Wrestling With the Descendants of Genghis Khan
“There’s a saying on the steppes: When a boy is born, he’s a wrestler.”
— Asashoryu Akinori
Mongolia is a landlocked Asian nation that borders two giants, Russia and China. With just 3 million people spread across a territory twice the size of Texas, Mongolia has a population density of just two people per square kilometer.
As soon as I arrived in Ulaanbaatar, the capital, I realized how everything, apart from the land, is small. Genghis Khan Airport receives only about five flights a day from a handful of countries. There are just three immigration kiosks. Once I got past them, I stood in line at the only money-exchange booth. I handed the woman $400 and she gave me bricks of Mongolian currency, the tögrög, which at the time had an exchange rate of 2,600 to $1. Finally, I’d achieved my lifelong goal of becoming a millionaire.
A quick glance at the paper money revealed the image of Genghis Khan. I thought, You know a country is badass when they put Genghis Khan on their currency. Because the people obviously idolize him, I figured I shouldn’t make any jokes about the fact that John Wayne had played the Khan in The Conqueror, considered the worst example of whitewashing in history.
Dream Come True
I’d wanted to visit Mongolia for some time, but each year, it had proved impossible to arrange. This year, I decided to just go. I had contacts, three former classmates from Shanghai University of Sport, but none was in Ulaanbaatar at that moment. That meant I had no one to help me track down traditional Mongolian wrestling, the reason I’d come. I was confident, however, that I’d find a way.
Outside the airport, I was accosted by people offering to serve as my driver. I turned them down because they spoke no English and I didn’t know if I could trust them. Finally, I met one named Aenk Bat who knew a little English. He volunteered to be my driver for the week, but I told him he could take me to the hotel and nothing more. In a new country where you don’t know the language, it’s always a good idea to let a driver know
