Hangin' with Genghis in UB

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Finally...I'm in Ulaan Bataar!!! Land of togrogs, smiling faces, beautiful weather, and mutton galore. Except for the mutton bit, UB is everything that I'd hoped it to be. =)

After another 2 nights on the train and a grueling 8-hour border stop, we arrived in the city this morning and spent the entire day being "super tourists". We saw a monastery, a former palace, a Mongolian dance/song performance, and most importantly...we tried the local mutton specialties. I did not like mutton before I came to Mongolia, and the fatty/tendon-y bit I ate today has not convinced me otherwise. Lauren, on the other hand, seems to really be enjoying the local cuisine!

The Gandantegchinlen monastery was absolutely gorgeous -- a giant golden Buddha dominating the central temple, beautiful hand-painted wall scrolls, silver prayer wheels around elaborate stupas, and the smell of incense and burning butter lamps everywhere. It was a flashback to the monasteries and temples of Tibet - the similarities are really uncanny -- so of course I fell in love with everything immediately.

Tomorrow is the start of Naadam, Mongolia's biggest festival of the year. According to Lonely Planet, Naadam is "part family reunion, part fair and part nomad Olympics". We'll get to see 4 different events: wrestling (the contestants wear a uniform of "heavy boots, tiny tight briefs and open midriff-baring vests"...needless to say, Lauren and I are pretty excited to meet some of these guys...hehe), archery (with arrows made from vulture feathers), horse racing (the jockeys are kids aged 5 to 12!), and anklebone shooting (I'm a bit confused about this event, but apparently the contestants throw a sheep's anklebone at a target...seems very odd to me).

Okay, enough serious stuff. On to the funny pictures... =)

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Photos

my first Mongolian sunset
this is why i love this country

me and my mutton kebab
i am smiling only because i haven't actually taken a bite yet

my bed is up top
notice the harness - that flimsy bit of rope was supposed to protect me from rolling off the top bunk of the train compartment and breaking my neck

Gandantegchinlen Khiid
at the monastery...some kind of water ceremony that i don't really understand

a meal on the train
this is one of our most elaborate meals on the train. this pictures was taken during the first leg of our trip in Russia (not the giant cup of boiled potatoes). since there were no platform vendors on the russia-mongolia route, we had to resort to ramen 3 times a day. yuck...

post-vodka Lauren
our Polish neighbors on the train were very generous with their vodka...turns out that Lauren speaks Chinese brilliantly when she's hammered

russian window washing
only in russia would the window washer lady use MUD to "clean" the train windows...

Comments

[Lex Luther]

Awesome!
Hi Jenny - what an awesome blog! I only just got back from my own tour but I have now caught up with all your past entries. Love it!! Have loads of fun, say hi to Lauren, and don't forget about basic office safety. Remember: safety first!! LEX

[m@t]

ahhh, i'm jealous
i've always wanted to go to mongolia, it must be a blast to see such a different existance.....i can't wait to see all the photos when we see you....i'm not surprised the vodka helped w/ laurens language aquisition...when are you getting back btw? we leave for greece again on 8/1......if we don't see you when you get back, then we'll see you when we get back.....keep having fun

[gurpreet]

sunset nights
jenny-sue! (anayanaanna?) that's a sunset worth walking into! looking forward to talking with you after you return (i'll get a number and get in line:)) love.