A challenging breakfast of cold lamb & yoghurt
There are statues in UB of Chinggis Khan, a murdered student activist and the Fab 5
Attending a traditional concert in UB
Parliament building
Throat singing - extraordinary
Border crossing from China - Kiss in the backgroundAh now then, this is more like it. Outer Mongolia, from the rough and tumble border crossing (where trying to get through immigration resembles a game of rugby league - all elbows and bag-snatching) to the magnificent emptiness of the Gobi desert, its an adventure again.
We obtained our Mongolian visa at the Chinese border town of Erleen - despite being first in the queue, we patiently waited whilst all Chinese citizens were given theirs first before obtaining ours - the process took 7 hours and stopped staggeringly for 20 minutes whilst the staff ate steamed buns in front of everyone. We arrived on the Mongolian side of the border (after the game of rugby league), in time to get 2 soft sleeper tickets on the overnighter to the capital Ulaan Bataar. The train was full of cargo, stored in every cavity the train had to offer, on its way straight to the black market on the outskirts of the city.
UB was fascinating, completely different to any city on this trip, East meets West, drab Russian architecture dominating the inner city buildings, with Mongolian 'Ger' tents in the burbs. The people were generally bloody huge, both men and women, ideally suited to the 13 man game. Not surprising that under Chinggis Khan they oversaw the worlds largest empire....I wouldnt and indeed didnt argue with them. The Country is twice the size of France, but the population is 2.5 million, of which 50% live in the capital.
We arrived in the city the same time as many contestants from the Mongol rally. Starting in London, this trip is mostly completed by cars less than 1000cc, and can take from 3-7 weeks. You can get around the cc restriction if you have a novelty vehicle. Most of the contestants arrive from Russia, but many travel through Iran, and they ALL had the same story to tell, that of the incredible hospitality from the people of that country. We met one Londoner who'd used soap to fix his leaking fuel tank, and a bic biro to solve something else.
We obtained our Mongolian visa at the Chinese border town of Erleen - despite being first in the queue, we patiently waited whilst all Chinese citizens were given theirs first before obtaining ours - the process took 7 hours and stopped staggeringly for 20 minutes whilst the staff ate steamed buns in front of everyone. We arrived on the Mongolian side of the border (after the game of rugby league), in time to get 2 soft sleeper tickets on the overnighter to the capital Ulaan Bataar. The train was full of cargo, stored in every cavity the train had to offer, on its way straight to the black market on the outskirts of the city.
UB was fascinating, completely different to any city on this trip, East meets West, drab Russian architecture dominating the inner city buildings, with Mongolian 'Ger' tents in the burbs. The people were generally bloody huge, both men and women, ideally suited to the 13 man game. Not surprising that under Chinggis Khan they oversaw the worlds largest empire....I wouldnt and indeed didnt argue with them. The Country is twice the size of France, but the population is 2.5 million, of which 50% live in the capital.
We arrived in the city the same time as many contestants from the Mongol rally. Starting in London, this trip is mostly completed by cars less than 1000cc, and can take from 3-7 weeks. You can get around the cc restriction if you have a novelty vehicle. Most of the contestants arrive from Russia, but many travel through Iran, and they ALL had the same story to tell, that of the incredible hospitality from the people of that country. We met one Londoner who'd used soap to fix his leaking fuel tank, and a bic biro to solve something else.
We ate really well here, there is a large expat community, so that means the options of pasta/pizza/steak along with interesting local fare, notably steamed or fried dumplings or buzzt. We sampled fermented mare's milk (never again), and sweet tea and yoghurts. Western ran into trouble with some dodgy coleslaw from that sod Kenny Rogers, yes, we'd come across his chain 'Roosters' on Langkawi, and didnt expect to see him cropping up in UB, and after little or no chicken for a couple of weeks, we couldn't resist. We should have. Kenny, stick to your music....then again.....
We attended an extraordinary display of Mongolian throat singing, where 2 tones are heard at the same time, a deep bass (similar to the techniques of Buddhist priests in the Hamalaya) and a higher tone that sounds like a Jews harp, it wont win any awards on 'Britains Got Talent', (or as Laura from the Wirral has re-titled it, 'Britain's Got Problems'), but it was a fascinating concert.
We hung out at various cafes, taking the opportunity to access the internet freely, without being monitored, and we drank tasty draught beer. Ell worryingly discovered a liking for 'Chinggis' vodka 'neat'. Our guest house was a happy place, full of travellers, shoehorned into too small a space, all had either just returned or were on their way out to some vast expanse which you get to as soon as you leave the capital, whether it was to the alpine and mountainous landscape of the north and west, or the barren Gobi to the South.
Western had an entertaining conversation with a local woman in a shop who was explaining that because he had spent over a certain amount, he would be eligible for a prize. Unfortunately, the draw was not for a few months, so he said she could have the prize if his card was drawn out. They got chatting, and it turned out she had worked in 'The Mongolian Bar B Q' in Wimbledon', and Covent Garden. She had worked in the UK for 5 years, 3 in London and then 2 in Newport (come on 'The Port'), but had resturned to Outer Mongolia because the conditions in South Wales were too harsh.
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