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Published: August 8th 2013
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From my five days here the one word that dominates my description of Ulaanbaatar is Random. That word doesn’t even really mean anything but seriously in Mongolia it seems people just do whatever want. My first impression when I get off the train is influenced by the ‘car park’ which our bus was parked in. Now when I say car park what I really mean is just a bunch of cars in no particular order just strewn about this area next to the station. Unsurprisingly it was rather difficult for the driver to manoeuvre out of and although everyone was constantly leaning on their horns no one seems phased in the slightest by the chaos. The same goes for when you’re on the road, you give way to who you want, you slip in and expect others to give way to you whenever you feel it’s necessary and you just sound your horn the entire time just so everyone is aware of your presence. There’s no road rage it’s just how things are done which is just great. It’s like being in a big country town where people bend rules and are just happy for everyone to work around each other,
Ger
This is a Ger similar to the one we were staying in but belongs to a family of Mongolian nomads a bit of give and a bit of take.
The attraction I was most looking forward to, as were others in the group, was the ‘International Intellectual Museum’ which was a display of intricate puzzles created by an eleven year old prodigy child. So right after our overdue shower we arrive at the museum only to be informed by our honcho Odka that the museum was closed for renovations. Incredibly deflated and slightly confused as to why one of the few tourist attractions was being renovated right in the peak of the tourist season, we head to some markets where I am informed by the honcho that everything is made in China. They seem to be popular among locals and although I was done looking after about ten minutes it was interesting watching the locals watching us foreigners.
The next day we leave our comfortable four star hotel for a two day trip to the national park where we stay in one of the many Ger camps set up for tourists. Along the way we learn that approximately 20-25% of the population live as nomads, providing for their own needs from their herd and land and doing monthly
ME
Me making daisy chains and enjoying nature trips to town for things like flour and rice. Although Mongolia left communism behind over 20 years ago there are some traits of their communist past that they seem to have held onto, partly I think, to encourage people to embrace their traditional nomadic lifestyle. For instance nomads don’t have to pay for land, which makes sense given the sparse population outside the cities, and one day a year during the winter workers give up their day’s salary to help the nomads through the unforgiving weather. The people are generous and it seems they don’t mind helping the nomads in this way (who by the way don’t pay any tax) which is another way in which it seems similar to big country town. When we arrived at the Ger camp we all paid to go on pony ride, something I normally wouldn’t do given the amount of pony riding I have done in my life. I was assured by the guide that since I was experienced I would be able to off for a gallop with her which I couldn’t say no to given the spectacular rolling hills with wild rock formations spilling out the top. Paying $20 for a
Wouldn't be a Mongolian Country club if it wasn't named after Chenggis
Almost every second attraction is named after the 'great' Chenggis Khaan (Known to most of us foreigners as Genghis) two hour ride and spending half this time at a gift shop wasn’t exactly what I had expected but nevertheless it was exhilarating being able gallop through the foreign terrain. Before we had made it back to the camp we got caught in an unexpected thunder storm which seemed very dramatic at the time, when really the horses weren’t worried and we were nearly home anyway so it was rather over the top but very funny. It seriously poured and we were all very glad for the fire place inside the Ger once we able to get it going.
The following day and a half at the Ger camp consisted mostly of hiking and eating (the meals consisting mostly of meat with maybe a little bit of rice, noodles or veggies) which was all very relaxing. I enjoy getting away from big cities every so often while travelling, here in the national park I am able to have a little nature appreciation time which is always good. On the way back to UB we pick up a few hitchhikers, a Spanish couple and a French family. We are playing a few games between the group of us such as word association games until we came up with a games to include the eight year old French boy. The game is a twist on the number game ‘buzz’ where you go around in a circle counting upwards and every number that includes a seven, is a multiple of seven or whose digits add up to seven, you say ‘buzz’. The twist, to allow everyone to be involved, is that you can count in either French or English. The game goes on for over an hour and I think we made the young boy’s trip around Mongolia.
Once back in UB we have some chill out time in the hotel in preparation for tonight’s karaoke followed by hitting the town. We head to a popular local spot ‘Strings’ which provides us with a fantastic live band singing covers of English songs. It was one of the best and most fun nights I’ve had you lose all inhibitions when travelling especially in a group of like-minded people. We mostly made fools of ourselves on the dance floor but the locals seemed to enjoy our company and since many of the people here spoke English I was able to have a few conversations with the regulars.
Despite our anticipated hangovers we planned to have a cultural day which included wandering the town square, a trip to the national museum of Mongolia as well as a few unsuccessful museum visits including the Mongolian museum of natural history which was closed for ‘an indefinite amount of time’ and a calligraphy museum which it seemed had been converted to a butchers. After this our honcho informs us that is not much else to do in her city so we go and have a coffee and chat until dinner time. For this evenings meal we had made a booking at a popular ‘Mongolian barbeque restaurant’ which seemed to attract a lot of tourists. Walking into the restaurant I felt like I was inside an American steak house. The food however was not American, nor did it seem particularly Mongolian from what I had experienced, there was buffets full of raw meat, vegetables and sauces all of which you picked yourself and then took them to the chef where you could watch as he stir fried on the large hot plate. This was definitely the largest intake of veggies I had had since being away so I was incredibly grateful and managed to forget to think about whether or not these vegetables had been imported from somewhere far away (which I had been thinking about for most of the trip having not seen a single vegetable crop while being in Mongolia).
The next morning we stock up on supplies (Vodka and noodles) for our 4 day train trip to Moscow then say an emotional goodbye to our wonderfully crazy Honcho Odka. I have now boarded the train and got myself comfortable ready for the long journey, Bay-ar-tai Mongolia!
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Jane
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WHAT CAN i SAY.(Whoops,hit caps lock,) what an amazing time you\'re having. Makes me feel like packing up and coming on over! Dont panic, I\'m busy. Thank you so much for such a colourful view of where you\'re going. I love it! Keep having fun and write when you have time. I\'ll keep checking. Mumx xxxxxxx