Yurts, Yaks and other adventures on the Silk Road

LAMA OF THE GOBI new edtion now available!

2009-10-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

At long last my book Lama of the Gobi has gone global! As some of you have seen the first version appeared in Mongolia a couple of years ago and was sold in UB bookshops.

The new edition is available in bookshops across Asia and online anywhere. It was published by Blacksmith Books in Hong Kong and comes in paper back. It has been expanded and revised so even if you read the first edition you’ll find nuggets of new information in this second edition. For now the best place to buy one is on the amazon.com website. If you already read the first edition, you can now go to the amazon page and write a review!

More information is available is available on the Blacksmith website.

ULAN BATOR’S EXPANDING GER CITIES

2009-10-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

South China Morning Post
OCTOBER 8, 2009

By Michael Kohn

On the gritty outskirts of Ulan Bator, where heavy trucks lumber along pot-holed roads and packs of mangy dogs patrol garbage-strewn alleys, a shiny new billboard is attracting curious onlookers.

The sign describes an ambitious plan to modernize the neighborhood, the 11th ward of Bayanhoshuu District, raising it from slum-like conditions to the first-world in a flash.

A “before” image on the sign shows the neighborhood’s current layout of uneven streets, dead-ends and labyrinth of alleyways. To the right, an “after” image promises a sort of American suburbia experience of neatly trimmed lawns, sidewalks and quaint bungalows in the shade of poplar trees.

“This is our dream,” says community organizer Lhamsuren Ragchabazar. “If we can redesign the neighborhood people will have more conveniences and a better standard of living.”

The plan may sound like fantasy for this poor country, but Ragchabazar was undeterred. A crafty land readjustment scheme, he explains, will fund the project.

Residents are being asked to give a portion of their property, fences will be moved closer together and the excess land will be sold to raise money for much-needed infrastructure like roads and plumbing.

“One needs to give up something in order to get something better in return,” says Hirano Ryuko, a project advisor for JICA, which is supporting the government initiative. “Properties will be smaller but will have more value if the neighborhood is in better shape.”

But only a handful of the families in the neighborhood have signed up for the plan.

“Land readjustment programs take 10 to 15 years,” says Tsedendash Tulga, the head of Ulan Bator’s Land Management and Planning Division. “It can take that long just to change the mind of the community.”

And so it goes for Ulan Bator’s amoeba-like outer districts, which have sprawled out of control over the past two decades. Migrants from rural Mongolia have flooded the capital in search of work; most of the new arrivals end up in peri-urban settlements like Bayanhoshuu.

They bring with them their gers, the round felt tents used by nomads. The widespread use of the ger gives the districts a sense of impermanence, as if the residents may just pack up and return to the steppes one day. The wood fences dividing the gers create a maze of walls reminiscent of frontier outposts of the American west.

The tents are not new to the city. Since its early days in the mid-1600s the residents had a habit of moving the town every few years, until it eventually came to rest at its current location in 1778. Traditionally the gers were set up like a protective ring around the main monastery, Gandantegchinlin. The city grew rapidly during 20th century when Soviet town planners arrived with blueprints for a modern urban core. But most of the ger districts remained, expanded into valleys.

Migrants continue to arrive and occupy any possible patch of earth, often in flood prone areas. Last July eight people in Ulan Bator died in floods when their gers, placed in steep sided gullies, were washed away.

The uncontrolled growth of the ger areas means that no space has been set aside for roads, let alone basic necessities such as underground sewerage systems.

In Bayanhoshuu, residents line up outside a pump house for water, which they cart it home in plastic barrels. Hot showers can be had at a local bathhouse, though it’s too small to accommodate the needs the 10,000 district residents.

“It’s a difficult life because we have to go a long way for water,” says Puruvdulam Tsetsegee, a retired state employee who lives in the neighborhood. “And showers are very expensive. We have a family of six and each shower costs Tg1800 ($1.25). On top of this we have buy food and other necessities so it really adds up.”

Problems are exacerbated in winter when temperatures plummet to minus 30 degrees Celsius. Residents keep warm by burning coal or wood in their pot-bellied stoves, although this of little use during midnight runs to the nearest outhouse.

In winter, the accumulated soot caused by tens of thousands of stoves creates an appalling black cloud that engulfs the entire city. This winter an estimated 700,000 tons of coal is needed to supply the city’s 160,000 ger district families.

The situation is not helped by Ulaanbaatar’s topography – it’s almost completely surrounded by low mountains that trap the poisonous air until a strong wind can blow it away.

The smog has had detrimental affects on the health of the population. The number respiratory diseases among children under five is three times greater in Ulaanbaatar compared to children living outside the city.

Planners say the long-term goal is to install central heating in the ger districts, thereby reducing their dependence on coal. But that could take decades.

The task of sorting out this mess has been left to Tulga, who occupies a small office in Ulan Bator’s gleaming new City Hall. He said almost three quarters of city residents live in ger districts and the challenge of moving them to apartments is hampered by the increasing numbers of new migrants.

“It is difficult to control migration. The people have a constitutional right to live where ever they want so we can’t stop them from moving to the capital,” Tulga explains.

A lack of zoning laws means that newly arrived to pitch their tents where ever they please. The city is dealing with that problem by dividing the ger districts into three categories.

Zone One, closest to the urban core, will be transformed into mixed-use housing with apartments and commercial areas. Zone Two, slightly farther out, will remain ger districts, only better organized and connected to the urban infrastructure. Zone Three, mainly the new developments on the outskirts, will be torn down and returned to its natural state.

People currently living in Zone Three will be moved to other parts of the city, increasing the density of the capital but reducing the sprawl that has wrought environmental problems like pollution and land degradation.

The urban crush has had a ripple effect on Ulan Bator’s city center, where once empty boulevards now teem with Korean taxis, Humvees and Landcruisers. During the mid-day rush hour it can take 30 minutes to drive three kilometers across the city center.

“We cannot blame one person, like the mayor the prime minister. Every city worker is jointly responsible for these issues. We all have to come together to solve these problems,” said Tulga.

The city has recently given him a boost by installing streets lights around back alleys of
Bayanhoshuu. Some of the lights are solar-powered, part of a government effort to use environmentally friendly technology.

But despite the token gestures by City Hall, Tulga admits the onus is on the public to reform their own neighborhoods.

“The main purpose of the pilot project is to show the community that it can work with the city to make necessary changes for a better life,” he said.

Website Revamp

2009-10-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

I have revamped my website and it should be easier for you to search for my stories in Mongolia and beyond. just go to my website and click on the articles link.

My Interview with D. Zorigt, Minister of Mineral Resources in Mongolia

2009-09-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

The raw text of my interview with Minister Zorigt (Ministry of Minerals and Energy)

How much could this OT produce in monetary terms?

ZORIGT: We are talking about quite signifcant numbers. We have done our numbers for the next half century. If the price range is around $4000 per ton we are talking about a total number that includes tax revenues, fees etc. A ballpark figure is 28 billion dollars. This is a significant number. That is in real terms, not NPV terms.

On an annual basis we are talking about 58 million tons of ore produced. Per annum this means around 800 million dollars at peak performance, if we look at the dividends as well as taxes.

Why did the government back off its attempt to acquire 51% of Ivanhoe shares?

ZORIGT: The government has all sorts of negotiations. In these negotiations we have heard various ideas from both sides. I don’t want to go into the details of it because we are in the final stages of the agreement. The only thing I can say is the outcome is fair and mutually beneficial to both sides.

What does Mongolia plan to do with the $250 million in advance taxes?

ZORIGT: This money will be used to fulfill the promises of the two parties made during the last election. These two parties are now part of a coalition government. It will be done through enacting various social welfare laws or it will be done through a sovereign welfare fund, which is called the Mongolian development fund. There were many promises made during the campaign, which need to be met.

Can Mongolia continue to give these cash payments? Would it not be better to invest in infrastructure?

ZORIGT: Of course there are longer term interests for Mongolia. But first, let me ask you a question, where are you from Michael?

The US.

ZORIGT: Do you know of any schemes where the government pays the tax payer? Provides the tax payer with financial assistance during a time of economic crisis in the US?

Absolutely, I was paid $600 last year. But generally the government does not give out money to each and every citizen.

ZORIGT: Certainly, and there are longer term interests. We are talking now about big plans for the infrastructure development. We need to build a railway down south in the Gobi for the mines to be developed. We need to have a road there, we need to have a power plant there. Mongolia is one of the largest countries in the world so we need infrastructure to connect these places But lets remember one thing. This is a democratic country and the core value of the democratic society is the trust between the citizens and the government. The whole notion of the democratic government is that government is elected by the people. And the election promises that were made cannot be easily thrown out. It should not easily be thrown out. Parties should work to earn the trust of the people. This is the backbone of a democratic society. I can give you hundreds of examples of elections in western countries where promises were made to the people. This reflects the real situation in every country. What I am trying to say is that there are real infrastructure needs and certainly there will a government to meet those infrastructure needs. But there are also social requirements and promises that have been made. And we consider ourselves a successful democratic country. For the past twenty years we have been holding free and fair elections, multi-party elections. And we certainly need to uphold these values. The trust that has been put into the parties and into the electoral system is very important.

Getting back to OT, when do you expect exploitation of the mine to begin?
ZORIGT: We certainly have a timetable in the agreement that within two years all the finances must be completely secured. Then the construction period should be achieved in five years. So it will be a maximum of seven years. But certainly the plan as it is written in the feasibility study, which we are discussing right now is to go ahead much quicker. So we are expecting that sometime by 2012 or 2013 production will begin.

How much will it cost to build the mine?
ZORIGT: Well, so far there has been a significant amount of money invested. If we discount that number, then we are left with a figure of four billion dollars needs to be invested over the next five years after the signing of the agreement.

When do you expect money to start rolling in?
ZORIGT: Money will start flowing to the government from day one. Because of all sorts of import taxes and VAT taxes that we have in place. For the first year we will see at least $100 million dollars just from these taxes. So the money will be flowing to the government quite soon. The taxes will be on the import of the equipment and other taxes.

And money will flow from the supply chain?
ZORIGT: Sure. This is a four billion dollar investment project. As you can imagine Mongolia will benefit from this flow significantly. In the agreement we have certain clauses with regard to energy. After four years the project will take all its energy needs from Mongolia. So it’s an important clause. Water is imporatant, certainly that will come from Mongolia. Roads are important. Value added production will be taking place in this country. We certainly are looking right now and planning for the construction of a copper smelter. It will be built based on this Oyu Tolgoi project. We certainly think that downstream and upstream production will have great benefits for the country.

Do think that Mongolia can be energy independent?
ZORIGT: We currently produce most of our energy in Mongolia. If you are asking whether the increased needs and requirements for energy will be met, yes I think so. Mongolia has significant coal reserves. We are planning at this point to build a new power station in the capital city. And we will have power exporting capacity in the Gobi. We are also talking about building a new power station down south in the vicinity of the OT project. So I think we have considerable energy projects coming up.

Can talk about the prospects of atomic energy in Mongolia?
ZORIGT: The law on nuclear energy has been adopted and the agency has been set up, which is in charge of this matter. Its an independent agency so I think the policy and frame work needs to be discussed.

Will Mongolia build a nuclear power plant?
ZORIGT: As it is written in the policy document this is possible, but in the distant future.

What is happening with the uranium deposit Dornod aimag?
ZORIGT: The question needs to be directed to the nuclear energy agency. They are responsible for the matter.

During Medvedyev’s visit there was talk of building a gas pipeline. Any forward movement?
ZORIGT: The issue has put this forward. Russia has abundant natural gas resources and we certainly hope that we can expand dialogue on this issue.

Windfall profits tax -- why was it scrapped?
ZORIGT: We have been looking into the longer term future of the country. We are looking at the overall health of the mining sector. We have one large copper producer at this point (Erdenet), and that copper producer has been affected by that tax significantly. At the end of the day the calculations show that even if you are not for this windfall profits tax the majority of the revenue would have gone to the government anyway, under the existing tax system, because remember the government is a significant shareholder in that project as well. So what we thought when we were proposing that amendment is certainly the issue of Erdenet, and certainly the long term future of the mining industry. Because it affects not only Erdenet but it also affects the gold miners. That was the main reason why we dealt with this issue.

Did Mongolia earn significant tax revenues while the tax was in place?
ZORIGT: The Mongolian government made about 900 billion tugrik (approx: $750 million dollars). That money has been spent on rural infrastructure development. We have spent it on social welfare programs. About one third of it was saved and we are using it at the time of the financial crisis. So I should certainly say that the positive effects of this tax can be felt through out the country. But at the time of the crisis, at the time when we need to encourage private investment we felt it was important to have greater flexibility in terms of the tax regime.

Did the tax cause gold smuggling?
ZORIGT: Yes, our Central Bank and Customs Office reports that this was the case. It was quite obvious that such activities was taking place.

... This is why from the point of view of the government, we felt it was very important to support the private sector to invest more. Lets remember that Erdenet is a state company and in accordance with this we dealt with the windfall tax. It was for the sake of the private gold miners that we dealt with this windfall tax. So every country has its own choices to make, so at this point of history we have made this decision.

Whatever policies we have had is the result of a democratic process. Those decisions sometimes affect the health of the business sector. A this point we feel its important to support the private investment into the mining sector.

If you compare numbers now to ten years ago. Last year we have had 170 billion tugrik into exploration. Ten years ago it was under 10 million dollars. The doors have never been closed. If you look at the tax environment in Mongolia it is a very competitive environment. We have 25% corporate income tax, at its highest. 10% personal income tax. Competitive rate for VAT and royalties of 5%. There are restrictions on bringing foreign labor, but certainly the government policy is to encourage the construction of big mining projects. So it is a very competitive policy at this point. Certainly I can feel that the investment community is aware of these changes.

Tell me about Tavan Tolgoi.
ZORIGT: It will be a thorough negotiating process, I can’t say what party has an advantage. All the parties that have expressed interest have a fair chance to negotiate with the Mongolian government.

What sectors will be development with mining profits?
ZORIGT: We have large mining operations, and these require power, rail connections, road connections. We are talking about building a railway in the Gobi, as well as a significant power station. We are talking about roads. It’s going to require big financing sources.

What measures are being taken to ensure that Mongolia’s environment won’t be damaged?
ZORIGT: We attach great value to this issue. We are nomadic people and our lifestyle is indelibly linked with nature. This is why we believe that having a mining industry that is friendly to the environment is an important issue. We have a professional inspection agency which is inspecting all kinds of agencies involved with the mines.

Can you speak about the ninja miners and if anything is being done to regulate their activities.
ZORIGT: I should say first that these 100,000 people are employed in this business. These families are working their way out of poverty. These 100,000 people are not depending on the government for an income or social welfare. They are not waiting for the government to dole them out. We think the goverment should offer a proper legal framework for them to work without damaging the environment, within the proper legal framework, in terms of labor practices, for example not allowing child labor. We are working on the draft legislation on this matter and we have set up a group that involves various stakeholders, including civil society groups. Under the government regulation what you can do is work under the gold fields set up for gold mining. You just can’t do it anywhere. Local governments should provide this land, but still there are thousands working outside these regulations. Their life is not easy. Probably for many of them it would not be their first choice, if they had a choice, but we have to appreciate the fact that these people are working hard. A proper legal frame work needs to be set to protect their health, to protect the environment and make sure that there are proper legal practices.

How will Mongolia develop its resources over the next 5-10 years?
ZORIGT: Mining is the backbone of the Mongolian economy, it accounts for close to 30% of its GDP and 70% of its exports. Mining industry is important but we have to diversify so there will be different mines in different locations so they can affect regional development and give an impetus to infrastructure development. Private investment has to be encouraged, both foreign and domestic, which is why we have a competitive regime. We have other projects in the pipeline, such as the iron project near Darkhan, and the Shivee Ovoo coal project in Dornogobi. Mongolia makes around 30 million a year in oil, but this is just the exploration stage.

...I believe this is a very exciting time for Mongolia. Over the past two decades we have talked a lot about how to develop this country, how to make sure we have a free and prosperous society. I think now we have a real chance to make it a prosperous society. We think that Mongolia can be a mid-developed country. GDP was around $1800 in the year 2008. Our goal is to have GDP at $15,000 by the year 2015. We have to work very hard to reach that goal. If you ask me for a vision of Mongolia’s future there are many countries around the world which have developed based on their natural resources. I myself spent almost two years in Australia. So like to believe that Mongolia has great many similarities to this country, or Canada for instance, or Norway, which uses its natural resources to speed up its development. I think that we have a great chance, given our political system, our natural resource endowments to become a country that has an economy that is market based and a social welfare system that takes care of its own people when its needed.

Democracy is the cornerstone of all that we can achieve, a free and open society is one that does not come easy. But we have been able to achieve that. Through this open and transparent process we will be able to develop policies that are attractive to all groups. Two years ago we established an agency dedicated to fighting corruption. I am optimistic. For Mongolia the antidote to corruption is its open society, democracy, transparanency and participation of all the stakeholders in the decision making process. We are aware of that.

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF?
I studied in Russia in the late 80s, early 90s. I was there when the Berlin Wall fell. It was an exciting period for all of us. I studied at the Moscow Institute of International relations. I also studied in Australia at the Australian National University, Asia Pacific research school. I got a Masters Degree in International Relations. I have a legal background. I am 38. I believe that my generation, people in their late 30s, is tasked with creating a modern, civilized and prosperous country. It is an important task. I believe that there are many young people around the country, if you look at the business community in the country, most of them are headed by people in their late 30s, early 40s. This is a time when we have to give our best effort.

I have two daughters. My daughter will study in Beijing.

Frankly speaking there is not a lot of spare time for me to do activities outside work. When I have free time I spend it with the kids. I grew up in Ulaanbaatar. I am city boy. My grandfather is a nomad, my uncle is a nomad. My father comes from Tov Aimag, near the Gobi. He grew up there. Then he went to work for the governement. He trained as an electrical engineer. He worked in the power stations.

I like soccer a lot, but I don’t play so well anymore! I still like to watch the sport.

Mongolian Military to Send Troops to Afghanistan

2009-07-23T17:32:00.000-07:00

Mongolia has proven eager to flex its muscles on the international stage. The army recently announced that it would deploy about 150 soldiers to Afghanistan. About 120 of these will help guard a military base and then around 25 will be training the Afghan army in weapons use and maintenance. Apparently Mongolia is good at this sort of work because they were trained to use Soviet weapons back in the day and the Afghans still use Soviet hardware left over from their war with the USSR. You can read all about it here. I wrote this piece for the AFP. I had real trouble getting this piece out because on the day I was writing it the Defense Minister from South Korea was in town and it was near impossible to pin anyone down for an interview. The story eventually saw the light of day. One interesting footnote to this story is historical relationship between Mongolia and Afghanistan. Of course, the Mongols were one of many invading armies to occupy that country. The Hazaras are actually said to be decedents of Ghengis Khan’s warriors. Apparently, the Mongolian soldiers that have gone to Afghanistan have been a huge source of fascination for the Hazaras as they try to better understand their past. Interesting that Mongolia is able to reconnect with this ancient history some 800 years after the fact.

Danzan Ravjaa's Treasure to be Revealed

2009-06-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone want to see buried treasure dug up from the Gobi? I thought so. As many of you are aware the personal belongings of Danzan Ravjaa were buried in the Gobi Desert in the 1930s. Much of it has been brought out of the ground and can be viewed at the Danzan Ravjaa Museum in Sainshand. Some of it still lies in the Gobi. But on Aug 1 a few of the crates containing Danzan Ravjaa’s belongings will be dug up. The event will be broadcast over the internet. Check the website for me details.

New Travel Route Open Between Mongolia and China

2009-06-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

According to "China Hospitality News" website, a new travel route has opened up between Mongolia and China. The border crossing near Bulgan soum, Khovd Aimag is now open to tourists with a valid Chinese visa. Having crossed the border you'll be in northern Xinjiang province.

This is a great new way to get between China and Mongolia. You can cross the country to the western aimag and slip into China without having to trek all the way back to UB. I visited this part of Khovd aimag about 10 years ago. It's remote and beautiful with lots of opportunities for camping. From Bulgan its possible to travel up the Bulgan river to Bayan Olgii aimag. More details here.

If anyone does this route this summer, drop me a line and let me know how it goes!

A New Prez

2009-05-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Mongolia is full of surprises and this election is no different. Elbegdorj assumed the “change” mantle and managed to convince enough voters that he could deliver. I’ll need to eat my words after predicting earlier that Enkhbayar would win!

Its truly fascinating that Elbegdorj, so scorned after last summers’ riots could come roaring back to win this election. Though as I suspect this was as much a vote against Enkhbayar as it was a vote for Elbegdorj. Now Elbegdorj, who has been a prominent politician since the mid-1990s and twice prime minister, must somehow re-invent himself in order to “be the change” that he campaigned on. His major campaign promise has been to end corruption. The first 100 days will be a test to see whether or not he acts on this promise. Let’s see how it goes.

Elbegdorj Hangs Tough in Mongolia Presidential Polls

2009-05-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you following the Presidential elections in Mongolia, there is a bit of a surprise from the latest Sant Maral poll. Here is an excerpt from the report:

"A nationwide survey of voting intentions gives the DP candidate, Mr. Ts. Elbegdorj, a slight edge over his MPRP rival, incumbent President Mr. N. Enkhbayar. Asked which candidate they would vote for as President, 37% of the respondents across the nation suppported Mr. Elbegdorj, while 36.2% were for Mr. Enkhbayar. The lead for the DP challenger was larger in Ulaanbaatar, where he had 36.7% support against Mr. Enkhbayar’s 32.3%. In the countryside, however, 38.3% favored the President, with 37.2% saying they preferred Mr. Elbegdorj. In Ulaanbaatar, the percentage of the respondents who said they would not vote was 8.8%, who refused to reveal their preference 8.1%, and those who had not made up their mind 14.2%."

So it looks like it is going to a be a tight race after all. Why is the race so tight? Blame it on factional divide within the MPRP. The MPRP has historically been very tight and not affected by the factionalism that has ripped apart the Democrats over the years. But now factions are growing in the MPRP ranks and some of them are lining up against the president. The poll reflects this divide.

Nuclear Power for Mongolia? You betcha.

2009-04-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

So the IAEA has come and gone. Here is the follow up article. You'll find the crucial information in the last paragraph, where it says:

Mongolia plans to establish its nuclear power plant in 2021.

Dateline "Mongoolia" now available in... Estonian?!

2009-04-22T11:42:00.000-07:00

Can you read Estonian? Do you know someone who can read Estonian? If you answered “yes” to either of those questions you really NEED to buy my book Dateline Mongolia, which has just been translated into Estonian. Why has this happened? Apparently the Estonians have a BIG interest in Mongolia and there is a need for this book in that country’s language. This is the first time Dateline Mongolia has been translated from English to another language so it’s pretty exciting for me. I guess Estonian is a pretty random language for translation but that’s fine by me!

Oh, and the title is not this same for this book. MONGOOLIA LÄBI AEGADE actually means “Mongolia Through the Ages”. The book is published by Pegasus Publishers in Tallin. Here in the link.

Trans-Siberia Railway Video

2009-04-20T13:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of blogs ago I mentioned that the new LP Trans-Siberia guide is out. In conjunction with that book I also did a video blog on the trip. I filmed myself riding around on trains from Mongolia to China to Russia and back to Mongolia. Well, it ain’t gonna win no Oscar, but hopefully it will give you a better idea of what I was getting up to last summer. If you’ve been poking around the Lonely Planet website you might have seen it. If not, and you are so inclined, go ahead and check it out. Here is the link.

Mongolia and a Nuclear Future?

2009-04-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Xinhua is reporting that the Director-General of the IAEA is going to visit Mongolia next week. The report simply states that Mohamed el Baradei is going to hold meetings with the president and prime minister.

It looks like the IAEA is keeping tabs on Mongolia since it will soon be exporting uranium to Russia. Just in case you missed it, Mongolia and Russia signed a deal a year ago to develop Mongolia’s uranium deposits and possibly build a small nuclear power plant in Mongolia.

Uranium mining is not new in Mongolia. Back in the 1980s the Russians developed a mine near Mardai in Dornod Aimag, which was later privatized and then abandoned. I actually visited Mardai once and found it to be an eerie place. It looked like a little Russian town that had been abandoned. There were paved streets, sidewalks, shops and a school. But it was somewhat apocalyptic because there was no running water or electricity and the only signs of life were a few Mongolian families squatting in the old Russian homes. That was about 10 years ago and I have no idea what has changed, if anything, since then.

Currently a Canadian company called Khan Resources holds a license to study and develop the site. The Mongolia mining operations website reports that operations at Mardai could begin in 2013.

As for this nuclear power plant, I think it's a matter for debate as to whether or not this is a good idea for Mongolia. On the one hand, the air quality around UB would certainly improve if a nuclear plant could replace the dirty coal-burning plants currently in operation. Anti-nuke proponents would of course point out the safety concerns of such a plant and the possibility of a leak or meltdown. I am no expert in this field but I’d welcome comments either for or against the building of a nuke plant.

Trans-Siberia Railway Guide released

2009-04-14T10:16:00.001-07:00

Last summer I was rattling about north-east Asia on trains as I researched the LP Trans-Siberia Railway guidebook. This was defiantly one of my favorite research assignments for many reasons: I got to spend a good amount of time in Beijing just before the Olympics. I saw some place in Inner Mongolia and Russia that I had not visited before. I crossed a bunch of borders, which I always find to be lots of fun. And I did the whole trip without leaving the ground (or suffering serious jet-lag!)

So the book has been published and is just about to hit the bookstore shelves. You can pre-oder a copy on the LP website or through Amazon. My section covers the route from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing, Beijing to Harbin, Harbin to Ulan Ude and Ulan Ude back to UB. It's a great loop trip that few people get to do. If you live in UB its definitely worth taking this route to visit Hailar and the areas of northern Inner Mongolia.

Enkhbayar and Elbegdorj in it

2009-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

The candidates for the May 24 election have been chosen and the campaign has begun. President Enkhbayar has been nominated to run on the MPRP ticket. I guess there was a little horse trading going on because of some rival factions but overall this is not a surprising pick. The MPRP is a stable party and to go with anyone else but Enkhbayar would be an admission of failure.

The Democrats have nominated former prime minister and rabble-rouser Ts. Elbegdorj. To me this was a surprising pick given the troubles he has experienced over the past year. Last summer he was blamed for inciting the riots that led to five deaths. He was also involved in a pretty bad car accident about a year ago that nearly killed him. Frankly it’s quite amazing to see Elbegdorj persevere like this, but I don’t think its going to do him much good in this election. Politically and economically he won’t be able to differentiate himself from Enkhbayar so I don’t see how he’ll be able to get much traction in this campaign. The democrats, however, have few other options and have never had much success in these presidential elections.

I predict that Enkhbayar will receive at least 60 percent of the vote.

Mongolian Presidential Election called for May

2009-03-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

It’s official. A date has been set for the Mongolian presidential election. The General Election Committee has stated that the election will take place on Sunday, May 24. The list of candidates is yet to be determined. Quite a different scene compared to the US presidential elections, which saw candidates stumping some two years ahead of the elections. We are two months from these Mongolian elections and nobody knows the candidates yet! One would think that the incumbent president Enkhbayar would run again, but this is not a sure thing. The president’s party, the MPRP, is no longer as unified as it once was, and it seems the Prime Minister Bayar may also has his sights on the presidency.

Likewise, there is no clear frontrunner for the Democrats, but the possibilities include Bat-Uul, Elbegdorj and Gonchigdorj. Gonchigdorj has already lost one presidential election (to Bagabandi in 2001) and Elbegdorj is a rather unpopular figure at the moment given his role in the riots last summer. That leaves Bat-Uul as the frontrunner. We’ll have to wait and see.

What do these elections mean for Mongolia? Not much. There are few ideological differences between the parties these days, so no candidate is expected to shake things up very much. The role of president itself is mostly ceremonial, meaning that the winner should look good in a del. He should also be deft at cutting ribbons. However, as we saw last summer when Enkhbayar called a state of emergency, the president can play a crucial in a national emergency. We’ll see in the coming weeks whose up for the job.

New Documentary on Hovsgol Nuur

2009-02-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

Every couple of years Mongolia great wide wilderness spawns a new eco-doc. Whether it be about takhi horses, falconers or taiman fish, Mongolia is something of a hot bed of documentaries on the environment. The latest contribution comes Steffan Schulz, a documentary filmmaker who gives us Hovsgol Nuur.

The 45-minute film follows a group of scientists and environmentalists as they make an in-depth study of the lake, its composition, aquatic life, geological history and environmental challenges. Scientific studies have, of course, been made on the lake for decades, but this seems to be the first one in which the scientists performed underwater scuba dives to explore the lake.

Technically, scuba diving in such a remote location is no easy feat. All the gear needed for the dives was hauled into the country and trucked up to the lake, including the air compressor unit. All of this was quite new to the local population, which was understandably amazed to see people breathing underwater. A few of the locals got to try the gear and the scientists were good about opening up their experiments to the curious onlookers.

The teams’ efforts paid off as it afforded them a chance to explore the lake bottom, the fish species in their native habitat and several shipwrecks. The team made a few startling discoveries about these wrecks; one apparently contains an apply supply of fuel which over time could spill into the lake causing huge environmental destruction. This was the overall message of the film – that Hovsgol Nuur is relatively pure for now, but sensitive to growing development in the area. The filmmaker compares the lake to California’s Lake Tahoe as it was 100 years ago.

More than a research project, the film also touches on Mongolian culture, its history and religion in quite broad strokes. Importantly it mentions the spiritual importance of Lake Hovsgol for the location population, and its associations with animism. One interesting feature was how the locals interpreted a scientific mystery. The researches picked up a large blob on their sonar and had trouble explaining what it could be. The locals assured them it was a reindeer swimming across the lake underwater. The scientists speculated it to be a school of fish. The mystery was never really solved.

The film does a reasonable job of explaining the logistics challenges of working in Mongolia, including the difficulty in dealing with local guides and drivers. In one instance the film describes how the captain of their motorboat mismanaged his supply of fuel, causing the group to run of petrol midway through a journey across the lake. It reminded me of a dozen overland journeys I have taken in Mongolia where a driver will just keep driving until he runs out of gas and then wait for another driver to come along and save him. This usually works out OK, but you can’t really apply this technique to boating on Lake Hovsgol because there may not be anyone to save your ass if you get stuck. Something to bear in mind the next time you go boating in Mongolia.

One feature of the film that I did miss was a good soundtrack of Mongolian music. Other than that I found this to be a useful film for both environmentalists, Mongolia watchers and anyone planning a trip to the country. Look out for a screening of the film or go the website of Strange Media (www.strangemedia.com) and pick up a copy.

Sad News about Stephen Vance

2009-02-07T09:58:00.000-08:00

I recently alerted to the awful news that Stephen Vance had been shot and killed by terrorists in Pakistan. Stephen worked for USAID (United States Aid for International Development) and was head of that organizations’ office in Pakistan. The killing occurred in November 2008 and was covered in this article in the IHT.

Prior to working in Pakistan Stephan had worked with Mercy Corps in Mongolia (1999-2002) where he helped to establish micro-credit in the country. I didn’t know Stephen well but had met him on occasion at his office. He seemed like a great guy and from what I have read about him since his death, a real inspiration for peace-loving people. After working in several countries Stephen found a home in Mongolia, where he met his wife, a local woman. My condolences go out to Stephen’s family in the US and in Mongolia.

Bayar Goes Tumbling Off His Horse

2009-02-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

And now, the news from Mongolia… Prime Minister Bayar was showing off his horse riding skills the other day when his mount reared up and threw him off. Apparently the PM was not wearing the appropriate foot gear and fell out of his stirrups. The result? A busted vertebrae and rib. The chief is going to be out of commission for six weeks and may have to go abroad for medical treatment. Bayar shouldn’t be too embarrassed by the incident, even Chinggis Khaan fell off his horse once or twice. Get well soon, Mr Bayar. Mongolia needs you.

Mongolia and the Global Recession

2009-01-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

Despite Mongolia’s small economy it has not been immune to the global economic recession. The problems in Mongolia are the same as everywhere – no liquidity in the markets, falling housing prices, high unemployment, banks collapsing, inflation etc… Because of the falling copper prices a lot of the mining investment is drying up. Boroo Gold and BHP Billiton are both closing shop. Rio Tinto is downsizing, AIDD (Australian International Diamond Drilling) is bankrupt. As a result many of the expat mining guys (and their money) are leaving town. The government also is having trouble paying it bills because Erdenet is no longer profiting. This translates to hardships on the street; shops are closing down and there is plenty of property for sale (but no buyers). The only money seeping through is via China. Sad stories abound; I heard about one poor fellow who works for a company that sells fire alarms; his company has no money so they just pay him with fire alarms. Things will eventually turn around but lets just hope its sooner rather than later.

2009 Land Rover Challenge in Mongolia cancelled

2008-12-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Land Rover G4 Challenge, which was supposed to take place in Mongolia in the summer of 2009, has been cancelled. Land Rover blames the worldwide recession, saying it does not have the funds to sponsor the event. This is a real shame because its these kinds of eco-tourism events that Mongolia relies on to support its economy. The event would have brought in much needed tourist dollars and would have required a large local support staff. That money and those jobs are now gone with the wind. This is but one more example of how Mongolia is now tied into the global economy and feels the ripple effects of the American financial meltdown.

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

2008-12-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

loI went to the San Francisco Asian Art Museum last week to check out their temporary exhibit on Afghanistan. The exhibit contains objects on loan from the national museum of Kabul and San Francisco is the first of three stops in the US (the next are Houston and New York). Since 9/11 America has been fixated on Afghanistan but much of the coverage has described its poverty, its wars, and its harsh treatment of women. But this exhibit shows the country in a different light. It concentrates on the unique archaeological finds in Afghanistan and its storied past.

What I found interesting about the exhibit was that few of the treasures on display were actually created by the Afghans themselves, but by the many invading armies that have passed through the country over the centuries. Then, as now, Afghanistan is a battleground and a place eyed by colonizers since the days of ancient Greece. The two reasons for this are Afghanistan’s rugged topography and its location at the crossroads of Asia. Both of these factors made it a sort of bottleneck for any would be conquerors – Alexander the Great from the west and Chinggis Khan from the east, among others.

On of the featured exhibits was of an ancient city built by the Greeks in northern Afghanistan. Ai-Khanum was described as having all the amenities needed for a homesick Greek, including swimming pools, a gymnasium, good schools and a theater. Greek statues, pieces of columns and various bits of art collected from the site were on display. It was a little bizarre to see that the very first piece of art on display in the museum was not an Afghan-created relic but a two foot tall Greek statue of Poseidon (or some bearded Greek god). Other relics of Greek culture followed, including glassware and a unique bronze piece of fish with fins that moved when set above water.

The exhibit included a computer generate video display of what Ai-Khanum looked like in its heyday. To my mind, the place was clearly designed to make the ancient Greek colonizer feel right at home, as if Alexander the Great could advertise the place back in old Athens to attract more settlers. (“Come to Afgahnistan! Affordable housing! High paying jobs! Great benefits package!)

A second exhibit displayed pieces unearthed from a tomb at Tillya Tepe in Bacrtria (northern Afghanistan). The tomb was that of a 1^st century nomad horde that had come from to Afghanistan from Central Asia (or possibly Mongolia). The tomb had been sealed up for 2000 years until its opening in 1978. Thousands of gold pieces and priceless treasure were revealed. But shortly after the tomb was opened, the Soviets invaded the country and treasures went missing. In 2003 they were located in a vault within the presidential palace and put on display. The works of art from the tomb were amazing and in very good shape. They included gold belts, gold crowns, and gold jewelry of every sort. Everything inlaid with lapus lazuli, rubies and other precious stones.

As part of the whole Afghan theme, there was a screening of the film Kandahar the day we saw the exhibit. Reviewing that film would require another blog post, but suffice it to say it was an excellent film that you can get on DVD.

The Afghan exhibit at the Asian Art Museum in SF is on until January 25. Remember that the first Sunday of the month is a free day at the museum.

The Strange Fate of the Repression Museum

2008-10-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

My previous post garnered some comments from a reader named ‘Impressum’. The reader laments how Mongolia’s traditions are being eroded and specifically makes a point of the destruction of the Political Repression Museum, housed in a building once occupied by Prime Minister Genden.

I too have been concerned about the state of this museum. I interviewed Ms Tserendulam (Genden’s daughter) several times in 1999 when I was investigating the purge era. After she died the museum was taken over by her assistant. I don’t recall his name but I remember how he looked – he was a large man with a big beer belly and a bushy moustache.

Last year I went back to the museum and saw how it had fallen apart. Inside the museum I met a new caretaker, who happened to be Tserendulam’s son. He explained to me his version of what had happened – after Tserendulam died, he said, the assistant had systematically destroyed the museum upon the orders of someone within the MPRP. Apparently the person was angry with the museums’ portrayal of the MPRP as a bunch of thugs. The caretaker, only in his 50’s died from a mysterious illness shortly thereafter.

Tserendulam’s son is now in charge and trying to restore the museum. It’s a sad, strange story, but the incident now seems like a thing of the past and the son is working hard to repair the damage. I wish him well.

An Open Letter to the Concerned Residents of Ulaanbaatar

2008-10-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Children’s Park – Doomed?

Is the city of Ulaanbaatar, a metropolis with more than one million people, about to lose its one and only park? Its sounds hard to believe but come this time next year the park may be lost forever.

The Children’s Park was boarded up two years ago and has been closed ever since. At one point a Japanese firm said it planned to build an amusement park, which never came to be. Now, rumor has it, the park has been divided up and sold to developers who plan to turn it into another drab gated apartment complex.

This would be utterly tragic. As it stands now the city has barely an inch of open space to walk freely, exercise and breathe fresh air. Last summer I had a hard time keeping in shape because there was simply no place to jog – by 8am the streets were clogged with traffic and fumes. Not only had the Children’s Park closed by numerous other playgrounds and fields have been stolen by greedy real estate developers.

I longed for a park, jogging track or open field on which to stretch my legs. Alas, there was no where to go, save the distant outskirts of the city. Parks are an essential part of any city and one is desperately needed in Ulaanbaatar

This Children’s Park belongs to the people of the Ulaanbaatar. The parties responsible for the sale of this park should explain their reasoning for such a decision and account for the monies earned by it. How much was the park sold for and will the money be put into developing new open space for the public? The people of Ulaanbaatar surely have the right to know the answers to these questions.

When discussing this matter with Mongolians I received the same response, shoulders would shrug, people would complain about corrupt officials but lament that it was “too late” to do anything. On the contrary, it is not too late. No buildings have been built on the Children’s Park so it is still very possible to revoke the building permits and save the park for future generations. But once building does get started it will be impossible to reverse the course of action and the park will be lost forever. Now is the time to act.

If you care about Ulaanbaatar, quality of life in the city and the health of its citizens, please act now to save the park. Copy this post and forward it to concerned parties and Mongolia’s Members of Parliament. There is strength in numbers so the more people who react to this critical issue the better chance we have of saving the park. Make your voice be heard!

Oyu Tolgoi waits and hopes

2008-09-02T22:37:00.000-07:00

The folks at Ivanhoe took a bunch of us journalists down to Oyu Tolgoi last week for a look around the place. Unfortuantely it was the only day of the year that it happened to rain in the Gobi so when the plane landed we damaged the dirt runway. This meant that the plane could not come back to pick us up so we had to drive to DZ to get a lift back to UB. The five hour drive meant that our day was cut in half. In any case I wrote a piece up for AFP. Here is the link.

Mongolia Celebrates Two Gold Medals

2008-08-25T22:02:00.001-07:00

Back here in Mongolia, the city went wild on the last day of the Olympics when a Mongolian boxer won gold. It was the second gold for Mongolia in these games (the other was in judo). Team Mongolia also won two silvers in boxing and shooting. Four medals is pretty good for a small country. That is one more than India which has a population over a billion!

Here are a couple of pics of the celebrations in Ulan Bator after the boxing victory.

2008-08-03T20:35:00.000-07:00

I am now blogging from a guesthouse in Beijing. Excitement is definitely exciting with the start of the Olympics less than a week away. There are armies of Olympic volunteers manning the street corners. Infrastructure has most certainly improved in the city, with new subway lines and of course all the sporting facilities. But the weather is bloody hot! I feel for the poor marathon runners!

I had a look at the National Stadium, the Bird's Nest, and the Water Cube next door. I wasn't alone - thousands of people were around the stadium taking pictures in front of it, even though you could not get very close.

And I had a good night out on the town - pub crawling around the area near Hou Hai lake. At one pub I bumped into the Australian song and dance group that will be performing in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. They gave the people in the bar a nice little preview of their performance. I managed to film it but they made me promise not to upload it to youtube!

On the train through China Part I

2008-08-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

I spent the past few days traveling around Inner Mongolia, part of my Lonely Planet assignment for the China guide. After a 24 hour train ride from Ulaanbaatar I arrived in Hohhot, the surprisingly modern capital of Inner Mongolia. Most of the town has been remade and if you didn’t know any better you might think you were in Beijing.

The first couple of days it pretty much rained non-stop, so much so that streets were flooded out people had to wade through the waters to cross the intersections. Even so, I managed to visit the ultra-modern new museum, as well as the old monasteries and temple grounds. I met some Mongol monks in the temples, but they were just about the only Mongols I met in the city. On the third day I made a trip out to grasslands, which were rather disappointing. Lots of tacky gers camps and hordes of Chinese tourists in buses. To experience Mongol culture in Inner Mongolia, one needs to go up to Hulun Buir, in the far north of the province.

Images of the Riots

2008-07-10T18:08:00.000-07:00

Some of my pictures from the Riots.

Riots Report on BBC

2008-07-10T18:01:00.001-07:00

My report on the Mongolia Riots for the BBC is up on their website. Its an interesting little page designed to help non-native speakers of English. Go there and click 'listen to the story'

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed piece

2008-07-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the text of the Wall Street Journal Op-Ed piece I wrote for this week.

Ulan Bator Battles
By Michael Kohn
ULAN BATOR—Is Mongolia’s young democracy viable? It’s still an open question. More than a week after July 1 post-election riots, opposition Democratic Party leader Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj has yet to accept the poll’s results. How he proceeds will say much about the country’s future.

The ruling Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party won a parliamentary majority of 45 seats in late June elections. The Democratic Party won 28 seats, with smaller parties making up the difference in the 76-seat chamber. But instead of accepting defeat, the opposition leader stirred mass protests with allegations of cheating, all broadcast on television. After the dust settled, the MPRP headquarters was burned, five people were killed, and more than 300 injured.

The violence may have subsided by now, but tensions remain high in the halls of Mongolia’s Government House. Weekend talks between the Democrats and the MPRP over how to resolve the conflict ended inconclusively and both parties have retreated to their respective corners without a clear way forward.

As a career politician in a nation where the rule of law is mostly respected, Mr. Elbegdorj should have known better. Mongolia has a process for dealing with fraudulent voting—through the courts. This process was put into action back in 2004 when, through recounts and one re-vote, it worked smoothly and peacefully. Yet, at this juncture, Mr. Elbegdorj and his fellow Democrats would be unwise to pursue the same course of action.

The Democrats are being largely blamed for fomenting last week’s violence. New voting would only go against them. They must first allow the General Election Committee to reach its final results and if there are disagreements, respect the rule of law and take their case to the courts.

If the courts uphold the Committee’s decision, the Democrats must find new leadership to help them regain the public’s trust—and then put together a viable party platform. For too long, the poorly organized Democrats have relied solely on their reputation as “defenders of democracy.” Rather, they should seek to combat Mongolia’s corruption problems and bolster the country’s economy.

These aren’t small problems. Despite an expanding economy (GDP grew by 9.9% last year), a third of Mongolians still live in poverty. Some 21% of Mongolians are classed by the World Bank as “idle”; that is, they are able-bodied but cannot find work. Many of them live in Ulan Bator, and played a large role in last week’s violent demonstrations. Inflation has also risen over 24% over the past 12 months.

The electoral uncertainty comes at a particularly bad time. Foreign investors were excited by the prospect of a one-party majority, rather than a “unity” government, which was often mired in political infighting. The mining law, in particular, needs to be changed to ease heavy taxes—mining companies are eager to get new projects off the ground.

Now, investors are stuck in a “wait and see” mode until the country’s political strife dies down. Both Prime Minister Sanjaagiin Bayar and President Nambaryn Enkhbayar have called for calm in their respective addresses to the nation last week. But it will be Mr. Elbegdorj’s moves that matter most.

Mongolians are universally embarrassed at the events of July 1 and the damage it has caused to this country’s reputation as a “peaceful democracy.” These elections were meant to be a time to move past the political instability of the outgoing hung Parliament. The country needs to regroup and demonstrate that Mongolia is still open for business. Mongolia’s leaders likewise need to find common ground on resolving election disputes. The sooner they can do this, the better.

Mr. Kohn is the author of “Dateline Mongolia: An American Journalist in Mongolia” (RDR Books, 2006).

The link is here

Yurt Democracy As Mongolia Prepares for Elections

2008-06-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the election preview I wrote for AFP.

ULAN BATOR (AFP) — Amid Soviet tenements and glassy high rises, Rintsen Naranchimeg feels right at home inside her "democracy yurt".

A volunteer for Mongolia's Democratic Party, she has manned the felt tent for the better part of three weeks, disseminating party propaganda and educating young voters in the run-up to Sunday's election.

More than 400 candidates are vying for 76 seats in the Great Hural, the nation's parliament.
"The Democrats are the best party for the country," Naranchimeg informed a pair of pensioners who wandered in from busy Peace Avenue. "They brought us democracy and freedom."

Nearly two decades after Mongolia gave up communism in favor of democratic reforms and capitalism, people still recall with gratitude the young students, intellectuals and dissidents who helped usher in the age of democracy.

Mongolia, with just 2.6 million people spread across a landscape the size of Alaska, is now trying to elbow its way into the globalised world.

It sends peacekeeping troops to Iraq and Sierra Leone, supports a robust civil society movement and encourages freedom of the press.

Few take the new freedoms for granted and voter turnout regularly tops 80 percent. Nomads from the vast steppes to the Gobi Desert may ride 30 or 40 kilometres (20 or 25 miles) on horseback to reach a polling station.

In past elections the fickle electorate generally sided with the opposition. This time, however, there is no opposition.

In the 2004 election the Democrats wound up virtually tied with their main rival, the ex-communist Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). The two parties have since been locked in an uneasy coalition.

"The national unity government did not get the people's business done," said US businessman Peter Morrow, the CEO of Khan Bank, Mongolia's biggest.

"I don't think that many of those politicians would disagree with that. They are all as frustrated as everyone else."

Neither side seems to have an advantage in this election either. Polls by the non-profit Sant Maral Foundation show a dead heat between the two big parties, each controlling about 25 percent of the vote.

Around 15 percent of voters prefer independent candidates and smaller parties while a third of those polled were undecided.

Rather than searching for ideological differences, the Democrats have tried appealing to voters' pocket books, promising to dole out one million togrog (864 dollars) to every citizen. Upon hearing this, the MPRP raised the stakes to 1.5 million togrog (1,293 dollars).

"Either way, the people win," said Dagdan Baljinyam, 58, who visited the Democratic Party yurt. "It's money that can really help people that are struggling."

And people are struggling. One third of the population lives on two dollars a day, infrastructure is inadequate and derelict suburbs are spreading across the capital, filled with migrants in search of work.

But the economy is definitely on an upward march, thanks mainly to surging prices of its major commodities, copper and gold. Last year the gross domestic product grew by 9.9 percent.
"The country is experiencing unseen tide of development," said MPRP secretary general Yondon Otogonbayar.

"Our party platform promises a lot more infrastructure development. We'll connect all the provincial capitals to paved roads and build flyovers in Ulan Bator to reduce traffic."
More economic gains are expected with the development of Oyu Tolgoi, an enormous copper deposit in the Gobi Desert, valued at 38 billion dollars.

But progress on the mine stalled when the primary investor, Canada-based Ivanhoe Mines, was unable to sign a final contract with the government, blaming a heavy windfall tax slapped on mining companies in 2006.

Attempting to regain investor confidence, the government recently tried backpedalling on the tax but parliament could not approve the changes by its final session. The legislation will be on the onus of the next parliament.

"We know the tax caused a decrease in mining," admitted Otgonbayar. "If we don't find a proper balance fast enough foreigners may feel fatigue from frequently changing laws. We need more stability."

you can find the link here.

Back to Mongolia

2008-06-11T18:53:00.000-07:00

This week, Baigalmaa and I returned to Mongolia from California. We flew to Ulaanbaatar via Beijing which gave us a chance to see the new Terminal 3 (T-3), the world’s largest airport terminal (even bigger than the highly touted Terminal 5 at Heathrow). To say it was impressive would be an understatement. The arrivals hall is an enormous V-Shaped dome the size of a couple of an American football stadium, maybe bigger. Staring up at the roof made me slightly dizzy. But that was only the arrivals portion of the new terminal. The departure area was a second domed structure that appeared to be even bigger than the arrivals hall. The two are connected by a tram.

The style of the building is contemporary-Chinese, with long arching curves and Beijing color schemes (crimson and gold). The new terminal is used for international flights while the old terminal (Terminal 2) is now used primarily as a domestic airport. T-2 does maintain a few international flights, including the flight to Mongolia so we had to transfer between the terminals by bus. The transfer was not terribly efficient (the bus nearly collided with a car on the highway!) but I suspect they will eventually connect the terminals by tram.

Because most of the international flights have been moved to T-3, the old airport (now referred to as Terminal 2) is strangely quiet. Our flight was the only one going out that hour so pretty much the only people in the airport were Mongolians wheeling their enormous cardboard box luggage through the terminal. Because no cargo planes fly to Mongolia, anything that comes in by air is brought by private people on the MIAT and Air China flight - luggage restrictions seem lax as best.

We shuffled off to our gate and enjoyed an easy two-hour trip to Ulaanbaatar’s Chinggis Khaan airport. Mongolia is also planning a new airport, mainly because the current runway is on a slope and too short for jumbo jets. Three cars met us at the airport – two of them were filled with Baigalmaa’s family and a third was brought along to haul us and our mountainous luggage.

We set ourselves up in our apartment, a three-room place on a quiet street overlooking the Russian embassy. It’s very central, right around the corner from the State Department Store and a five minute walk from Sukhbaatar Square. Being jet-lagged, we managed to get up very early and had a walk down to the Square to get a feel for the neighborhood changes. Indeed there were many. We counted 20 cranes just around the downtown area. Most of the construction projects are ugly, glass tower eyesores that reminded me of office buildings along Highway 101 between San Francisco and San Jose. Probably the most interesting one is shaped like a ships’ sail, and reminded me of the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai.

The service sector also seems to be booming. New restaurants, shops and businesses are opening everywhere. The new Lonely Planet, on the bookstore shelves for only a month, already seems out of date.

Also catching our attention is the Parliamentary election campaigning. Campaign billboards and signs are plastered everywhere, but unlike the US campaign, which started about a year and a half ago, the campaign has only been going for a week or so. The election is scheduled for June 29. So far campaigning has been in the form of candidates cars driving around the courtyards, blaring information over loudspeakers. We have also had a few doorknockers, young campaigners handing out promotion material for their candidates – one of them handed us a roll of toilet paper with the candidates name on it.

We expect in the days and weeks to come that there will be more public forums. So who has the lead in polls? It looks like the MPRP has a slight advantage but maybe not enough to get a majority. It should be an interesting campaign so stay tuned.

Interview with Rick Steves on Tibet

2008-05-15T04:11:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed last year by Rick Steves on the topic of Tibet. You can hear it here.

What Happened in San Francisco?

2008-04-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

So it seems that what went down today was in fact not representative of the city of the San Francisco. The government of China paid for buses to carry Chinese people into the city as part of its Olympic PR campaign. CW Nevius writes in the Chronicle today on what happened at the torch relay…

Torch Relay Changes Course

2008-04-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

I arrived at AT&T Park about an hour before the event was supposed to start and found the place in a state of chaos. China supporters waving Olympic flags, Chinese flags and signs came out in huge numbers. The crowd was estimated at 10,000 people. I’d guess that about 10-20% of these people had come to protest the event. There were pro-Tibet groups and people who protest China’s support of the government in Sudan, as well as smaller groups like pro-Burma. Many of the Chinese had come by chartered bus from all around the state.

However, nobody was waiting for the torch; they were too busy screaming at each other. Chants of “Free Tibet” could be heard from the Tibet groups while the Chinese shouted slogans like “Dalai Lair”

The whole affair was pretty heated as you can see from this video footage of two Darfur protestors being harangued by a group of Chinese. (Look for video called: Pro, Anti-China Demonstrators in SF)

After an hour of screaming, shouting, pushing and shoving, everyone realized the torch was not coming our way. We had all been duped. I reckon this type of careful management will be carried all the way through the torch relay and into the games themselves.

Tibet Rally Held in UN Plaza on Eve of Torch Relay

2008-04-09T09:41:00.001-07:00

I went to the Free Tibet rally last night in the UN Plaza in San Francisco. The speakers included Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Richard Gere and various other advocates for peace and human rights. One of the speakers was a Kalmyk from Russia who spoke on behalf of all Mongols.

Desmond Tutu gave a very emotional speech praising the Dalai Lama and his efforts to choose a path of peaceful protest. Richard Gere declared hope that the leaders of China will wake up and "see the error of their ways." About 2000 people turned up and many held candles in honor of the people of Tibet.

Travels Along China's Silk Road

2008-03-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of researching the Lonely Planet China guide. Odd time of year to be rolling around China, I know, but this is just how its been slotted into my schedule. My areas of research include Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. I’ve been flung out here because of my experience in travel along Silk Road destinations and this is ground zero for lovers of that fabled route.

Gansu follows the Silk Road from Lanzhou way out west to Dunhuang. It was in the caves near Dunhuang where some of the greatest Silk Road treasures were discovered by 20th century explorers (the foreign devils). My favorite spot in Gansu, however, is Xiahe. This is an important Tibetan pilgrimage place and people in colorful dress are constantly streaming through. I spent a lovely few days up in Xiahe, soaking in the atmosphere and filling up on tasty banana pancakes in the backpacker cafes.

Gansu is also home to a minority people called the Dongxiang. These folks claim to be descendents of Mongol troops leftover from wars some 800 years ago. Culturally they are similar to the Hui Muslims, however their language is definitely derived from Mongolian. I spoke with them for a while and found many common words between their language and Mongolian. Words for common nouns were almost the same, such colors, articles of clothing, natural land features etc.

Ningxia is significant as one of the great battlegrounds between the Mongols and their southern foes. Ghengis Khan clashed with Tangut troops here and pretty much wiped out their Xi Xia empire. Old Ghengis says his last days in the southern part of this province, near the town of Guyuan. Ningxia sees very few foreign tourists, but the town of Zhongwei has been developed for the domestic tourist market. I had a nice break here in the warm sun, enjoying the temples, museums and nearby dunes.

Another interesting destination I hit on this trip was Bayan Khot, a town just inside Inner Mongolia, not far from Yinchuan. Bayan Khot has a significant population of Mongols, which made conversation easy for me. Bayan Khot has a locally famous market for stones and precious gems. It also has a temple and aristocrat home that survived the Cultural Revolution. A little was south of Bayan Khot is Baruun Khuree (see photo), a large monastery famed for housing the remains of the sixth Dalai Lama. The place was pulverized during the Cultural Revolution and it has been badly restored. But there are some Mongol monks here so it makes for an interesting trip for a Mongolphile.

August 1 eclipse

2008-02-07T00:14:00.000-08:00

On August 1, 2008, a solar eclipse will occur in western Mongolia. It will last around 2 minutes and 10 seconds. It will be visible in Khovd and Bayan Ölgii, the former is the drier of the two and offers the best chance for clear skies.

Khovd, a harsh desert portrait of salt lakes and mirages, lies 1500km west of the capital Ulaanbaatar. Flying is the best way to get there but tickets are in short supply. Tickets from the airlines MIAT, AeroMongolia and EZ Nis actually won’t go on sale until May. Independent travelers with lots of time on their hands may want to hire a jeep in Ulaanbaatar and make the 4-5 drive to Khovd. Plan early!

Mongolia Slide Show

2008-01-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

For those of you who did not get a chance to see my slide show, I have put some of the images in a video clip. Oh, and it has sound (funky Mongolian music) so if you are in a public place turn the sound down first or plug in headphones!

San Francisco Asian Film Festival

2007-11-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

The San Francisco Asian Film Festival has come to a close and I was able to catch two Mongolia-related films. I had wanted to see the Japanese produced Ghengis Khan epic but I couldn’t make it to the opening and it was only showed once, not sure why.

I did make it to Peter Brosens film Khadakh, as well as an Inner Mongolian flick called Tuya’s Marriage. They were very different films.

I had seen Brosens other film, State of Dogs, and wasn’t terribly fond of it. In that story he mixes a bizarre sort of docu-drama with fantasy realism that is not really my cup of tea. Still, State of Dogs was able to maintain some sense of drama and suspense. Khadakh falls under the same kind of fantasy-realist genre but it really didn’t offer much suspense at all. But the biggest problem with the film was simply the amateurish acting, directing and cinematography. There was zero effort put into giving the film a professional look and feel. There was a scene towards the end where chaos was supposedly ensuing and lots of people were running frantically around the town. But the extras used had obviously no clue as to what they were supposed to be doing and were just sort of jogging around the set aimlessly. Frankly, I have seen high school film projects with a more professional look than this one. However, I am not even sure that a quality production team would have done much for this film. The acting was flat and the story wasn’t really going anywhere. There were five minute scenes of people peeling potatoes, sitting on train cars or inside mine control rooms, saying absolutely nothing. I know that is Brosens style, but I find it entirely unecesary; it's not contemplative as it attempts to be, it is simply boring.

Tuya’s Marriage was also a low-budget film but the acting and directing was far superior to that of Khadakh. It was a Chinese-made film set in Inner Mongolia. The story centered on the sad fate of a herder named Tuya, whose husband Baatar was crippled while digging a well. Because of his injury, Tuya must support the family. When she herself is injured a solution has to be found in order for the family to survive. Thus, Tuya decides to legally divorce her husband, marry another man, but still live with Baatar. Suitors come and go and after a series of mini tragedies Tuya winds up back at the homestead debating whether or not to marry the young farmhand who has known the family for years. There is a healthy amount of humor thrown into a story that is basically one of heartache. The movie won a prestigious Golden Berlin Bear award and deserves it. This will probably be available on Netflix at some point.

Mongolian Guanze in Oakland

2007-11-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

Today Gail and myself went to meet our friend Enki in Oakland at the Mongolian restaurant. It’s located across the street from the Oakland Public Library, very close to Lake Merritt. The sign on the outside of the restaurant said: Pizza – Korean BBQ.

We entered and found a little hole-in-the-wall join with a few Mongolians sitting in booths. The menu on the wall was in English and had things like pizza, pork ribs and sandwiches but nothing in Mongolian. A small blackboard described the Mongolian food menu – in Cyrillic. Basically, if you were American and didn’t know better, you’d have no idea the place was run by Mongolians and served Mongolian food. Needless to say, it falls a little short on the public relations front.

I ordered buuz (dumplings), Gail ordered nogootei shuul (vegetable soup) and Enki ordered khuushuur (meat paties). We all had suutei tsai (salty milky tea). The food was mediocre even by Mongolian guanze standards but it was still fun to get a taste of Mongolia.

Although there wasn’t really any sign outside there was a little takeaway menu inside that called the place: Pizza Rama. The address is: 138 14th St. and the telephone number is: 510-465-3712.

2007-09-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Lake Sevan, which the Soviets attempted to drain, rather unsuccessfully.

2007-09-18T10:16:00.001-07:00

Monastery at Odzun, northern Armenia

2007-09-18T10:11:00.001-07:00

Monastery at Sanahin

In the Land of Armens

2007-09-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate enough to be assigned the task of updating the Armenia section of an upcoming Lonely Planet guide, and spent the past week rambling through the north of the country. A few quick notes about the place:

*Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity and since the early 300s this religion has been the pillar of Armenian national identity. The north of the country has numerous ancient churches and monasteries that stand as testament to longevity of Armenian Christianity. Almost all the ones I visited were of a similar shape and design – stone buildings with vaulted ceilings and cone-topped towers. Most are in good shape and those that are not are being renovated. For me, the most interesting was at Haghartsin, where a stone carving outside the monastery depicts Mother Mary and Baby Jesus with distinctively Mongolian faces – the relief was created to deter Mongol hordes from destroying the church.

*Around 20% of Armenian men are named Armen. A national pride thing.

*Yerevan, the capital, is a surprisingly European city. There are sidewalk cafes absolutely everywhere and they are always packed with people. European fashions, liberal attitudes, cel phones and rows of BMWs are all part of the scene.

*The genocide of Armenians by Turkish forces in the early part of the century is still a very contentious issue, largely because the Turks deny the event ever happened. As a result Turkey and Armenia have poor relations. They do some trading, but everything has to be flown in or come through Georgia.

*Armenia had a war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990s (over disputed territory) and there still is no final peace agreement, thus the Armenians have poor relations with Azerbaijan as well as Turkey.

*But the Armenians do get on well with the Georgians, their neighbors to the north, but as a landlocked country it remains isolated from trade markets. Most imports come from Russia, but tariffs are high since everything has to come via Georgia. As a result, Armenia is bloody expensive!

*Armenian food can be fantastic. A couple of nights ago the guesthouse I was staying at laid out a spread of grilled meats, vegetables and fresh fruit. They eat plenty of dolma (meat wrapped in vine leaves) but the favorite local treat is khorovats (grilled beef, pork and lamb). Everything is very fresh and grown in local villages. Dinner is accompanied by unending rounds of vodka shots (the local stuff is distilled from mulberries, apricots or peaches).

I am back in Yerevan for a couple days of rest and will head to the southern part of the country later this week. My assignment includes Nororno-Karabakh, the territory that is disputed with Azerbaijian. It’s made out to be the most beautiful part of the country.

Ulaanbaatar’s Millionth Citizen, No Cause Celebe

2007-06-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

When Ulaanbaatar’s official population hit one million people in April, the city authorities decided this milestone was cause for celebration. Three newborns were credited as the city’s official millionth citizens, an honor that earned each a set of keys to brand new apartments.

But who really deserved such a title? Quaint as it may be to honor to the newborns, it’s more likely that Ulaanbaatar’s one millionth citizen was an internal migrant from the countryside, arriving in the capital without money or prospects for work. The statistics tell the truth behind the city smokescreen – over the past three years Ulaanbaatar’s population has increased by 12% while the population of rural aimags (provinces) have decreased on average 1-3%. In other words, Ulaanbaatar’s celebration is at the expense of rural areas, a cause for concern and a signal that regional development policies have failed.

While the race a better life in the city may seem attractive to Mongolia’s rural poor, the rapid urbanization of the country is having a critical impact on several fronts. Ulaanbaatar in particular is struggling to bear the burden of so many people, its infrastructure unable to cope with the influx of cars and people. Traffic jams wreak havoc while expanding suburbs of gers (tents traditionally used by nomads) crawl up once virgin hillsides. Mounting garbage and pit toilets threaten to pollute the water supply and in winter a thick haze hovers over the city, the combination of cars and coal-burning stoves that heat the yurt-like homes.

Meanwhile, the newly arrived migrants are not finding life in Ulaanbaatar to be much easier than the countryside. Last year, only 2.5% of the internal migrants to Ulaanbaatar found permanent housing. Others eke out an existence in outlying ger districts that lack basic necessities such as running water and electricity. The highly touted 40,000 homes project, which seeks to build apartments for low-income families, proceeds at a pace too slow to keep up with demand. If current trends continue, half of the national population will live in Ulaanbaatar within ten years.

A quick look at a map shows that Mongolia does have other cities and it would be logical to assume that internal migrants might turn up in other places seeking work. Yet Mongolia’s other cities offer few employment options. For private companies, Ulaanbaatar is the only legitimate base for business activity: it is the national transport hut and the major entrepôt for goods. It’s literally impossible for foreign investment to go directly to the provinces because they lack the infrastructure to accept goods, people and services – everything must be routed through Ulaanbaatar. The biggest public works project in the country – a single paved road from east to west – only seems like a funnel to bring products into and out of the capital. Plans for the road network, however, do not include regional links to neighboring Russia and China – a situation that only intensifies the rural dependency on the capital.

Tax collection is another area of concern. Three years ago the IMF imposed a unified monetary policy whereby monies are collected from the provinces and then redistributed as the national government sees fit. Local and provincial governments are unable to reap the rewards of a prosperous local economy, which only discourages regional development. This centralized political atmosphere has made provinces wholly dependent on top down decisions, which are rarely in the best interest of isolated countryside towns that barely register on the map. Provincial reliance on the central government is so great that most governors make their home in Ulaanbaatar; poised to pounce at the first sign of a handout.

Watching the population shift from one area to another, and then having the impudence to celebrate this fact, is a shortsightedness that threatens national development. Ulaanbaatar must quickly recognize that its rapid growth is sucking the life out of rural areas and pursue a policy to both discourage internal migration and develop regional economies. Achieving this would require the maximizing of political and economic autonomy to village, county and provincial level governments. Once the umbilical cord from the capital is severed, rural areas will have the opportunity to collect and spend tax money on projects they deem necessary, and create their own trade links with Russia, China and beyond. In time, Mongolia’s burgeoning mining and tourism sectors will develop to the point where both can support local areas. Market economics will dictate where the jobs will be available, but the government must first do its part to stop the internal hemorrhage that threatens to drown out the capital.

Nomads search for "greener" pastures

2007-05-20T20:23:00.000-07:00

On a recent trip to eastern Mongolia it was somewhat alarming to note the absence of gers on prime grasslands. My driver Dorj and I concurred that the grasslands seemed particularly empty because everyone had gone to Ulaanbaatar. Indeed, having seen some recent population figures, I can say that 15 out of 18 provinces have decreased in population over the past three years. Population figures tended to drop by 2-3% in most places. Meanwhile, the population of Ulaanbaatar has grown by 13% over the same period. The population of the capital is now over one million people. Most of these internal migrants have taken up residents in the ger districts, which are now overflowing into neighboring valleys. Stemming the tide of these new residents seems a low priority for the government, which recently celebrated the one millionth citizen by awarding apartments to specially selected newborns.

Great Changes Afoot

2007-04-21T16:56:00.001-07:00

I am continually astounded by the changes occurring in Mongolia. Construction is absolutely booming here in the capital, with new building being thrown up on every imaginable patch of ground. Amazingly, city authorities have allowed this private development to occur without any accompanying urban development scheme. So while the population has doubled in the past 8 years only one new road has been constructed in that time. Needless to say, chaos reigns supreme.

A closer look on the ground shows that much of the private investment has spurned good ideas. There are better restaurants and hotels all around and more pop up all the time. There is even a swish new airline. Somewhat astonishingly, urbanites have grown to appreciate international cuisine. I suspect that many of the people frequenting the nouveaux cuisine restaurants are Mongols that have been abroad and gained a taste for pizza. But another welcome sight is the many high standard Mongolian food restaurants, where people are actually paying $3 for a plate of huushuur. My favorite new place is Narya, a small coffee shop with wi-fi that has become of hive of activity for students, volunteers and young Mongolian professionals. Very chic.

Back to the Steppes

2007-04-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

Having signed up for another tour of duty on the Lonely Planet Mongolia guide, I departed San Francisco for a three month stint in Mongolia.

The first leg of my journey was a flight on United to Beijing. May layover required an overnight stay before my connecting flight on MIAT to UB. I arrived in China without a visa, and was pleasantly surprised to see that my onward ticket allowed me to stay in the country for 24 hours without a visa. I was a little concerned they were going to make me stay in a transit lounge all night, but this was not the case.

Once in Beijing I found a hostel, said hello to old colleagues at the AP office, and took a quick shopping trip to the Silk Alley. For those of you who have not been to the Silk Alley, imaging a five level shopping mall, but instead of shops its jam packed with thousands of tiny stalls where locals sell all manner of knock offs. Some of the stuff is actually real, having fallen off the back of some truck, but 90% is fake (although it can be hard to tell the real stuff from the fakes). Everything is dirt cheap and the salesgirls are ruthless, literally hanging onto your arm until you buy something.

An early morning flight brought me back to UB. Changes continue at a rapid clip here, with lots of apartments built everywhere and rather haphazardly. Probably the most respectable new building is a huge new memorial in front of the Parliament House, lorded over by a bronze statue of Chingis Khan. Weather wise its warmer than I expected, and sunny. I'll use this window of good weather to hit the streets start research. If anyone has a tips for some great new restaurants to check out, I'm listening...

Dateline Mongolia review

2007-01-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

This article is currently running on the website of East Bay Express:

Our Man in Mongolia
By Kelly Vance
As legend would have it, Bay Area native Michael Kohn has spent most of his life on the road, from his youth on the California coast to a cruise aboard the SS Universe to Bahamas, Latin America, India, and China; then on to Nepal, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Colorado, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Israel, Myanmar, and points in between.

Mongolia was obviously one of Kohn’s favorite stops — as Lonely Planet travel guides’ Mongolia man, he speaks the language and has hung out all over that semi-autonomous Northeast Asian region, from the Gobi desert and the Altai mountains to the capital, Ulaanbaatar. He was also the main author for guides to Tibet and Colombia, and helped out compiling info for three more volumes. In addition to writing for Lonely Planet, Kohn reports from faraway places for such news orgs as The New York Times, South China Morning Post, and the BBC. But his main job for three years was editor of The Mongol Messenger, Mongolia’s state-owned newspaper. So when he claims, for instance, that the government’s new tax on mining companies is making foreign investors in that country nervous, you’d best believe it.

Kohn’s newest book, appropriately titled Dateline Mongolia: An American Journalist in Nomad’s Land, details what he saw when he arrived in the late ’90s: a country in transition from the traditional, isolated Mongolia of rugged people living in gers (aka yurts) in a wild and beautiful landscape to a place eager to join the world marketplace, where SUVs and the Internet are more important than yaks and camels. In other words, a place like any other — except that it’s situated in one of the most distinctive regions on the planet, the steppes that bred Genghis Khan.

Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) at the Hayward Public Library, Kohn presents a slide show and talks about Dateline Mongolia. Got a question about travel to this untamed land or anywhere else in Asia? Ask him. On his Web site, MichaelKohn.us, he lists his favorite travel destinations: Kabul, Jerusalem, Lhasa, New Zealand (South Island), Cartagena, Syria, Burma, Georgia, Ladakh, Mongolia, and New York. Tell him yours. In the meantime, we asked Kohn if there is anywhere in the world he’s always wanted to visit. His reply: “Well, lots of places. But if I had to narrow it down I’d say the first would be North Korea and the second would be Iran. North Korea for the strangeness of the place and Iran because I’d like to see the reality beyond the media myths.”

Dateline Mongolia Released!

2007-01-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

My new book Dateline Mongolia has been published by RDR Books. It came out in late December and has been slowly making its way into stores and online retailers.

The best way to get the book is through my website, which allows me to sign it for you. You can also buy the book through the publisher and amazon.com. It will soon be available in stores, so look out for it the next time you go to Barnes & Noble.

The book is 345 pages and has 20 chapters that covers such topics as: hunting for wolves in minus 30 degree temperatures, tracking down Arab falcon smugglers, witnessing rare Shamanic ceremonies and looking for cattle rustlers on the Mongolian-Russian border.

The title of the book refers to my days spent working at the Mongol Messenger in Ulaanbaatar. The theme of the book is centred around my life at the paper and the people with whom I worked. The book also includes 16 pages of color photos.

The most dangerous job in Kabul

2006-10-20T12:11:00.000-07:00

Entry 5 October 20, 2006
Not your everyday travelers’ experience, today I am watching landmines being removed from a hillside in Kabul.

First I contact OMAR, which is the Afghan agency responsible for disposing of UXO (unexploded ordinance) in Afghanistan, and request an interview with the director. Thirty minutes later the director pulls up to my guesthouse in a shiny new SUV, rolls down the window, and orders me inside. I climb in and he twists around to explain that we are headed for a hill near town where de-miners are currently working. Sure, why not.

We reach the hill and a commanding officer briefs me on the number of mines removed from the hillside, the areas that have been cleared and those left to clear. He hands me a
Kevlar apron and a helmet with a clear blast shield to wear while we tour the area. I feel like Luke about to fly a tie-fighter.

Walking into a mine field isn’t as crazy as it sounds. OK, maybe a little crazy, but there was a clearly defined ‘safe path’, marked by white stones. Any area circled by red stones indicated places that had not been cleared. The de-miners work from around 7am until noon and when the work is done the blow up the UXOs using trigger devices. As we walk along the safe path each de-miner stopped to salute to the commander and bark out their progress for the day.

It was easy to the see the landmines – they are everywhere and just a few feet away from me. Some are partially exposed, the rain having dislodged the dirt that once covered them. Some had even come loose from the soil and lay in bushes or small water channels. They look like green hockey pucks. I lean in to photograph a few of them and no one bats an eye.

We hike up to the top of the mountain. There is a military installation here patrolled by German NATO troops. The ground below their watch tower is littered with rubble from fighting and air strikes. Bullet holes riddle the walls and one entire building is now flat like a pancake, thanks to a US smart bomb dropped here four years ago.

It’s almost noon and the UXOs collected today are about to be detonated in a controlled explosion. Nearby is a small home where children are playing and a woman is washing clothes. They moved up the hill when the parcel of land was cleared from mines. Their backyard is filled with UXOs, but this seems to be the price to pay for cheap real estate in Kabul.

Behind the boulder we wait until we see the dust billow on the hillside, and then the sound of the blast a split second later. I record the blasts of eight landmines as their thunderous sound echoes down the valley. When it’s over we head down hill to join the other de-miners. Their work is done for the day and they climb into a truck that will take them down the mountain. It has to be the most dangerous job in Afghanistan but they do it with pride.

“We saved eight lives today,” one of them tells me. And that’s reason enough to come back tomorrow.

Turquoise Mountain Foundation

2006-10-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Entry Four - October 19

Just about every NGO and humanitarian organization on the planet has an office in Kabul. I have been told there are approximately 10,000 foreigners living in the city, all employed by one or another organization. (This is where your tax dollars are going).

Most of these groups do economic development work and humanitarian assistance, but there is one organization that is attempting to resurrect Afghanistan’s shattered culture. The Turquoise Mountain Foundation (TMF) was initiated by President Karzai jointly with Prince Charles. Operations here in Kabul are managed by Rory Stewart, a former UK diplomat who walked across Afghanistan a few years ago. TMF is just getting started but it’s a promising project that hopes to revitalize and part of the Old City. Click here to read my story about the project.

Security in Kabul

2006-10-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

Entry Three - October 16

Muqim has been concerned about me going out in Kabul and today I found out why. I was with one of his drivers at the Ministry of Tourism, close to the airport. We were there to interview the head of Afghan tourism association (yes, there is such a thing). While inside the building the windows started to shake. Everyone inside knew what had happened – car bomb.

We left soon after (the person I wanted to meet was not available, not surprisingly), and started driving back to town. On the road we saw where the explosion occurred – about two kilometers from the airport on the main road into town. Throngs of people were rushing to the site to inspect the damage. Apache helicopters were soon circling overhead, swooping down for a closer look.

The bomb site was littered with car parts and the remains of a motorcycle which had been caught up in the attack. Three school girls were severely injured in the bombing. The actual target remains unknown.

The victims had already been taken away by the time I got there and the only people around were the police, firefighters and a handful of journalists snapping photos.

All up and down the road the sidewalks were littered with shattered glass, as the bomb had blown out the windows of the nearby shop fronts. Local Afghans milled about the site until the police started shooing them away.

We returned to the car and headed back to the guesthouse. On the way the road was lined with checkpoints as the police were searching for accomplices. We heard over the CB that a demonstration was taking place in the direction of our travel, and made more maneuvers to avoid it. Muqim didn’t want his car or client attacked by an angry mob. The demonstration and the car bomb were apparently unrelated.

The security in Kabul has been deteriorating over the past couple of months, with suicide attacks occurring once every one or two weeks. This is in contrast to a year ago, when the city was relatively calm. The situation, however, is worse in southern Afghanistan where the Taliban has come back in force. An Italian journalist was apparently kidnapped last week, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Ultimate Frisbee in Kabul

2006-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Entry 2 - October 13, 2006

Friday is the weekend in Afghanistan so much of Kabul was closed for the day. Friday is also the day that Kabul’s expatriates get together at the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) headquarters for a bit of sport and leisure.

Entering the military compound I noticed on the right a bazaar. It is here on Fridays that locals set up a makeshift marketplace for soldiers, hawking everything from carpets and traditional knives to counterfeit DVDs. The market is set up in here because ISAF soldiers are forbidden from entering Kabul’s market - as they would be an easy target for a bomb attack. On the other side of the market, across a couple of concrete barriers is the sport field where I found soldiers playing touch rugby and a group of aid workers and journalists playing ultimate Frisbee.

I joined the 20 or so aid workers for the casual match. Despite the warm weather, the foreign women arrive in long pants, jackets and headscarves - to appear in public less covered would be scandalous.

Expatriate communities tend to be rather incestuous and several people had previously worked together in other parts of the world. I didn’t know anyone myself but one woman who works for Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has a few colleagues that I know from Mongolia.

Among the ranks of expats I met engineers, journalists, embassy staff and USAID workers. Afghanistan is also a big draw for authors and in the past couple of days I had met Christina Lamb (author of The Sewing Circles of Heart) and Rory Stewart (author of the Places in Between).

Afghans are a little less enthusiastic about all these journalists running around their country. Walking in the park later in the evening, I chatted with one fellow who didn’t see the point in journalists coming to his country if Afghanistan received nothing in return. Five years after the fall of the Taliban, he saw no changes for the better in his country, and chastised the US for doing nothing to help his people.

It’s true that had the US facilitated a rapid reconstruction of Afghanistan (without flushing away 300 million dollars a day in Iraq), the country would have been much better off. At least, perhaps, there might be a regular electricity, basic health facilities and books in the schools. Instead, it remains critically impoverished and facing the threat of the Taliban resurgence. Of course, I didn’t admit that to the man, reasoning instead that progress would take more time, although he didn’t seem to be buying a word of it.

As we spoke a couple of military helicopters flew overhead, perhaps off to fight a war that most Afghans wish would simply end

Kabul First Impressions

2006-10-10T15:44:00.000-07:00

Entry One - Oct 10, 2006

After 48 hours of transit (via Hong Kong and Delhi), I arrived at Kabul international airport. The Indian airlines flight that took me here contained all of four Westerners; three NGO workers and me. One was a woman from Norway – she was the only female passenger on the plane.

Afghanistan from the air reminded me of Nevada – brown and desolate. We sailed over the mud-brick outskirts of Kabul and jutted to a halt outside the terminal, marked by a big portrait of the national hero (and former Northern Alliance leader) Ahmad Shah Masood. Airport security fast-tracked me to the front of the immigration line, hoping for some baksheesh (tip).

Outside I was met by Wahid of Afghan Logistics, a local tour company. Afghan Logistics doesn’t receive a whole lot of tourists (even in the peak tourist season of June and July the country only gets around 200 tourists per week), but they do get a lot of work from journalists, NGOs, aid organizations and embassies, who hire out their cars, drivers, guides and translators.

Wahid brought me into town, stopping off at the US embassy en route so I could register my passport. The embassy resembles a military fortress, and is surrounded by gates, bunkers, sandbags, concrete barriers and sharpshooters. From here we continued to the Afghan Logistics office, where I met the owner Muqim, a sharply dressed fellow clutching four cell phones as he shook my hand (Afghanistan has several mobile phone carriers but none are really compatible, so he needs a different phone for each carrier).

The guesthouse was clean and comfortable, basically a small house with three guestrooms. He has satellite TV, with BBC, CNN etc., and wi-fi Internet, which only works when the generator is working. Surprisingly, Kabul has almost no regular electricity so anyone that wants power has to supply it with their own generator.

Wahid took me on a little walking tour of the city. I found central Kabul to be surprisingly low key. Traffic was light, the streets were fairly quiet and pleasantly lined with trees and small parks. There were some signs of development, including a few glassy new buildings and a shopping mall, but its quiet charm is still very much in evidence.

The main shopping area for foreigners, ‘Chicken St’, is lined with souvenir shops selling everything from carpets and ‘Masood’ hats to knives and jewelry. There are a few new restaurants around, mainly catering to expats, including a French place that forbids Afghans (because it serves alcohol).

A few streets south of the quiet centre, is the Kabul River, polluted and filled with trash. On the opposite bank is Kabul’s Old City – which is where the real Afghanistan begins. Jam-packed with humanity, the Old City is a outdoor market with Afghans selling every imaginable good. Here there are also workshops and craft makers, beating leather, shaping hats and carving wood. It was amazing and exhausting - women covered with blue burqas shopped for groceries, proud Afghans with rifles slung over their shoulders made their way through the crowds, barefoot children scampered amid the masses. Despite the chaos, people were patient, friendly and ever-smiling.

After a brief look I returned with Wahid to the cozy confines of the guesthouse. It is Ramadan so we had not eaten today, and sat down the others for a hearty meal and a dose of CNN.