Sep 14 2007
Khovd
Here I am finally in Khovd. I flew in about 1pm on Tuesday and it’s been a whirlwind since.
The flight was surprisingly nice given some of the stories other PCVs were telling about domestic flights here. It was the size of a commuter jet or so with rows of 2 and 3. The flight was about 1 1/2 hours, and we even got an in-flight meal of a hyam (kind of like fatty goat bologna) sandwich and some cookies. I spent my time talking to my boss, looking out the window, and re-reading Robert Jordan books. I’m re-reading them mostly because they’re all in the PC reading library and because they take so much time – which I figure I’ll have a lot of. The scenery out the window was interesting – mostly uninhabited with a few white gers dotting the steppe. We flew over the edge of the desert too – you could see the sand dunes as they gradually transitioned into foothills and then mountains. Right around Khovd were some pretty tall mountains that have snow on their peaks year-round. The mountains in general here seem to be pretty old – they look more like eroded mountains you see in the Appalachians – but bare too. Maybe the erosion has been accelerated by the wicked wind they can have out here, though.
Landing in Khovd we pretty much walked off the tarmac and were out the door. Actually, the UB airport was maybe 1 1/2 times the size of the Lubbock, TX airport and the Khovd airport was definitely smaller than Love Field in Dallas. They hauled the luggage out and handed it out by number – so pretty important to not lose your claim tickets. In domestic flights they weigh literally everything so with my backpack of electronics and all I tipped the scales at over 150 pounds >_< I probably left the US with about 115 if they had weighed my carry-ons so I’ve been procuring stuff here left and right. I mostly blame the books and the heavy-duty sleeping bag PC issues, though I know I’ll be grateful for both. Essentially, about $160 in overage charges, of which PC paid for about $120.
The scenery here is kind of similar to what you might imagine on Mars – reddish brown gray sand and dirt and gravel that leads into brownish barren foothills that leads into craggy and barren reddish mountains. There are non-Mars parts too – there are rivers around here, and along those I presume there are green things and definitely small trees, not to mention actual human habitation. Fewer livestock roaming about than in Sukhbaatar.
My apartment is pretty nice. It’s essentially a bedroom and a kitchen, both about the same dimensions. I have the essentials – sink, stove, tables, bed, TV with cable. The extraneous stuff, like a fridge, I don’t have. Also interestingly, the heat here doesn’t kick citywide on until mid-October. It’s pleasant outside and I don’t mind, but since the hot water is linked to when the heat comes on I don’t have that either. When I get my hot pot thingy for boiling water I may take an improvised bucket bath – or maybe I’ll try bathing normally in the evening when presumably the water in the pipes has had all day to warm up a bit.
Anyway, that’s about it for life now. Working hard to settle in and looking forward to the weekend…
