Food poisoning
N 49°28'51.6'' E 105°56'33.5''
Day: 35 – 37
Country:
Mongolia
Location:
Darkhan
Latitude N:
49°28’51.6”
Longitude E:
105°56’33.5”
Total kilometers:
8,321
Temperature day max:
28 degrees
(Photos of the diary entry can be found at the end of the text).
“Do you want to move to another room?” the young woman from reception asks us. “Why?” I want to know. “Because the men next door are so loud. If you don’t mind, you can move to an apartment in the building opposite,” she offers. “Do you think they’re offering us a whole apartment of their own free will?” I ask, puzzled. “Maybe they’ve offered our room to someone else and just want to get rid of us?” Tanja ponders, “Could be. I’ll write a little more about our experiences and you can have a look at the room in the meantime.” Tanja returns a few minutes later and tells us about the apartment. With the help of the friendly staff, we move all our belongings into the adjoining building. In fact, for the same price of 40,000 Tugrik (€18), we are now allowed to live in a huge room with functioning windows, a fridge, flat screen TV, a few sofas, tables and clean carpeting. And without being tormented by the bawling drunks and the annoying weird singing.
“You should take a day off.” “And who will write down our story then?” I ask. “You can do that tomorrow. Rest, enjoy the day. Go for a walk with Ajaci.” “You think we should stay another day?” “You’re the writer and you’re talking about stress.” “Hm, that’s right. Now that we’ve got such a wonderful, quiet apartment? It would be stupid to move on again straight away. We have time and can decide how fast we want to travel. Okay, let’s enjoy the day and stay until we’re rested and finished with the notes,” I decide.
In the afternoon, I take a walk with Ajaci to the large Buddha statue from where you get a wonderful view over Darkhan. I sit down on a bench and watch the visitors as they feed the many pigeons and take photos of themselves and their children in front of the seated Buddha. It is a peaceful and beautiful place that stands in contrast to Mongolia’s second largest, dingy and partly neglected city. On a mountain I discover an ovol which I visit with my dog. Ajaci stands among the blue, yellow, white and green cloths fluttering in the wind. He stretches his snout towards the sky and for a brief moment I have the feeling that he is receiving a blessing at this sacred place of sacrifice.
“I feel sick,” I moan the next morning shortly after waking up. “What, are you ill?” asks Tanja. “I think I’ve caught something. Maybe the canned fish last night was spoiled. Oh, I feel sick,” I moan and sink back into bed. Writing is out of the question. For almost 36 hours my body fights against the poisoning until I am well enough to continue our journey.
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