Full Day At The Naadam Festival

July 12, 2019

Sukbaatar Square during the Naadam Festival (Ang Jangbu_Sherpa)

Ang Jangbu checked in after another great day at the Naadam Festival. The team started off the day by heading out to watch the horse race in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. Now, this horse race is not what we would typically envision when we read the text. This is a long distance horse race in the open area. Take it even further by this horse race being done mostly bareback and the riders are kids and is 13 miles in length! For anyone who had a dream of being a cowboy as a kid, this would be a dream come true!

After the horse race, our tour guide exposed the team to a traditional game with Ankle Bones. I had to look it up as well! After the Ankle Bone Games, the team had an opportunity to taste the fermented horse milk. This is an “interesting” tasting drink with a small amount of alcohol content. After all of the fun, the team returned back to the hotel and Ang Jangbu took a short walk down to the City Center wear there was live music and the Parliament Building was lit up in beautiful color. Jangbu said he thought “all of Ulaanbaatar was gathered to listen to music and enjoy the warm summer night.

Greg Vernovage