawn carriage construction. We are surprised, it is almost finished except for the old wheels. “You were at the welder’s last night?” I ask. The carpenter nods with visible pride. Since I have a hunch, I ask if the welder has to be paid extra. “But of course. I’m not a welder, I’m a carpenter,” he replies immediately and relatively harshly. “You’re a rip-off artist and shoe salesman and probably not a carpenter,” I whisper inaudibly to him. “What did the welder ask for?” I ask. “Because he’s my friend, only 20,000 tugrik” (€11.50), he says.

Once we have sorted out the unpleasant money issues, we want to set off to see another horse from the shepherd Ulaanaa. Naraa’s friend wants to drive us to the outskirts of the city. Fashionably dressed, she arrives in her tiny car and waits for us. “We’d better ask what she wants for her services,” says Tanja. “Absolutely,” I reply. “I get 20 liters of fuel in advance, so 35,000 tugrik (€20) and 20,000 tugrik (€11.50) as payment,” she says as if it were the most normal thing in the world. In the meantime, we have already experienced too much to be surprised. We simply refuse and drive to Ulaanaa’s yurt for the normal cab fare of 2,000 tugrik (€1.14). Ulaanaa gives us a friendly welcome and immediately leads us to a beautiful mare. “She hasn’t had a foal this year and is quite strong. She’s ideal for your trip,” he says with a smile. I give her a test ride and am surprised at how easy to handle she is. Ulaanaa wants 500,000 for the horse. Before we continue our negotiations, a friend of his shows us another animal. It also looks healthy and is excellent to ride. “If we buy both horses here and now, we’ll have our crew together,” I say quietly to Tanja. Unfortunately, Ulaanaa and his friend want 1 million for both animals. (572,- €) As in the last negotiations, they are sticking to their price. We get back into the car that brought us here and drive off. “My final offer! 970,000 tugrik for both of them!” I shout. They nod their heads, whereupon we get the driver to stop his vehicle. “Bring the horses to our address in two days and you’ll get the money,” I say. The men agree and we are very happy to finally have our mounts for the journey. “Now all we need is a good guard dog,” I think aloud, extremely satisfied with the situation.

We are back in Naraa’s wooden hut when Taagii suddenly comes rushing in and shouts; “We’ve got a dog for you! We have a dog for you!” Tanja and I run outside. A friend of Naraa’s son brought along a 14-month-old Tibetan herding dog. The beautiful, strong animal immediately throws itself on the floor and wants to be cuddled. Everyone laughs heartily and boisterously. We stroke the dog and fall in love with him from the very first second. “We also call this breed four-eyes in Mongolia,” explains Taagii. “Why four eyes?” I wonder. “Well, look at his face. He has a light brown mark above each of his eyes.” “That’s right. Looks great,” I tell the friendly creature with a grin. “And how much will it cost?” is my next question. “100,000 Tugrik”, (57,- €) says the owner. We’ll buy it for 80,000 tugriks”, I decide excitedly. “Okay,” the owner immediately chimes in, laughing and visibly relieved to have made a good deal. “It’s a valuable dog. In the beginning, you have to be careful not to lose it through theft,” says Taagii, translating the words of the dog owner who bids us farewell with this good advice.

“Now we have two Mongolian companions, six horses, a dog and a horse-drawn cart,” says Tanja. “Even though it was exhausting, the whole thing went very quickly,” I reply and am happy to be able to take care of the details of the expedition from now on.

Deadly battle

When we lie on our mats at night, our dog barks at everything you can bark at. Especially the full moon. His organ is so loud that the window panes literally rattle and our ears ring. “Oh no, now we’ve got ourselves such a barker,” moans Tanja. I sit in an old chair and try to write down the experiences of the past few days, but it’s impossible with the miserable barking. I go outside and try to reassure our new arrival. Not a chance. Then I shut his mouth but he still manages to make strange noises through his closed lips. Exasperated, I go back inside and continue writing.

It’s midnight when I lie on the mat with my senses wide awake. Sleep is out of the question with this insane noise. I get up again, grab Four-Eyes and tie him up again at the other end of the garden. Naraa’s dog follows us on the way there. Suddenly he becomes jealous and attacks our dog. Before I know it, the two animals are fighting so much that I’m scared to death. It has become a fight to the death. They bite into each other, howl, growl and yelp. Horrified, I step in between them, careful not to get bitten during this frenzy. The dogs ignore my kicks. Suddenly our dog has the host by the scruff of the neck and shakes him. I kick so hard that both animals roll over. The landlord is free again and uses his advantage to attack again. This time I manage to give him one. It whirls at least two meters through the air. Finally he has had enough and limps away. Our dog is bleeding from the eye. Startled, I look at the bite mark. There is a gaping wound about two millimeters below his left eye. “Well, you were lucky then. Who would have thought what a crazy fighter you are,” I whisper, glad not to have a yappy and one-eyed four-eyed friend on the very first day.

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