Blogs from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Asia - page 7

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Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 31st 2013

Thankfully feeling much better today, though still a bit weakened, so another quiet day. In fact I spent most of the afternoon joining a tour to the Gobi desert, which was much more complicated than I had anticipated. Most travellers in Mongolia join tours to see the country, as the infrastructure is limited - there are public buses, but the system is complicated unless you are a native (for example, there is usually one bus a day or every other day to most places, but the departure times are unreliable - buses leave somewhere within a 2-hour timeframe - and the don't leave from a particular point, you flag them down by the side of the road, but they don't have numbers or anything that tells you their destination, so you just have to "know" which ... read more

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 31st 2013

Woke up feeling no better than yesterday so sadly another day spent mostly in bed. I did go for a ten minute walk around a small local square and saw the circus building, a giant buddha, and some very cute children - the oldest couldn't have been more than 5 years old - performing some traditional Mongolian songs and dances on a small stage surrounded by adoring parents, for what reason I don't know. Also went back to the State Department Store for more supplies. This is the main "Westernised" store in Ulaanbaatar, a huge old Soviet-style building on 7 floors, and it sells almost everything you could think of. There is a supermarket and banks on the ground floor, then the other floors are like a cross between Debenhams and Argos. There is even a ... read more

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 31st 2013

After nearly 8 weeks in Russia, it was exciting to arrive in not just another country, but another continent! Ulaanbaatar is very geared to tourists and whichever guest house you have booked with will meet you at the station or airport, so I was speedily picked up and driven to the hostel, which was a relief as the train arrived at 6am and the area around the station is, to be honest, pretty horrible. Ulaanbaatar is the only city in Mongolia, half the population lives here, and the economy is the fastest-growing in the world relative to the size of the country (or so I was told). The result of this is that Ulaanbaatar is currently a building site, especially on the outskirts, as development accelerates. It is interesting but not pretty to look at and ... read more

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 23rd 2013

Who stole the dinosaur? And THIS IS NOT A JOKE. We arrived in Ulaan Bataar (UB) just a day AFTER the smuggled dinosaur fossils were returned to Mongolia. May 18 was thus declared the new National Dinosaur Day. Yey! But wait, where would they put all these dinosaurs? The Mongolian Museum of Natural History The Museum is said to be the oldest Museum in Mongolia, and it shows. The paint has peeled off many parts of the white building that now looks like an abandoned structure from the Soviet period. As soon as we entered, we set out to look for the resident dinosaur fossils and eggs. T-Rex was "fully assembled" in a hall with poor lighting. It won't be lonely for long. And it would soon have a new home. The Mongolian government announced it ... read more
Museum Needs TLC
First Dinosaur Eggs Off Gobi
A Dino's Tubular Bone

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 20th 2013

Mongolia wasn't in my (immediate) plan. But as it turned out, me and my 3 other friends found ourselves here in late May, and happy we made the trip. It would have been more adventurous to take the Trans Siberian Train from Moscow to Ulaan Bataar on the way to Beijing, but such is one plan we have long dropped. If we were younger, perhaps. At our age and disposition, we'd rather fly. So much is happening here especially in Ulaan Bataar with quite a number of high-rise buildings under construction. With 70% of the 2.7 million Mongolians still living in "gers" (circular tents for nomadic Mongolians) and nearly half of that in the city, I wonder who's buying up these condominium units in UB. And if they so move to these modern housing units, who'd ... read more
The Herdsman and His Mobile Phone
World's Largest Equestrian Statue
Turtle Rock in Terelj Park

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar May 10th 2013

Irkutsk- a short 20 hour train journey for our final destination in Russia. Its known as the Paris of Siberia. We got our first Russian compliment on the bus by someone claiming to be a football player!.. 'you look mighty beautiful' then was finished by 'for this hour of the morning' .. so quickly became backhanded...as much as we weren't expected to be complimented we've realised Russians neither compliment nor smile! On arrival to Irkutsk we found a hostel- again someones apartment, but this time it wasn't a dorm but was a bunk in someones lounge/office.. and seperated by a wardrobe and a piece of cloth hanging up. Didn't mind too much except at 1am when the women still was sat the other side with the light on.. being on the top bunk shining right in ... read more
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Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar October 13th 2012

We arrived in UB safe and sound – the scenery on the train on the way in was pretty amazing. Lots of wide open planes, seen some camels and wild horses. We’d heard a few horror stories about the Russian border crossings and hadn’t bothered to register our visa’s but had no problems. Navigating UB was pretty tricky our map was a few years old and already out of date, lots of construction, new roads and buildings etc… 4 hours later in the freezing cold we found our hostel and couldn’t wait to get nice hot shower … No hot water god dam it L!! Our mission for the first day was food, arrange train for Beijing (only two go a week so wanted to get this sorted) and book a nomadic Ger stay. Got some ... read more
Photo 2
Big banana feet
26 meter Buddah

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar October 9th 2012

I woke to a heavy frost and a few snow flakes in the air. After a very cold night in the ger it was time to pack up and leave for the capital city Ulaanbaatar. I said my goodbyes including the horse master who was still texting, spitting and smoking all at the same time. The ger camp had been a great experience. Nassa estimated that at least 70% of the population still live in gers. She lives in a ger with her husband but complained that they had little space, probably because they have a 42" LCD tv that he watches the premiership on and a front loading washing machine (she was very proud of her television). The drive to the city was bumpy and slow and seemed to take an age. The great views ... read more
Stunning
Gold Feet
Bird Woman

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar October 8th 2012

To my surprise the fire in my tent was lit again at midnight and again at 6am with the staff just walking in unannounced. When I went to bed I was very warm but by the morning I was shivering in my two/three season sleeping bag and was very pleased to get up and go for breakfast. The food was again all local and very tasty, the pumpkin marmalade and yellow berry hot juice was a particular favourite. The temperature had dropped considerably from the day before and the wind was bitterly cold. Layered up, Nassa took us to visit a local nomad family. After walking for about thirty minutes in the cold wind we arrived at a young couple's tent. We were given fermented mare's milk (cold) to drink, cream and stale bread and some ... read more
Mare's Milk
Horse Master
Stop Stop Stop!

Asia » Mongolia » Ulaanbaatar October 7th 2012

The train pulled into to Ulaanbaatar station exactly on time at 1332hrs. As I left the train I said goodbye to the commandant who was clearly delighted to have shot of me and off I went. I was greeted at the end of the platform by the local guide Nassa a short plump Mongolian woman who just about spoke English. The Aussie sisters were also coming along to the Ger camp and off we we went to a waiting 4x4 car. The locals had to give us a push to get the car going, we were then on our way. We were taken to the Flower hotel to freshen up. I nervously followed as I was led through a dingy corridor to the sauna room. I was handed a towel and with my backpack still strapped ... read more
Fire Please
GK
Ger Camp




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