Blogs from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Asia - page 40

Only pictures today...I'm too lazy to write anything. =)... read more

On the way to the Mongolian Capital of Ulan Batoor (which I'm told is named after the mongolian equivalent of a laso on the end of a stick) we stop in a small town to pick up some extra pasengers. As I write this I hear my next door train compartment neighbor singing a bad rendishon of the beatles let it be. After finally arriving in UB I am amazed to find that my hastily sent email was recieved and the friendly counterpart of UB guesthouse was meeting me with a big sign, my name spelt properly for once. Things get better and better as after I get the last free bed in what appears to be the bustling city the manager gives me a free ticket to the nadaan festivities. After traveling on foot to ... read more

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, ... read more

I was reading Frank Skinner's hilarious autobiography recently and one of the comments on the back stated "This book is so much better than you have any right to expect." Unreservedly, I would apply these sentiments to our time in Mongolia. Mongolia ferfuxake. I'm from Glasgow. What would any Glaswegian in the right mind be doing in Mongolia? I think as a curious 10 year old I may have come across it on a globe and back then it seemed as far away as Pluto. Perhaps even further given the class project we were doing on the solar system at the time. But here I was, 15 years later, stepping off a train in Ulaan Bataar toon centre as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Our departure from Beijing had been fairly ... read more

Saturday 0015 Departs Singapore Changi Airport on CA970. 0615 Arrives in Beijing. Transit. 0850 Departs Beijing on CA901. (+1h) 1225 Arrives in Ulaanbaatar (UB). Here we are, on our second trip to Mongolia one year later. This time we were lucky to reach Ulaanbaatar on schedule. No more flight delay like last year. Muno and Puujee, our Mongolian guides, are already at the airport to receive us. So is Nyaama, who is going to be our driver for the next 15+ days. After checking into UB Hotel, which is the same one we stayed last year, Puujee brought us for lunch at the SilkRoad Restaurant. We have heard about the restaurant from PJ, and it is also a "Lonely Planet" recommended restaurant. We had western food, Tendori chicken, etc. Food was quite ok. After lunch, Puujee ... read more