Mongolian hospitality - A post by Hillarie

If a complete stranger knocked on your door would you invite them into your home and feed them your finest food? Would you share with them your freshly baked bread and hand churned butter? Would you bring our your silver dishes and cook a pot of homemade soup? Welcome to Mongolia! Here you will find hospitality and kindness at its very best.

One of the most memorable parts of our trip was visiting rural Mongolian herders in their gers (also known as yurts). Gers are scattered throughout the beautiful Mongolian landscape and are the primary rural dwelling in the Darhad valley region.

On our travel days, we would drive for hours on end and stop mid-day at a random person's ger. Our Mongolian guide would stick their head into the ger awaiting a nod of invitation from its inhabitants. With a wave of their hand, we would all be invited into the ger to enjoy some milk tea, fresh bread, milk skin, soup, yogurt, and Aaruul (Mongolian curd cheese).

Our time in the gers gave us such an interesting insight into daily Mongolian life. We had the honour of seeing into people's homes. We saw their beautiful furniture, their personal decorating touches, their kitchens, their kids - basically a snapshot of their everyday lives. It was so beautiful.

We also fell in love with the structural elements of the ger. They are simplistic yet perfectly balanced in their design. They are minimal yet beautiful. I would love to live in one and long to own one back in Canada. Maybe one day this dream will come true!