The Ger

When we were at Hustai National Park, Jasmin and I got to visit a ger (yurt) that is the home of one of the park employees. The ger was fascinating. There was a satellite dish outside and a power line running to the ger. Immediately upon entering you go to the left. The guest/entertaining area is there and we were served traditional Mongolian salty tea. It tastes rather like you might think it does: like water you'd gargle with. There was a small table next to the chairs in that area that had some meat on it, just sitting there in a plastic bag, and when I say meat, I mean like a whole sheep. There was a TV in this area. Moving clockwise around the ger, next is the sleeping area. There were two futons; someone was sleeping on one of them. Next was the kitchen area, including a couple of cabinets and an ice chest freezer. The woodstove was in the center of the ger, with the stovepipe extending straight up through the center of the roof. It was quite warm and comfortable in there, and a lot roomier than it looked from the outside. The walls are felt on the outside with a waterproof lining inside that, and then there were rugs hung on the walls, probably for both warmth and decoration. The roof is supported by a concave wagonwheel structure and they cleverly store things (money, a comb, clothing) stashed up above the spokes of the wheel, under the roof of the ger. We were unsure if it would be impolite to take picture, so we didn't. I'll ask if I get to visit another one sometime.

Some signs we saw while traveling to the park:
New Kansas Night Club
Nice Hotel (yes, that was the name of the hotel)
Toyato Auto Service (obviously they don't want to have to deal with the Toyota recalls)
Cola and Kebab Restaurant, serving Donner Kebabs (now we know what happened to the rest of the Donner party)

Also seen on the road there:
a hitchhiker with 2 tires
trucks loaded with animal skins (cattle and sheep) It has been a harsh winter and the herders skin the animals that have died.
many, many railroad cars and oil tanks that have been surrounded with concrete or bricks, (except for the doors) and turned into garages