Peter Sykes has received the highest honour for a foreigner in Mongolia – the State Medal of Friendship.
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A ceremony, conducted in his house on Wednesday afternoon, was a small formality in comparison to the long ties sowed by the former farm boy.
The medal recognised his promotion of the country and strong cultural links formed. It was awarded by the Mongolian ambassador Chuluunhuu Batlai.
His travels overseas begun with a ten day trip to Bali and was followed by the Kokoda trek in Papua New Guinea. As a child there was an urge to explore Native American culture, Japan and Mongolia and this subsequently echoed through his adulthood as a builder.
“I always wanted to see eagle hunters and reindeer people in Mongolia, so I emailed this bloke and we drove around,” he said.
Starting in 2007 he has made over 20 trips to the country.
Some windows of his house in Goulburn are covered in kazakh wall hangings, a traditional gift passed on from a mother to a daughter when married. The back of one door holds mountains of reindeer hats. On the porch there are watchful wooden horses two meters tall.
“I like nomads. When I was a kid, a farm boy, you are close to the land and good to your animals,” he said. “I love Australia but I’ve always felt like it wasn’t quite complete and with Mongolia I feel like I’ve got both sides of the jigsaw puzzle.
“Like my past was there.”
What sticks out to him the most is the freedom and openness of the country.
Mr Sykes will release his new book The Herdsmen in the next month. This follows two photography and one children’s book already published. He plans to translate these books for sale in Mongolia.
“It was a surprise and honour to receive this medal. Something I’ve never expected,” he said.
“I enjoy the books to show people the great world we live in.”
He credits the strong support of friends in both countries for his success and has recently been approached by the Colombian Embassy to produce another book.