Most Mongolians outside the capital Ulaanbaatar are pastoralists who live in isolated yurts scattered across the vast Gobi Desert. As we drove past yet another solitary dwelling, far from civilization, a question lingered: "What do they do in the evenings?"
During our stay, we spent an evening and a night with a pastoralist family in the heart of the desert. They prepared a traditional Mongolian barbecue for us but left us to dine alone. Though they tried to hide it, they were visibly worried and exhausted. A middleman had arrived at their camp, and the entire family was busy helping with the selection, slaughter, and preparation of animals for meat.
About a kilometer from the yurts, one of the family's daughters had a motorcycle accident, hitting her head and becoming distraught. Her father brought her to us with blood covering her head. We discovered they lacked basic medical supplies—no disinfectants or even pain medication. We treated her injury and shared all our medicines with the family.
In the middle of the night, we were jolted awake by anxious voices. The sheep and goats in the nearby sheepfold were unusually restless and agitated. The disturbance lasted about half an hour. Come morning, we learned that predators had tried to attack the herd.
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