"I've always wondered what it would be like to be a nomad, to wander across the land and make my home wherever I please, the essence of freedom." "Hup!" "Hup!" "Hup!" "The Darhad Valley in Outer Mongolia is travelled by some of the last nomadic people on Earth, and my journey with them will be a tough and demanding one." "I will learn how to survive in a culture dominated by the horse." "I will enter the realms of the spirit world, which guides these resilient people and I will discover how this ancient way of life is facing the challenge of modernity." "My name's Bruce Parry." "I'm an explorer and expedition leader." "I've spent a year visiting some of the world's most remote people, to see how their lives are changing." "I think there's only one way to really understand another culture, and that's to live as they do, to become, for a short while, one of the tribe." "Outer Mongolia." "When I was a child, just the very name conjured up images of the ends of the Earth, like Timbuktu, and I've always, always, always wanted to go there." "Finally, here today, I'm in Mongolia, and it's just the most fantastic place." "Until 1991, this huge, landlocked country was under the grip of the former Soviet Union, and closed to outsiders." "Vast steppe lands stretch across endless horizons, a land seemingly populated only by wild horses." "But it's people I'm seeking." "I'm on my way to the isolated Darhad Valley in Hovsgol Province, right up on the border with Siberia." "I'm going to live with a nomadic herding family there, for a month." "But getting there is difficult, and the first stage is a lift with the Mongolian merchant navy, halfway up the shores of Lake Hovsgol." "The Darhad Valley is one of the most isolated places in Mongolia, hemmed in by a ring of high mountains." "Somewhere beyond these peaks is my destination." "Later this afternoon, we're gonna moor the boat and I'm gonna have my first horse-riding lesson, which I'm a bit worried about, cos I've never ridden a horse." "Then tomorrow I'm gonna be going over the top of this mountain range, which is the only way to get into the Darhad Valley." "For the next six weeks, I'm gonna be living with the Darhad peoples, in order to get as much information as I can and gain all the skills that I can to be able to join them on their bitterly cold winter migration." "With me are my guides Chinbat and Aace, and they set the protocol." "Both lake and journey must be blessed liberally with a large dose of Genghis Khan Vodka." "He's wishing us a safe journey." "This is..." "They are brothers." "Nimhu." "Yindala." "Nimhu..." " Yindala." " Yindala." "I'm Bruce." "Within a few minutes of landing, I become acquainted with the twin Mongolian obsessions." "Horses and wrestling." "Impressive stuff." "I'm gonna have to give that a go one day." "But some day in Mongolia means now, and I'm soon in the fray." "Waaah!" "Did you expect any different, really?" "Obviously!" "Thank you very much, my friend." "My first lesson." "Oh!" "I think I'm going to feel at home here, but this is the bit I'm not looking forward to." "I've never ridden before." " Choo!" " Choo." "And that's go faster?" "Go faster." "Choo!" "If you squeeze with your knees, does that also indicate "faster"?" " You stand up." " You stand up?" "OK." " And then say "Choo. "" " Choo." "And it will go faster." "Choo." "Choo." "Come on, boy." "Choo." "Riding is a must, and I've got to learn to master these small, tough Mongolian ponies." "There are no roads here, and very few vehicles." "If you can't ride, you can't go anywhere or do anything." "So sore knees, bruised calves and a battered bum mean nothing in the land where the horse is king." "Choo!" "Very good." "Very good." "I like that." "I should've learnt to ride earlier." "This is great fun." "It's going to be a two-day journey across the mountains to the town of Renchinlhumbe some 70 kilometres away." "I hope to ride well enough to be of use to the family I'm going to live with." "Fred's..." "Whoa, slow down!" "Fred's just great." "He's still got a bit of a mind of his own." "He keeps wandering off." "He loves to feed." "But he's so sensitive." "He's a very good horse for a first-time rider, I think." "Cos I just have to move left a bit, right a bit, and he knows exactly what I mean." "I haven't quite got the bounce right yet, but we're getting there together, aren't we, Fred?" "We're crossing one of the low passes used by the Darhad herders on their winter migration." "They'll come back in a month, with their herds of animals, to the winter pastures down by the lake." "But right now there's no sign of nomads, just an oovo, a kind of shrine which we must ride around three times and then make an offering to the spirits to ensure a safe journey." "Choo!" "Choo!" "Choo!" "Fred!" "Tell you what, I'm gonna get off." "I got a dollar bill here." "I've been told I have to give something that's worth a little something for our good luck and safe passage." "So I'm just gonna throw it in there somewhere deep." "Say a couple of words." "Cool." "Come on, Fred." "The narrow pass soon gives way to a great mountain valley studded with forests of larch." "Our horses are just right for this terrain." "In the 13th century, the armies of Genghis Khan used horses like these to carve out an empire that stretched for thousands of miles from China to the gates of Europe." "Each man travelled with three or four horses." "The riding's exhilarating, and I'm beginning to think I'm not doing too bad." "But I'm soon brought down to earth with a surprise, and a warning from Chinbat." "Bruce?" "Could you tell me what..." "what's your mistake today?" "I stand up too much, probably, do you think?" " Stand up too much?" " Yes?" "I was just practising that, just trying to stand, but I'm sure I've loads of mistakes." " What do you think?" " Tell me about the saddle bag." "That's really unfair." "I like your style." "I lost my saddle bag today." "I was right at the front, and didn't realise I was on my own, with all the horses pushing ahead, and lost my saddle bag." "Next morning, in the horse department things don't get any better." "My status as a real novice is confirmed once again." "How embarrassing." "How embarrassing." "I feel awful." "All the horses are tied up." "I thought I'd be nice to Fred and lead him over, let him feed, and I just let go of the rope for a second, and he was..." "He's off." "I chased after him, but what hope am I gonna have chasing after a horse?" "So one of the guys has had to go and collect him." "How embarrassing." "Oh, no." "My horse was halfway to a warm stable in town before Nimhu and Yindala caught up with him." "With my horse recovered and my pride somewhat dented, it's a quick 30-kilometre ride to Renchinlhumbe, where I'm confronted with the sight of hundreds of people gathered for the autumn Naadam festival." "A Naadam is a whole day of contests, a kind of mini-Olympics." "There's singing, horse-racing, wrestling and even chess." "Most of all, it's a chance for nomadic families scattered across the valley to meet, to socialise and to do business." "There's a legend that back in the 13th century, the cities of Europe escaped devastation when the Mongol armies suddenly abandoned their campaign to ride thousands of miles back to a Naadam like this." "The reason for the frontless shirt is obscure but it is said that back in Genghis Khan's time a woman once competed in a Naadam and won it, much to the horror of Mongolian male pride." "Since then, each wrestler's credentials are bared for all to see." "My horse-riding tutors are also competing in the wrestling." "It's a 64-man knockout competition, and the winner gets a horse." " That's our boy." "Best fight of the day." " That's our boy." "Best fight of the day, without a shadow of a doubt." "He's solid." "Nimhu comes third." "The highlight of the day is the horse race." "It's a gruelling 15-kilometre bareback dash to the finish line." "Some of the riders are as young as six." "Some of the older men treat me to a fantastic display of horsemanship." "After the race is won, there's further cause for celebration." "Some 12 years after the end of communist rule, the people of the valley have their own newspaper for the first time." "Renchinlhumbe is a strange place, slightly surreal." "Ex-Russian army trucks share its streets with ponies and yaks." "When the communists came here in the 1920s they collectivised the nomads and the town became the centre for the new state farm." "It's a great place." "It's full of contrasts." "Like being in the Wild West." "The revolutionaries built a school and provided a transport infrastructure." "I can almost hear the interminable speeches delivered from the deserted podium." "The socialists also built a museum to record their achievements." "Bemedalled servants of the revolution look down on long-lost five-year plans." "The incense burner comes from an older period and the Buddhist monastery that once flourished before the collective." "Today just one 88-year-old Lama survives, and his tale is one from the darker years of Soviet repression." "A thousand Lamas?" "And... do you remember that time?" "The Lamas were shot and the monastery destroyed." "The younger monks were spared and sent off to work in a factory." "Today, Dimbu is the only survivor and when he is gone there'll be no one left to replace him." "When the Soviets pulled out in 1991," "Mishig, the ex-head of the collective, bagged an old army truck and set up a veterinary business." "He's the main link between town and the remote north of the valley." "He offers to take us the last 60 kilometres in his all-terrain truck, and it's good to have a day out of the saddle." "We drive all day and finally find the camp of the family I'll be staying with." "They've been expecting me." "Ah!" "Mishig, is this the one?" "Come, let's meet them." "Batbayer's family has been chosen for me by Mishig." "He's got several elders living with him, and a number of small children, so Mishig thinks I'll be able to help out when they migrate across the mountains." " Minii neriig Bruce." " Brudoch." "Brudoch." " Sain-by-no." " Sain-by-no." "Minii neriig Bruce." "Hello." "How are you?" "Minii neriig Bruce." " Sain-by-no." " Sain-by-no." "Minii neriig Bruce." "What a wonderful spot." "After a whole day of searching," "I believe this is the family that Mishig has got in mind." "He's been here before, and they've been expecting us, so all that remains is for me to get some interpretation and sit down and see if they're happy for me to hang out." "I have bought a little bit of the local favourite for later." "And... a small something from the country I come from, as well." "All Mongolians are famous for their hospitality so I've brought some of Britain's best, a fine malt whisky, and I hope they like it." "What a very kind thing to say." "Thank you." "And I hope that I will be able to help you enough to make my time here of use." "Yeah, I hope I can cope, too." "I really do." "Batbayer's family have been here for a month." "This is the autumn camp." "It consists of two "gers", wonderful felt-lined tents that can be put up in an hour or so, and a storehouse." "Like many nomadic families, they have a satellite dish and solar-powered television, but this is essentially an ancient way of life." "The family moves with their gers four times a year according to the availability of good pasture for the animals." "Their herd consists of some 300 heads of horses, yak, sheep and goats." "It's their sole livelihood." "For the people of this valley, there has never been another." "69-year-old Banzarich is the elder of the family and, as his youngest son, it's Batbayer's duty to look after him in his old age." "But Batbayer and his wife Purahan have got their hands full with a young family." "There's the baby Batdelgun and Batana who's four going on 14." "He follows his dad everywhere, watching and copying everything he does." "And there's nine-year-old Delgelmeron." "When she was a baby, she had a stroke, and now needs constant attention." "The family adopted 16-year-old Prasaran when she was a child, and she helps out around the camp." "Life here is unremittingly tough, face to face with the animals, nothing romantic." "Weeks before the migration takes place, the oxen, which have been running free all summer, must be haltered, ready for their journey." "Oh!" "Sorry, boy, sorry." "Sorry, sorry, sorry." "OK." "They've got me sussed, haven't they?" "Shovelling the proverbial." "Come on, then!" "The days for me soon pass in learning and watching the routine of camp life, milking, herding and corralling." "Choo!" "Still getting to grips with the language." "I've no idea what's going on most of the time." "But..." "I think I'm helping a little bit." "Just a bit of brute force and ignorance, really." "Come on, then!" "Every morning, Purahan must separate the milk to make cheese, butter, curds and yoghurt." "Slowly." "With bread and meat, the cheese is an essential part of everyone's daily diet." "I love this stuff." "Actually, I thought I loved this stuff." "It's cheese." "But it's very hard." "It's hard cheese." "Ooh!" "Purahan and Batbayer have been together now for 12 years." "Theirs is a typical tale of a Mongolian love match." "Every night, all the animals must be herded back into their corrals to keep them safe." "This is wolf country." "So finally, I'm in my home with my new family." "And it's just so... so peaceful here." "I'm gonna sleep on the floor, and everyone's gonna..." "Look, they're all coming to have a look at the screen." "So here you go." "There you all are." "Choo!" "Choo!" "Choo!" "Choo!" "After a week here, I feel I'm beginning to fit in, especially now that I'm used to the horses." "It's a great feeling to ride across this huge, beautiful landscape." "But there's little time for romance." "I'm not here as a guest." "I said I wanted to help out, and they've taken me at my word." "It's hard physical work." "Choo!" "All the herders keep large herds of horses for riding, breeding and even eating." "Horses are indispensable for a people who live their lives following their animals from one pasture to another." "I'm still learning all the time but one morning a young herder at the camp loses control of a wild horse." "I try to help him, and learn a lesson I'm unlikely to forget." "Later that morning, there's news from Mishig at a neighbouring ger." "During the night, wolves have been at work." "200 horses every year are eaten by wolves, out of the 300." "Problems like this affect everyone." "Nearly all the families here are inter-related, and they keep a close watch on each other's animals and property." "It's in their collective interest to take action, so Mishig holds a meeting." "There's going to be a wolf hunt." " When is the wolf hunt gonna be?" " Tomorrow at nine o'clock." "Tomorrow at nine o'clock?" "Of course, no worries." "Tomorrow." "This gentleman's interesting." "He came in in the Jeep, and by local standards he's a millionaire." "He's got 1,000 head of livestock, different types." "So he's a bit of a celebrity locally." " It's snuff tobacco." " Oh, my God!" "What do you..." "OK." "No, it's good." "Whoo!" " Very good!" " Yeah, I got that." "One thing that interests me is, presumably post-Soviet era, after collectivisation, everyone got given a certain amount of livestock each." "So was it very hard to go from that small amount to 1,000?" "How did you manage that?" "The best place for the hunt will be in the forest at the base of the mountain." "It's classic wolf country, but there's no guarantee of success." "In any case, much of the weaponry dates back to the Second World War." "The hunters split up." "Half spread themselves in a long line through the woods." "The other half prepare to encircle the wolves and drive them towards the waiting guns." "We're right at the end of the line, and there's 15 other people spread all the way up here, about a kilometre." "It's a big spread." "Similar how to Genghis used to do it back in his day." "Used to have thousands of people doing these big sweeps." "The weapons have changed but the tactics haven't." "We left the beaters about five kilometres back in that direction, and they're just setting themselves out now before they start this big line of advance." "We'll start to hear their whoops and cries as they force all the prey ahead of them." "Yeah, you can hear them already, just a little whoop." "Well, that's pretty resounding." "Who... who shot it?" "It's a young female." "The hunters think they killed her cubs last winter." "And now it's her turn." "After a whole day's hunting, they've only shot one wolf." "But spirits are high, and the chief cracks open a bottle of vodka." "So now it's the end of the day, before the lads go home to their missuses." "Couple of bottles of vodka come out, cheery chat, and off they go." "I've been here two weeks now and fresh falls of snow make the mountains look forbidding." "It's not long until the whole valley will be on the move." "Check these mountains out." "Beautiful, quite high peaks." "About 3,400 metres, I believe." "It's passes like this that so many of the families cross during migration." "There's one north of here my family's gonna cross, and 110 families take that particular route, and 18,000 head of animals." "It's quite a feat." "It's very cold." "And... we've got all that yet to come." "We're nest-raiding." "Kind of criminal, really." "All these ground squirrels you see running around the place, they collect these roots." "So rather than us take the roots, we're gonna steal 'em from them." "So the poor little nutkins are gonna have to go the whole winter without any food." "What do you think the ground squirrel will think of us stealing all its food?" "Banzarich knows his country inside out." "He's been migrating over it for all his 69 years." "Wow, let's have a look at these!" "My God." "And he's proud to show me his medals he received for his work as champion bull-herder for the state farm." "He remembers the days of the collective with some affection." "In Banzarich's time, everyone worked for the good of the state and the herding was directed by the collective." "Now each family is responsible for making their own living." "Purahan is in charge of the sheep." "From time to time, she sells some to earn some much-needed cash." "The money goes when the trading truck arrives on one of its three monthly visits to the valley." "I'd like a pair of swimming trunks, please." "There's a huge selection of goods from as far afield as China." "There's cloth, boots and supplies of flour and rice and even a pair of free-market socks for Banzarich." "Then there's the real essentials, a bag of pills and drugs." "For Purahan they are life-savers." "There's no medical service out here." "If anything goes wrong on the other side of the mountains, the family will be in trouble." "Batbayer's also got a truck." "He bought it to make his family's life easier." "It cost him ten yaks." "But it hasn't moved in months." "But the pressing business of the day is a visit across the valley." "It's nightfall by the time Batbayer reaches the shaman's ger with his gifts." "Unlike Buddhism, shamanism survived Soviet repression in the remote corners of the valley, largely because it has a practical application in everyday life." "The shaman is able to put himself into a trance through dancing and chanting, and is then able to speak with the spirit world." "The responsibility often runs in families but I'm told that this shaman secretly learned his art during the Soviet era from a 90-year-old man." "It may look like a form of theatre, but I'm sure it's more than that." "Perhaps it's a way of integrating all the forces that simple rationale can't explain." "For Batbayer it works." "What is it like, when you are in a trance and talking to the spirits?" "Do you see them?" "Do they talk to you?" "How does it happen?" "I hear you are leaving the valley." "Why exactly are you going?" "It's getting colder now." "Only a few more days until the family migrates." "The oxen must be saddled ready for their loads." "They don't like it." "One of the most important tasks now is to bring sacks of winter salt lick for the animals from across the valley." "As soon as the salt reaches camp, half of it's loaded onto a cart to be distributed around the other gers." "There's no charge." "But there's a hold-up." "Four-year-old Batana wants to go too." "I'm so glad they didn't go without him, cos he's trouble." "He's very good fun, but if he doesn't get his way he's all over the place." "So I'm glad they caught him." "A right one, aren't you?" "We're having a power struggle." "He's jealous of my being in the house." "He never smiles!" "If I try and play with him, he just looks at me as if to say, "What are you playing with me for?" "He's totally grown up." "All the same, it's a welcome afternoon out for the children." "How do you say, "Have a nice day"?" "The food too must be prepared for the four-day journey ahead." "Whilst Batbayer slaughters a sheep," "Purahan's hard at work in the ger making cookies." "I'm wondering what she would make of an easier life in the city." "Look at that!" "It's a sea anemone." "Thank you very much." "Check that." "All mine have got little two stripes on them." "I'm being outclassed everywhere, as I have always been." "Do you think Delgelmeron will stay with you in your ger even when she is older?" "The day finally comes." "Herds and herders are on the move." "It's Batbayer's family that will cross the mountains first." "To delay would mean putting the children, especially Delgelmeron, at risk to snowstorms and freezing weather conditions." "It's finally started." "The migration is on us today, and so many people have rocked up to help." "All the extended family from gers miles around are all here." "It seems chaotic, but everyone knows what they're doing and everyone has their place." "They seem to be getting on with it, with hardly a word spoken." "In a flurry of activity, the gers come down." "Banzarich's sister-in-law is coming too." "Unable to ride a horse, she will sit out the 120-kilometre journey on the back of an ox dray." "As for the children, they're packed in crates aboard the yaks." "It's going to be an uncomfortable journey." "Finally, without any great ceremony, we're off." "It's great to be moving at last." "But we've got three days ahead of us, and I don't know what the weather's got in store." "And when we get over those mountains, anything could happen, I suppose, but right now it's just brilliant." "In the land where the horse is king, they lead the way." "Then there's the oxen and the yaks making up the baggage train with its precious cargos." "And bunched together behind, the sheep and goats make up the rear." "The animals all seem to know the way across the mountains." "They ought to." "They do it every year." "It's like this big self-perpetuating organic mass is on the move, and all you have to do is tap it occasionally on left or right and other than that it just goes in a straight line." "It's really lovely to see." "After a five-hour journey, we stop for camp." "I'm beginning to see that nomadism isn't just about endless horizons, total freedom and random movement." "It's more a series of carefully planned and finite journeys, leaving nothing to chance." "The ger is up in minutes, truly a mobile home." "I've been lost in thought about this all day, and Batbayer is in buoyant mood, bringing up the subject over supper." "Looks like he's been sad all day during the ride." "Batbayer, you always say that." "I'm not sad at all." "I'm loving it." "Ah, right." "Well, then, your nature is like that then." "Maybe I just look sad." "You're the only one I've ever known say that, though." "Or probably you're just lazy." "Thanks, Batbayer." "You have to keep in mind that he's just teasing you." "Batana?" "How do you like being in the crate today?" "That was great." "On the second day, the trail narrows." "Snaking up through the foothills of the mountains, conditions are getting tougher." "The herds must be coaxed across the freezing rivers." "The sheep and goats in particular don't like it." "We camp that night at the base of the mountain." "The horses are getting skittish." "This place is well-known for wolves." "The men, too, are uneasy." "The weather's turning, definitely." "So I don't know what we've got in store for us but everyone's saying the worst thing - forget the temperature - is if we get be a whiteout, a blizzard." "And that's kind of what they're predicting." "Banzarich remembers a time when one of the herders failed to make it over the pass." "But our luck holds." "The next morning dawns brightly, and we're on the move." "It's time for the big push, the steep ascent to the top of the pass." "It's a critical moment." "The herd must be bunched together in constant momentum." "If it splits, there could be chaos around the bogs and the sheer cliffs that lie off the trail." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Choo!" "Hey!" "Choo!" "Choo!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Nearly there." "Come on." "Come on!" "Push it on." "Come on." "Hup!" "Hup!" "Hup!" "Hup!" "Push!" "At the top of the pass, everybody stops." "A piece of each horse's mane is taken and tied to the oovo, as a symbol of thanks." "Then we all walk around it three times." "Ah, I like that stuff, Banzarich." "Another shot of vodka for warmth, and for the spirits." "But Batbayer, careful as ever, has an eye on time and the weather." "He's keen for us to be on our way." ""Past, present and future. " The words ring around my head." "For the past, there seems to be no legacy of bitterness here for the repression that happened before." "Economic models of life have been imposed but there's no dent in what they really believe." "For the present, it's just amazing here." "It's cold and the children may be screaming, but I'm crossing a high mountain pass with some of the most self-reliant people in the world." "In their herds is their sustenance, their transport, their shelter, and their dignity." "There's no debt, and to me no obvious hierarchy." "All people here are interdependent and equally valued." "As to the future, I don't know." "It seems to me that it's in the nature of all of us to wish for a little more, for an easier way of life, whatever the unknown costs." "And I'm sure that things will eventually change for the Darhad people but for the moment, for Batbayer and his family, there's a land of plenty down there in the valley, and I hope it stays that way." "This is the last pole of the ger, and this is the last time I'm gonna see the ger going up, cos now, finally, the family has reached the winter pastures." "This beautiful valley we've ridden into is where they're gonna be spending the next six months." "For them it's life as normal, but unfortunately for me I've got to head back over the pass and make my way home." "I've learnt so much here, and it's going to be a wrench to go." "I've got one final question for Batbayer." "What things make you happiest?" "Stress-free living." "Um, stress-free, stress-free..." " Worry-free." " Yeah, um..." "Probably isn't a word for stress in Mongolian." "One day it'll be little Batana's turn to make a choice, to take up the herder's reins or to be a teacher or driver, as Purahan might wish." "Choo!" "Choo!" "It looks to me like he's made the choice already." "Thank you so much, Banzarich." "Thank you so much." "I'll catch you again." "Oh, it's very sad." "Batana, Delgelmeron." "You've been very special to me." "Thanks very much, guys."