Proud pose

Accustomed to the camera-shy Chinese, I was delighted to find photographs are welcomed, even coveted by the proud young men. Naadam is the days of glory, openly reveled in and displayed for the world to view.


Gallop

I walked out into a path on which riders frequently passed. At the sight of the camera, riders would spur their horses to a gallop, thundering past in a Mongolian version of chest-thumping.

The sight of two riders thundering off into the distance reminded me of the now extinct Urtuunii alba - the Mongolian postal service established by Chinggis Khan in 1234 which employed some 100,000 horses and transported Marco Polo across the steppe.