In August of '99 I traveled to northern Mongolia to the aimag (province) of Khovsgol on the Siberian border. My ultimate goal was to reach the camps of the last remaining Tsaatan nomads known for their reindeer culture. We traveled for several days across the sparsely populated and mostly roadless rolling grasslands in an ancient all-terrain Russian jeep called a 66. Mishig, my guide, managed to keep the aging vehicle running with a few wrenches and a pair of vice-grips. On several occasions when we had to cross
a deep river he covered the engine with a plastic bag and fitted a hose to the carburetor as a snorkel. I often wondered what would happen if we stalled in the middle of one of these tenuous crossings.

Most of the people on the Mongolian countryside live in Gers that can be broken down and reassembled very quickly to accommodate their nomadic lifestyle. Although Buddhism entered Mongolia in the late 16th century shamanism is still very prevalent in the northern aimags. The most obvious example of its endurance is the abundance of ovoos - piles of stone, skulls and other offerings to the spirits found on the top of hills and mountain passes. Each time we encountered an ovoo, Mishig would stop and walk around it three times in a clockwise direction.