In 2007, I started work in Mongolia as a geologist with the company, Gobi Coal and Energy Limited. The Chairman was Mohammed ‘Mo’ Munshi – a citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and with a young family in Beijing. The next few years were an amazing time, as I got an… Continue reading Ten Years Trapped in Mongolia – Time to get Mo Munshi home to Australia
Tag: Mongolia
Where Mongolians fought to the last man
“Would you like to see a Museum?” We were in one of the most remote parts of Mongolia – and I wondered what my driver was talking about. Work Place Health and Safety in Mongolia really came down to you – ‘Don’t Do Stupid Stuff – because any help was going to be a long,… Continue reading Where Mongolians fought to the last man
Of Wolves, Ibex and Mongolian Petroglyphs
In all my outings in Mongolia, I never saw a wolf – I only heard them howling while camping out one night (you can read about that here). Wolves, so I was told, are not a danger to humans – mostly. They are smart enough to avoid trouble, but a hungry wolf is a different… Continue reading Of Wolves, Ibex and Mongolian Petroglyphs
When Corals Lived in the Mongolian Gobi
Corals in Mongolia – is there a better example of dramatic Earth-change?! The Gobi Altai -the mountains flanking the Gobi Desert, are far from the sea. They are semi- arid, bitterly cold in the winter, with lots of bare rock and virtually no trees. Nomadic herders keep their flocks on the move, there is so… Continue reading When Corals Lived in the Mongolian Gobi
In Mongolia any fool can drive, but…
In five years or so in and out of Mongolia, I’ve criss-crossed thousands of kilometres by 4WD Landcruiser. But I’ve only taken the wheel once, and that was for a short hop back to a village when my driver wasn’t well. Let me explain. Technically, anyone can take the wheels of a 4WD and go… Continue reading In Mongolia any fool can drive, but…
Mongolia – crap, fire and herbal-tea
I once had a student come to me for help looking at sheep crap. It took the mystery out of what this stuff actually is. Under the microscope it’s quite a treasure-trove of little bits of plant leaf. From the various patterns you can tell what plants the sheep had been eating. The crap was… Continue reading Mongolia – crap, fire and herbal-tea
Mongolia – Nights under the nine stars of the Pleiades
Erik von Daniken’s ‘Chariots of the Gods’ came to my town when I was a kid. Alexandra, New Zealand was perhaps a bit information-starved. There was one-channel TV, radio of course, and a couple of newspapers. And then there were the ‘Pictures’ (one a week movie screenings at the cinema). So a well-marketed movie about space-travellers once… Continue reading Mongolia – Nights under the nine stars of the Pleiades
Mongolia – “Armour-piercing, mate”
“I’ll have to show these to my colleague”. The security guard at Brisbane’s International Airport took the two objects from my bum-bag and walked off. Oh shit… A few weeks before I had been travelling south through Mongolia’s South Gobi region. It’s basically a gravelly, rolling desert. In the middle of all this wide-open country,… Continue reading Mongolia – “Armour-piercing, mate”
Mongolia – The Ghost of Moron
It was on the flight back to UIaan Baatar that I remembered the ghost. My field partner, Nyambayar, and I had been working in an area near the Mongolian town of Moron (pronounced ‘muh-roon’). Moron lies in the far north of Mongolia and is the gateway to Lake Khovsgul. This is the largest body of water in… Continue reading Mongolia – The Ghost of Moron
Mongolia – From Death-threats to a camel-ride
It’s March 2009 in Mongolia and there is an ill-feeling along the Gobi Altai. The year before, and some months after the last time I was in the area, a massive flash-flood had barreled out of the mountains. It funneled down what is normally a broad, dry valley. Many nomads, camping in the valley, died.… Continue reading Mongolia – From Death-threats to a camel-ride