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Published: September 12th 2007
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Gandan Khiid
This building houses a single statue. One gigantic statue of Avolitkesevara. She stands about 26 meters tall or something ridivulous like that. Ulaan Baatar
No, I did not make up the name Ulaan Baatar, nor did I misspell it. Surprisingly, UB’s name is less difficult to say than most things in Mongolia even after you get over the issues involved in reading Cyrillic (note to all, PECTOPAH actually sounds like “restoran” which makes a whole lot more sense, I wish I had known this fact a few months ago). Somehow, having all signs and notices written in Russian script makes UB feel awfully depressing. Everywhere I go I am reminded of old movies and documentaries which showed communist Russia. Even in the museums the signs evoke communist images in my mind along with images of poor and downtrodden people. Somewhere along the line my mind has been programmed to associate the writing with such images and this is making life hard for me here.
The state of Ulaan Baatar’s buildings might also be a factor here. Unfinished apartment blocks sit next to utilitarian concrete monoliths built during communist times all over the city. Dirty streets, poorly maintained roads, derelict buildings and the occasional tyre fire do give the city a bad look. In the outer suburbs the traditional Gers are still
UB Tyre Fire, Inaugurated December 1947
I never thought I'd actually see one of these. extant, although now they are fixed in place and surrounded by large wooden fences while the inhabitants save enough money to build a house there. The city spreads across a vast east-west plain and a million people now live here, a remarkable number when considering that 47% of Mongolians are still nomadic for some part of each year. Furthermore, I can’t understand how a city with only a million people, most of whom are far too poor to own cars, can have so many traffic jams. Getting across the street is dangerous at the best of times so traffic jams make that side of things a lot easier, but would it kill them to build a second east-west road?
Perhaps I am giving you a very one-sided image of UB here, and I ought to remedy that. The city is far from ugly. Certainly it isn’t pretty, it doesn’t have vast parklands, public transport exists but is only for the brave, the streets aren’t pristine and the buildings are in about as good a condition as your local garbage dump, but the city has many charms. The people for one are drastically different from their surrounds. The Nouveau Riche
walk too and from work each day dressed in classy clothes and brand name (although rip-off) shoes, Hum-Vees drive the streets, café’s are full of local patrons, and a relatively new foreign restaurant scene is thriving here. The people seem happy and there are many classy things to do (the insides of the buildings are a lot different from the outsides).
My guesthouse was little more than a man’s apartment in which he had added six extra beds; the kitchen acting as his tour guiding business’s office and the bathroom covering for a laundry when necessary. Far from being substandard and crowded I found the place to be charming and cozy. Trying to speak Mongolian to the girl who works there in order to get the washing machine to work certainly made for an entertaining afternoon.
UB also contains a lot of historical or religious sights. Despite the communist purges of 1947 when almost all religious places were demolished and most monks massacred, the Mongolia of today is thriving with culture. Since the fall of communism in 1990 and the subsequent democratic elections (apparently Mongolian democracy is a fantastic model that other countries are being encouraged to follow)
Roof Tiles
At the Winter Palace of the Bogd Khaan. Mongolia has revived itself remarkably. I visited four or five active temples, each of which had a drastically different style varying from Indian to Chinese influences. Museums also abound, mostly dedicated to the Mongol empire of the 13th century which included pretty much the entire known world at the time (From Sumatra to the arctic and all the way east to Hungary).
UB is far from a boring place, but it is situated in the middle of one of the worlds great wildernesses; a place full of nothingness and nomads, horses, sheep and cattle. The train ride to UB was enough to convince me of the unending nature of Mongolia’s landscape: outside my window was a plain that it was perfectly plain and devoid of anything. From valley to valley, around every corner and in every direction, all I could see was a vast, open, empty grassland. I can’t wait to get out of UB and into the country.
Travels Ahead
I was stuck in UB for four days while I vainly attempted to meet people interested in doing a Jeep tour with me. Finally I managed to find a group of people interested in the
Sukhbaatar Square
The central square of Ulaan Baatar with the government building in the back. same things as I am and tomorrow we set out for our Mongolian adventure. Supposedly the only sight in Mongolia is Mongolia itself: you have to get out into the countryside for as long as possible, and it doesn’t matter which part of the countryside. Over the next twenty days I will be camping in the wilderness, sleeping in Gers, climbing remote mountains and visiting remote sights. That means that for twenty days I won’t be able to write here; I hope you won’t miss me.
I’m going to be traveling with a 32 ear old Isreali cowgirl, a Hungarian couple and an incredibly energetic young US girl that will probably run the rest of us into complete exhaustion. If only for the eclectic companions it should be an interesting journey (some of you might be intrigued to hear that I turned down a trip with two gorgeous Dutch girls because their itinerary wasn’t flexible enough for me, I might regret that).
When I return I promise to immediately write about all of my Mongolian adventure, as well as posting a plethora of photos for you to see. Until then,
UB Streetscape
Oh yeah, who needs paved roads? involves a rolling of the tongue and distortion of the body like no other word I’ve ever heard>.
annika
non-member comment
Matty - I'm beyond jealous of you! Also, if you get to play polo using a goat's head before I do, I'll never forgive you. However, I take comfort in the fact your riding skills probably aren't up to scratch yet....