Friday, December 18, 2009

Mongolia | Ulaan Baatar | Book Launch

Wandered by one of Ulaan Baatar’s Notoriously Louche Coffee Houses for the Big Book Launch of Carl Robinson’s monumental Mongolia: Nomad Empire of the Eternal Blue Sky, which should very quickly become the Alpha and Omega of guidebooks to Mongolia. Normally I would never darken the door of a den of coffee swillers, being strictly a Tea Man myself, but I was anxious to meet Mr. Robinson, with whom I have communicated extensively via the internet but never before had the pleasure of meeting in person.

I contributed one story—The Abduction of the Eight Bogd Gegeen—and a dozen or so photos to this magnificently produced tome. One of the photos was a full page spread of my pal Zevgee, with whom I have done a dozen or so Horse and Camel Trips, sitting in front of the ovoo on the top of Burkhan Khaldun Mountain.
Zevgee at the summit of Burkhan Khaldun. This is not the photo in the book. If you want to see that photo Buy The Book.
Zevgee’s Better Half Tümen Ölzii (right) and the marrow-meltingly gorgeous to say nothing of ever-charming and extremely intelligent Oyuna (since this photo was taken she has become a lawyer, but that does not necessarily make her a bad person) at the lake near the base of Burkhan Khaldun.