Yak Yogourt, Anyone?

I spent part of my morning in Mongolia; it was an unplanned adventure. I opened my e-mail just after sunrise and found that my Facebook request, to someone I had never met, had been accepted.

Facebook be praised.

I'm not a fan of Facebook, in general, because it seems frivolous most of the time. You know, honestly, I don't really care to know that you're dicing carrots or that you're wearing two left socks. Really......

I. Do. Not. Care.

Every once in a moon that's blue someone posts something that is truly remarkable, and that's why I became a friend with someone I've never met. His name is Jason Yung and, so far as I can tell, he lives in Halifax. I don't know what he does for a living. I don't know how old he is. All I know is that we have a friend in common and that friend told me, in no uncertain terms, that "YOU MUST SEE THESE PHOTOS!" So I sent a friend request to Jason Yung and he generously opened the door to Mongolia for me.

When North Americans think of travel, very few think of anywhere other than Florida. I can't blame them as the Canadian winters do funny things to our brains.

Hey, let's visit a place that's flat and boring...but warm and cheap.

Thanks but no thanks. Florida serves its purpose, but it's no Mongolia. It may warm your skin but I doubt it warms your soul. I doubt that it expands your horizons all that much. It's not all that different from Canada. Hey look! Another McDonald's and it's right next to a Burger King! Next stop, Disney World!!

I've never been to Asia, and I don't know if I'll ever make it there. Yesterday, I might have dreamed like a tourist; Japan, China, Thailand. Today, I dream of Mongolia. Thank you, Jason Yung, whoever you are. You've done something very kind for someone you don't know.

I feel unusually fine today, and visiting Mongolia this morning was a great way to start my day. I'm sorry that I can't share Jason Yung's images with you, but I'm going to see if I can find a way to make them accessible to you. They tell a story not just about Mongolia but about Earth and her people. This is our planet, and Mongolia is a big part of it. Shouldn't we get to know it?

I challenge you to leave my blog now and find out one fact, on your own, about Mongolia. Take just one step. I won't make it easy by providing a link. If you want to learn, then you'll have to dig for yourself and I'm not prepared to pass out shovels, at least not yet.

I knew nothing about Mongolia yesterday. Today, I am hitch-hiking on the road to enlightenment. Jason Yung gave me a lift to Mongolia. Incredible!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."
Lao Tzu