geckozo
zoe Joined: July 15th 2009
Logged in: April 15th 2010
Logged in: April 15th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
All well in Mongolia. Having a pitstop in Moron. Have paid homage to statue of head Moron.... read more
Tomorrow I head off into the wilds of Mongolia, where I am not expecting internet access. Or much electricity for that matter. So the blog will be kind of quiet for a couple of weeks.... read more
Walking around Ulaanbaatar, the first thing you notice is that every other building is a bar. The second thing is that crossing the road takes nerves of steel, precision timing and a lack of concern for your own well-being. As in China, only a third of a road is safe to cross on green, because turning traffic (usually from all directions) will be on green filter while you cross. The difference here is that there are no bikes, rickshaws, handcarts and so on to slow everyone down - just impatient motorists taking corners at high speed, jockeying for position and blasting their horns. Even the locals run for it. There is plenty of depressing Soviet architecture to be admired, most of it in a poor state of repair. Add to this the Cyrillic script and the ... read more
Coming in to land at UB, I could see the entire, tiny city laid out below me, the empty countryside spreading away into the distance in every direction. Out there, herds of animals were being driven swiftly across hillsides, an occasional ger stood in solitude and dried streambeds snaked across shallow valleys in the gently undulating landscape. The city centre was marked by a small collection of slightly high-rise buildings. Around this stood a general low-level town and surrounding this, the ger camps which make up the suburbs. What a contrast to Beijing. Indeed, to anywhere I've been in China. Its hard to imagine that a capital city can be so small. The airport too was tiny. The arrivals hall sported one luggage carousel, an ancient mechanical monster that clunked slowly round, while waiting passenges sprung ... read more
Yesterday I walked through the market and the maze of hutongs near my lovely hostel, enjoying more glimpses of everyday life - washing hung out to dry from electricity poles, tricycle carts of recyclables, bubbling vats of broth in which various things were cooked. I love the bustle, the pinging of bicycle bells, voices calling things I cannot hope to understand, the sense of purpose, punctuated by the langour of shop owners dozing outside their tiny hole-in-the-wall shops. Eventually I found myself walking on a pretty little street beside Houhai Lake and the shops and cafes became more touristy. Coming towards me every so often I'd meet a stream of fancy rickshaws - definitely tourist land. Where the road met the bridge between this lake and the next was a delightfully busy spot, where groups of ... read more
Delivery truck
Anyone for a snack?
I settled for squid... Though I might go back and try the scorpion. A friendly passer by told me it's very good for you. I asked if it tastes good and was told it doesn't. But hey, it would be interesting to try.... read more
The stats say that people are reading this, so come on, leave a message in the comments box now and then, so I know who you are. ... read more
