Pictured from L to R: Younghusband, Genghis Khan and Roy Berman
Last weekend I met up with Roy of “Mutantfrog.com”:http://www.mutantfrog.com/ during his eventful adventure in Nagoya (a soon-to-be-published post). He was just in time for the local celebration of the Mongolian lunisolar New Year festival “Tsagaan Sar”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsagaan_Sar. We met up with CA commenter Aceface at an amazing local Mongolian restaurant, the inside of which resembles a large “yurt”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yurt. We ate, drank and were merry. There was traditional clothing (as pictured above) and traditional socialist Mongolian karaoke. Best of all we were treated to a performance of “Khöömii”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_Tuvan_throat_singing#Khoomeii, the famous “throat-singing” of Mongolia. I have embedded a short two-minute sample of a Mongolian man playing the “Morin Khuur”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morin_Khuur and singing for your pleasure.
About Younghusband
Sir Francis Edward Younghusband (1863-1942) was a British explorer, army officer, military-political officer, and foreign correspondent born in India who led expeditions into Manchuria, Kashgar, and Tibet. He three times tried and failed to scale Mt. Everest and journeyed from China to India, crossing the Gobi desert and the Mustagh Pass (alt. c.19,000 ft/5,791 m) of the Karakoram mountain range in modern day Pakistan. Convinced of Russian designs on British interests in India, Younghusband proactively engaged in the nineteenth century spying and conflict over Central Asia between the British and the Russians known as the Great Game.
"Younghusband" is a Canadian who has spent a number of years bouncing back and forth between his home country and Japan. Fluent in Japanese and English with experience in numerous other languages from Spanish to Georgian, Younghusband has travelled throughout Asia. He graduated with an MA from the War Studies Department at the Royal Military College of Canada, where he focussed on the Japanese oil industry and energy security issues. He has recently returned to Canada from Japan, and is working in the technology sector.
I tasted a version of ayrag in Kazakhstan (with Curzon) and found it pretty nasty. I meant to order some anyway at the restaurant the other night but it just slipped my mind, as the Mongolians kept bringing around shots of Chingis brand vodka.
Pictured from L to R: Younghusband, Genghis Khan and Roy Berman
Loved the video — thanks for the post.
Maybe I’m just uncultured, but the video really reminded me of a kid belching The Star-Spangled Banner on “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
Were those bursts of static in the file straight out of your camera? If not, I’d try reconverting it.
Dunno where the static came from. I am replacing the video now.
Roy certainly looked like Young Leon Trotsky with that hat.
Very cool. Did you chaps toss back any ayrag?
I tasted a version of ayrag in Kazakhstan (with Curzon) and found it pretty nasty. I meant to order some anyway at the restaurant the other night but it just slipped my mind, as the Mongolians kept bringing around shots of Chingis brand vodka.
Roy visits Nagoya
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