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The Darkhad valley where they live is incredibly beautiful and remote. In the summer the slopes bloom with alliums and rhubarb while the riverbanks are crowded with their famous white horses. You just have to watch out for the horrific grasshoppers that eat almost anything, including plastics.

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These grasshoppers sound like a solution for the world's plastic problem? Also, I just added that region to my Travel TODO list :)

They seemed to have some preferences, but it's cool nonetheless. I still have the polyester jacket they chewed holes in and others reported similar issues with their tents.

Just because they eat it, doesn't mean they digest it and get it out of the ecosystem.

That's the problem with plastic, breaking it down without consuming a ton of other resources, or getting even worse by-products in the process. Plastic in its current form should have been made illegal at least 30 years ago in favor of far more biodegradable options.

Sounds a bit like exploring Fallout NV or 76.

I was there during the 2017 DRPK nuclear test frenzy and we saw military aircraft overhead every few days heading in and out of Russia, so there was a fair bit of apocalyptic ambience.

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