Hospital birthday

 

Tighe's 17th birthday today, and my 54th.  Not how we expected to celebrate.

Tighe went to school, and I spent my birthday in hospital supporting Erik.  They decided not to operate, but are going to use gravity to pull his broken bones into place. They put a large plaster cast on his elbow as extra weight. It is going to be a long road to recovery.

Tighe and I had cake later in the evening to celebrate our birthdays.

Happy 17th birthday Tighe. I hope you have lots of adventures this year!

The Long Journey Home

 
The journey back to New Zealand is 4 hour flight to Seoul, then a 10 hour flight to Sydney, and then a 3 hour flight to Auckland. Then a 3 hour drive home! That doesn't include all the 'in transit" times. I am not looking forward to travelling with injured Erik. 

We had an early start, 5am, to drive 2 hours to the International airport. Erik was whisked away in a wheelchair, and I had to run to catch up. Interestingly, they boarded Erik nearly last. 

Immense landscapes. This visit to Mongolia was epic. So many memories. What an adventure.

The landscape is so empty. No cities or towns, just grasslands.

We had a lovely serving of Buuz (lamb dumplings) for lunch.

I made the most of the transit in Seoul. Hot shower, comfy chairs, and a quick meal in the airport lounge.

Instead of a wheelchair, we got to ride in an upmarket golf cart.  

Extremely quick way to get to our departure gate.

Erik chose the Korean menu. I slept, the past few days events had caught up with me. 

  

On arrival in Sydney, Australia, the attendants were very efficient in driving Erik off to the Air New Zealand lounge. The weird thing was, that after 11am, the Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney was empty.  Maybe just 10 people. I suspect once more flights are added, and people start to travel more, the spaces will fill up.

I had another hot shower, found a nook with cushions, and rested.  I need to be on top of my sleep, as I was going to be driving back to Rotorua in the very early hours of the morning.

I know the photo is shaken, and not focussed, but I was relieved when we flew into Auckland at 10 pm with no mishaps. Our delays weren't over though.  Border control thought Erik's bike was too dirty, so I ad to unpack it from the bike box, and give it a good clean with the border control officer. We packed it back into the box, and we were ready to find the car in the carpark, and drive the 3 hours home.

Mongolian Quilting Centre - Ulaanbaatar

 

When I was looking at things to do in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian Quilting Centre was listed in the top 10 things to do.  As the centre was only 20 minutes walk from the hotel, on Seoul St, I went and had a look.

The above quilt is made from recycled silk kimonos.  The motives of the traditional nomad homes, gers, and the symbol of Live Long and Prosper, make the quilt uniquely Mongolian.  The quilting is exquisite.

Details of the "ger" motifs.

A great simple souvenir of Mongolia are these shopping bags.  Small enough to fit in a pocket, they are shaped as a traditional ger, and once they are unzipped, are a full sized bag.

The centre has sold more than 10,000 of these bags. So popular and useful.

One quilt that caught my eye was a brown one, with Mongolian motifs, dinosaurs, snuff bottles, and symbols. Another had the Live Long and Prosper motif.

A selection of Christmas themed animals, wreaths and decoration were also available for sale.

My favourite was the camel christmas tree decoration.

Ulaanbaatar - final days

The next two days in Ulaanbaatar were a bit of a blur. We transferred back to the hotel, and slept as much as we could in the circumstances. Erik got extra pillows, but the plaster cast made it very difficult for him to sleep. He napped.

We ventured out on the second day, to eat and have some Mongolian food for the last time.

Seabuckthorn juice. I like it hot. Flavour is similar to a hoarthorn berry, but in juice form.

We slowly wandered along familiar streets, our moods subdued. Erik was in a lot of pain.

Lunch was a simple affair of horsemeat with thick noodles. I had soup and with a side of Huushuur, which were large half-moon shaped fried pastries filled with mutton meat.

There was a children's playground nearby, and we rested there, before making our way back to the hotel.

Always an interesting mix of architecture in Ulaanbaatar.

This shed below, is a convenience store.

After an afternoon nap, we met up with the others, and enjoyed an Indian farewell dinner.

Batbayar, Ruth, Erik, Tyler, Pete, Eric, Willie, John from Aussie who joined us for the evening, Emilien, Greg, Sandy, and Joseph

Even at night, the horns were still honking.  Farewell Ulaanbaatar, it has been an adventure.

Cycle Tour - Khugnu Khan Nature Reserve - Mongolia - Day 5

While Erik and I were at the hospital in Ulaanbaatar, the rest of the cycling group toured a 87km loop around the Khugnu Khan Nature Reserve. The thunderstorm the previous night, had left hail on the ground.  A third of the day is hampered by sand and required pushing the bikes.

Cycling through the hail debris at Khugnu Khan nature reserve.

Hail carpeting the ground like snow in the Khugnu Khan Nature Reserve.

Cycling around the mountain at Khugnu Khan Nature Reserve

Disappointed that we didn't get to finish the final day cycling.  We will get to see everyone tomorrow for the farewell dinner.

An Unexpected Adventure - Mongolia

 

The thunderstorm was coming and I was thinking about where I was going to set up my camera equipment for the lightning.  Joseph yells at me to come quick. Erik has fallen in the shower and hurt. Erik had been drying himself in the shower, and the rail holding the shower curtain fell on his head, knocking him over.

Erik in a ton of pain, thinks he has dislocated his shoulder. Batbayer (our guide) after giving Erik First Aid, gives us the options. Drive 1 1/2 hours to Kharkhorin for an X-ray, or drive 4 1/2 hours to Ulaanbaatar to the hospital.  I went and packed up all our belongings, and wondered what the next 24 hours was going to be like.  Scary being in a different country, and being injured.

We decide to drive to Kharkhorin. We also arrange for an ambulance to start driving from Ulaanbaatar, at the cost of US$550 per hour, for a doctor, nurse, and driver.  The thunderstorm had started, and I absently watched the lightning storm through the van's windows, as we slowly drove towards Kharkhorin. Batbayer sat next to Erik, supporting him. 

After 1 1/2 hours of driving, we made it to Kharkhorin. The medical facility was similar to the ones we were familiar with in Rotorua, New Zealand. Basic emergency facility.

Looks just like any medical facility.  Erik got an X-ray within 15 minutes, and it cost approx NZ$65, which was way less expensive than I thought it would be.

The X-Ray showed that the fall had snapped the top off Erik's humerus (upper arm bone). We would need to go to the hospital in Ulaanbaatar for surgery to fix it.

The medical team contacted the en-route ambulance, and we would be drive to meet them somewhere between here and Ulaanbataar. Erik's shoulder was wrapped securely for travel,  he was given some pain relief, and we drove off into the night.

We met up with the ambulance after 2am. I had no idea where we were. I just trusted in Batbayer and our driver.  

The doctor built Erik a cast on the roadside. The journey back to Ulaanbaatar was going to be rough.

The other van from camp met up with us, and transferred our luggage.  The bike will come back with the others when they return to Ulaanbaatar. The crew have been so supportive, it's a bit scary leaving them behind and we go off to the unknown alone.

The ambulance was cramped. Our luggage was piled in a corner. I was squeezed on a hard bench, so I leaned onto a medical supplies bag, and dozed. Every time there was a bump in the road, Erik groaned.  Sometimes the bumps were so large, he became airborne on the stretcher.  

We arrived on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar about 8.00am. The roads were blocked with commuters and roadworks. Unexpectedly, the ambulance drove on the other side of the road, straight into oncoming traffic. The traffic gave way, and within about 30 minutes we were at a private hospital.

After another X-ray, the news wasn't good from the orthopaedic specialist at the Ulaanbaatar hospital. Erik has a comminuted fracture of his upper arm, which means the ball joint is broken in multiple places and the ball is out of position. It’s going to require advanced surgery to fix, as they basically have to dismantle the shoulder joint to get to the bone. — and to make it worse it’s Erik's dominant hand.

After discussions with the orthopaedic specialist, the best decision was to return to New Zealand, and have the surgery at home in Rotorua / Hamilton / Auckland.  Lack of medical support and facilities at Ulaanbaatar was a factor in this decision. Always have medical insurance.  This was the bill for the ambulance, and half a day hospital stay - approx NZ$10,500.