Hunting with eagles has been a tradition with Central Asian nomads for thousands of years. I spent two days living with a Kazakh eagle hunting family in Mongolia, then two days watching them compete in their annual Mongolian Golden Eagle Festival. It was undoubtedly, beyond fascinating, to say the least! One of my favorite trips ever. Being able to spend a few days with the hunters and their family before the festival provided a much better insight into their lives, than just attending the festival alone. Not only was it amazing to experience this festival firsthand, being able to spend a few days with the nomads, to really experience their…

Breathtakingly beautiful Mongolia is a fascinating place. Especially the more remote areas of this vast country. Areas that are not easy to get to, with few roads, and no conveniences of modern life. Despite extremely frigid winters, treeless steppes, non-arable, and rugged terrain, these areas in Mongolia have been inhabited by nomads since ancient times, like the Kazakh nomads. Around half of Mongolia’s population lives in the contemporary capital of Ulaanbaatar, yet more than 25 percent still live a pastoral, nomadic lifestyle in the remote and rugged expanses. How do they survive? What is life like? I had the opportunity to find out on a trip to one of these…