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More Naadam!

We left Bata's Guesthouse with our new friends Juliette and Thibault who agreed to travel with us to Khövsgöl Nuur a northern lake on the border with Russia, only a few hours away from Mörön. Khatgal is a town on the southern banks of the lake and is a popular base for horse trekking expeditions. We joined the many foreigners staying at a local hostel and discovered we had arrived on the day of Naadam.

Even though we had just finished attending two days of Naadam activities in Mörön, we couldn't pass up another opportunity for Mongolian wrestling and horse racing. There were a lot of tourists in attendance (at least 1/3 of the spectators) which detracted somewhat from the atmosphere, but competitors and local spectators seemed to ignore all of us with ease. And no we aren't the only foreigners allowed to be there, although we usually wish we were. Before negotiating the details of our horse trek (beginning the next day) we enjoyed an afternoon of intense Naadam competition in perfect (if a little bit hot) Mongolian summer weather.


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