The highlight of Mongolia is the countryside, and we knew that we wanted to spend as much time as possible there. Independent exploration of the countryside is still quite difficult, though, as the infrastructure is limited and distances can be great. So we knew we'd want to join an organized tour. After a lot of research and communication with different companies, we decided to book a 2 week tour with Horseback Mongolia.
However, way back when we did those Russian and Chinese visas, we planned for about 3 1/2 weeks in Mongolia. We'd hoped to find a slightly longer countryside tour, but the 2 week tour really was the best fit for our family (less driving, longer stays, family friendly activities). The result is that we've ended up with a bit more time in Ulan Bator both before and after our tour than we'd anticipated or would have planned for if we'd known how the tour dates would shake out.
We've spent the past few days since arriving in UB seeing some of the sights but also taking things a lot slower since we have a lot of time here. We're staying in a great hostel that feels brand-new and is really comfortable, so it's been an easy place to relax. I don't think we've made it out of our hostel before noon for at least 2 of past days!
Ulan Bator is the home of approximately 50% of Mongolia's almost 3 million people. I read that the population of the city has doubled in the past 5 years, and you can see evidence of this in the construction going on all over the city. Ulan Bator is definitely one of the more "emerging" cities we've been in to date. Traffic is chaotic (and very pedestrian unfriendly), there are more people begging, pickpocketing and bag snatching is a bigger concern here, and street addresses are pretty much non-existent.
So far, we visited Chinggis Square, with its large statue of Damdinii Sühbaatar, one of the leaders of Mongolia's 1921 revolution. The Government Palace is in the very background, featuring a large statue of a seated Genghis Khan protected by two of his warriors.
We visited the International Intellectual Museum, with its collection of puzzles, games, and toys from all over the world. The founder started making intricate wooden puzzles when he was just a child. He's since won all kinds of international competitions and presented his puzzles to many world leaders. Some of his biggest creations require tens of thousands of moves to solve. One of the highlights was an entire room of chess sets, some set atop hand carved wooden tables (also puzzles themselves). Pictures weren't allowed in most of the museum, but our guide did take these random shots of us that include pretty much no puzzles whatsoever....
We did get to take a picture of this ger, which is a puzzle in and of itself...
This is a puzzle representation of the stove and fire that would be in the center of the ger.
That day was also Bob's 42nd birthday. We celebrated by having American-style burgers at an Irish pub in Mongolia. And we realized that Bob's been on 3 different continents for 3 of his last 4 birthdays (2 in Asia, 1 in Europe, 1 in the US)....lucky guy!
We tried Mongolian beers while Colin photo bombed us.
We also had a delicious chocolate pie once we got back to the hostel.
We've walked past this wrestling arena several times....Mongolia is big in sumo wrestling. We just missed the Sumo World Championship, which was held a week ago here in Ulan Bator.
We've also spent quite a bit of time in the State Department Store, picking up a few things for our upcoming tour. I find the English translation of the store's slogan amusing.
If your needs include Chinese knock off toys, the slogan is definitely accurate....the first picture below is a legitimate LEGO set, the second picture is the almost identical Chinese version. They're about the same price so we're not quite sure what the appeal of the knock offs are, but they are certainly plentiful.
If your needs include Chinese knock off toys, the slogan is definitely accurate....the first picture below is a legitimate LEGO set, the second picture is the almost identical Chinese version. They're about the same price so we're not quite sure what the appeal of the knock offs are, but they are certainly plentiful.
We also thought this knock off Woody was amusing....he is a funny cowboy!
We also visited the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs. No pictures were allowed in this tiny but well-done museum that displays actual fossils discovered in Mongolia. We saw 2 nearly complete skeletons, a nest of dinosaur eggs, and several other collections of fossils. A friendly Mongolian lady guided us around and explained each exhibit to us in detail and with enthusiasm.
Afterwards, we headed to the movie theatre next door where we saw Ice Age: Collision Course (in English, with Mongolian subtitles). 4 regular priced tickets and 3 big popcorns cost all of $16--about what 2 discounted tickets in the US would have cost alone. The movie was silly and the kids loved it, so it was a great way to spend a couple of hours.
Bob and I are pretty much sick of playing war (the boys' card game of choice on the long Trans-Siberian train rides), which requires exactly zero skill and lasts forever. But Bob and I both enjoy blackjack, so we thought teaching the boys this game might be fun for everyone. And, we reasoned, they have to add up the numbers on the cards, so it counts as math practice, too.....right?
When we added in "betting" last night (using M&Ms), Emmett explained his strategy of saving half of his "chips" so that he wouldn't lose everything...while Colin, at one point, informed us all that he was going to "get all the M&Ms by betting everything". Hopefully this decision and photo will not be looked back on as a major parenting mistake and the beginning of a gambling addiction......we have been careful to explain the consequences of gambling and disadvantages of casinos, so we'll see. :)
Today we meet our group with Horseback Mongolia, and tomorrow morning we start our 2 week tour of the countryside! That means our internet connections will be few and far between as we discover Mongolia outside of Ulan Bator. But come back in a couple of weeks because I'm sure we'll have some fantastic pictures and stories to share!
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