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Published: June 17th 2010
The largest Lenin head in the world!
Centre of Ulan-Ude in the main square.Day 52 to Ulan Ude
Early start and got a mini bus all the way to Irkutsk train station, some 70kms. Unfortunately as suspected there were no tickets for the only train that day to Ulan Ude. Found a mini bus going there for almost the same price so decided to risk it. Was a pretty bad 7 hours or so on a very bumpy and windy road but eventually we arrived in Ulan Ude around 5pm and found somewhere to stay. Ate some dinner at a good local restaurant but no english whatsoever from the menus to the staff! This was pretty much the case for everywhere in Ulan Ude.
Not much to write here, the only thing of note in the City is it houses the largest Lenin head in the world and if you look closely at his eyes they almost looked crosseyed or asian. Who had the last laugh then?
Packed up and got ready for a long trip tomorrow to Ulan-Batar, Mongolia.
Day 53 To Ulan-Batar
Got to the bus stop early and luckily managed to get a ticket for the daily 10-12 hour journey to Ulan-Batar. Bus was an improvement at least on yesterday and we met a German guy who lives in Irkutsk who was going to UB to renew his visa. Was good to finally meet some european foreigners and he just so happened to be staying in the same Guesthouse in UB as us!
The scenery was pretty spectacular once we crossed the border into Mongoliga. Rolling hills, wide open green spaces, livestock and traditional Yurts all over the countryside. Unfortunately no photos sorry!
After several stops, some intense heat (over 30!) and a rigorous border procedure which took some 2 hours we arrived in Ulan-Batar around 6pm and took a taxi to the GH. Again we were sceptical, some advice when taking a taxi in UB you are advised to NOT put your luggage in the boot as often this can be held for ransom!! Not good, anyway as the Guesthouse were not there to pick us up we had no choice. Plus trying to fit our bags in the back seat would have been a challenge. We got there no problems however the taxi driver then demanded money from the hostel for recommending the Guesthouse (even though we had a booking).
Moving on we got settled and went out for dinner and the german guy came with us. Impressions of the city were not great, really falling apart, streets dirty and plenty of water everywhere as there seems to be no drainage system here (they do have plenty of satelite dishes though!) Maybe we were not being fair as while in UB for 2 days we never actually made it to the centre because of the weather so perhaps it is just the outskirts which is not in great condition.
Again we were also warned to not be out after midnight as it is very dangerous and signs kept reminding us of this in our Guesthouse! Anyway we had no problems and found a place to eat. In UB there are many Korean restaurants which seems to be the majority and the food was also pretty good. Went back to the Guesthouse and managed to find the French Open final (live) on the TV. That was not expected so watched Nadal thrash Soderling before going to bed 😊
Day 54
Woke up to rain and cold, the temparture yesterday was around 30, today it was probably at best 10 degrees. They really have huge variances in temparture in this part of Asia and really took us by surprise. Oh no just when we thought we could dump our winter woolies we were wearing everything we had! Rained the entire day so did not even bother to venture anywhere far except reception where we organised a 5 day tour of Mongolia starting tomorrow. We would be going around Southern Mongolia, staying in Yurts for 4 nights and doing horseriding etc so we were looking forward to getting out and about. Also as we were short on time the Guesthouse sorted out our ticket to Beijing but the commission on the ticket is ridiculous. Some $40 each just in commission but we really had no choice as we were arriving back Sat night and train was Sunday morning. For those of you doing the Transmongolian the UB - Beijing sector is probably about 35 hours but the tickets do not go on sale until the day before departure. The agencies can get their greedy fingers on these earlier for a fee but if you have time you can definintely buy at the station but can not vouch how much of a hassle this might be!
Our tour was to leave at 9 tomorrow.
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Amour2k4
Amar A
Hi Darren, I am not aware of the "custom" thing where when taking taxi - putting your luggage in the boot can be held for ransom. he he. This is also the 1st time I am hearing, though I am from Mongolia. :) If you have a tourist guide with you then you should not have a problem being outside after midnight. However, obviously not just walking in the dark street with no light - after midnight. Even here in the US, if there is a place with no light - dark - then I will not even think of walking there after midnight too. So, i guess it is only a natural thing for all of us - everywhere around the world. :) Not only are there Korean restaurants, but there are all other sorts of restaurants\fast food\buffet\cafeteria sort in UB you can find. There are 2 places that seem to have high reputations among tourists in Mongolia and those are called: Irish Pub and Ikh Mongol. The latter one translates to: Great Mongol. These both have bands playing good oldies songs whine you enjoy beer with some really good food. I have'nt been to either of these for almost 3 years but this July ( YAY! after 2 weeks :) ) when I go back home for a month to visit friends and family, I will definitely go to both of these places. I also like traveling, though I am here living and working in the US now. So not much chance to travel around the world. But I have already been to few countries. But will definitely continue this after several years. I hope your experience through the Southern Part of Mongolia is great. Before coming to US, I used to work as a tour guide at a tourist company. It was only 5 years ago and I was 16 years old then. At that time, once, I had a chance to take a group of 9 Belgians to southern part of Mongolia. There we have: Dund Gobi and Umnu-Gobi. There are 2 famous rocky-mountain places called: Ikh Gazryn Chuluu and Baga Gazryn Chuluu. You should definitely visit these 2 places. Just two of the natural mysteries. Plus, you can see the "sun falling down on the ground" scene in the southern part. There are not mountains, so when sun sets down it looks as if it is just falling down on the ground. Isnt it amazing? Warm Regads, Amar