After the concert tour in Mongolia a few of us spent some days visiting this fascinating country. ?Our local friends took it upon themselves to take a few days off work and show us around. ?It was a great way to see a country that really is beautiful. ?We took an SUV trip through the steppes that included some camel and horse riding plus tasting various fermented dairy products, not least of which was the national drink of Airag or fermented horse milk, as we liked to call it. ?Our tour even coincided with the Mongolian National holiday which meant we were treated to extra displays of Mongolian Wrestling, Archery, Horse Riding and local music.
During this tour three of us were shooting short videos with our phones and this became the source for the music video (below) that our intrepid soundman and travelling companion Ashirvad put together. ?The audio is a live recording from the concert in Erdenet which was also mixed by Ashirvad and features Nelson from Monk Party on vocal and riqq plus myself on vocal and guitar. ?The pale face travelling trio was headed by Homagni who enthusiastically shot and set up some of the footage in the video.
The very last part of the adventure was a road trip into the Gobi desert with it’s vastness and understated beauty. ?The highlight was meeting a family of camel herders who invited us to spend an evening with them. ?We met them quite by chance on the way to a nearby scenic area. ?We played some music for them, ate with them and pitched our tents in their “yard” which was just desert as far as the eye could see.
Miigaa and friends after our music tour and adventures in the Gobi Desert. Miigaa is on the far left
During the concert tour we had an international band of brothers including folks from New Zealand, Austria, Canada and Mongolia. ?One of our Mongolian singers was Miigaa. ?Tragically, Miigaa passed away just a few weeks after the tour due to a cancer that he was unaware of. ?He had come in to our first rehearsal quite shy are reserved. ?By the end of the tour he was smiling broadly and absolutely beaming from the experience. ?There was a solid language barrier between he and us non-Mongolian speakers, but we really felt the joy and affection by the end. ?He was still a young man. ?Miigaa showed great generosity, hospitality and eagerness showing us around his country. ?May he be in peace.
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