Trolley bus off the wire.

4-002 escaped the wires. Not sure why 002 was on builders square but it must have raised a few eyebrows of passersby.

Trip to Erdnet

On the way to Erdnet to visit Lotus's children's shelter, we called in at another Lotus project at Hotol. Lotus are opening a youth cafe there and some of the older Lotus kids are helping to decorate the place.

At Erdnet, Gek got the children involved in some craft work making cards and coloured felt work.

An Asian diner has just opened in Erdnet. Alagappan cooked us up so delicious grub, including roti prata for Gek. Totally made her day.

Lotus Craft Work Exhibition.

The craft room was used to show off the craft work done by the children over the last 6 months.

A special display was set aside for the work of the special needs kids. Around 50 invited guests visited the exhibition and were treated to a concert of dancing and singing performed by the children.

Lotus Children and Mongolian Dance.

They are at it again!!!

Woman's Day

International Woman’s is big in Mongolia. The men make a special effort and those on the Lotus Staff were no exception. Cake, sweets, fruit and a little beery brandy as a treat.

Followed by entertainment by the kids.

After the show, Gek and I went to the opera. Madam Butterfly. Amazing. Japanese setting, Mongolian singers, singing in Italian enjoyed by Russians, English, Singaporeans………..and lords knows who else!!!!

After such an unusual day, we ended it by having an Indian meal with our new friend, Renee who has roots in Hong Kong!! Go figure!!

Education Exhibition

The ministry of Education held an awareness raising fair on Sukhbaatar square, with orchestra

A couple of yaks,

And our very own recruitment stand complete with Bysaa. Beautiful sunny spring day.

Camels in Mongolia

The Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of eastern Asia. The Bactrian camel has two humps on its back, in contrast to the dromedary which has one.^[1]
Nearly all of the estimated 1.4 million Bactrian camels alive today are domesticated, but in October 2002 the estimated 950 remaining in the wild in northwest China and Mongolia were placed on the critically endangered species list.^[2]

Arts in Mongolia - Bielgee

The "Bielgee" dance, or dance of the body, is particular to the people of western Mongolia. It is performed to the music of Mongolian national musical instruments, such as the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and the yochin (similar to the xylophone.) Bielgee is traditionally performed on the rather limited space before the hearth, so the dancers make practically no use of their feet. Instead, the dancers principally use only the upper part of their bodies, and through their rhythmic movements express various aspects of their identities, such as sex, tribe, and ethic group.

Bielgee is a descriptive dance, actually a pantomime,with the dancer acting several scenes from everyday life of herders, such as milking the cow, cooking, hunting, etc. Originally, Bielgee was improvised, although the themes were set. Only much later did it become strictly regimented compositionally, with a firmly established sequence of scenes. Also, over time, Bielgee was performed in a variety of locations, including festivals in herders' tents, ceremonies by local dignitaries, and monasteries.

Sports in Mongolia - Horse Racing

A mad 15/20 km cross country dash. Horses die and boy jockeys get hurt. But very manly!!!

Gek at Work

I wish I had had a teacher like Gek!!!! Fun, Fun, Fun.

Bymbasuren stitching a felt spectacle case,

Galaa threading beads,

with Togoldor, Uganaa, and Toosie clowning around…….as usual!!!!