Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar

A day off from all our business, we started off bright and early. The State Department store was closed when we arrived. Most of Ulaanbaatar doesn’t rise until after nine, although the sun setting at ten or later in the evening makes rising so late understandable.

I am still dumbfounded by the surges of people that sit in the many many parks after nightfall, with no lights, no fire, just talking. While this is such a communal activity, I find it very odd that it is done in complete darkness. It does not completely escape reality though, light is somewhat rare even in the city. Stairwells are very poorly lit and streetlights do not really exist. We find the rancid odor of rotten food and urine quite overbearing in the very dark stairwells as well, making our constant eight flight hike taxing both for our bodies and our noses.

Many of the buildings also reek of urine; I have witnessed many men walking up to a wall to relieve themselves. The elderly are often seen rummaging garbage, a horrid sight and smell with rotten food strewn across dirt and broken sidewalks. I still have not determined why this lady in one park was sweeping the dirt ground.

This is a very stark contrast to the actual people. Mongols are not inherent builders coming from a Nomadic tradition so many of the buildings have not been maintained since Mongolia was still under Russian control in the late 1980s. Regardless of the overall dilapidated state of everything, every morning we see people out sweeping without much result unfortunately. They dress extremely well, something we haven’t figured out how they can afford these styles. The women walk around in high stiletto shoes and boots on broken sidewalks in nice business suits or highly fashionable outfits.

We went to several stores today and found some prices to be much lower than the U.S. would have, but fairly expensive for us to not be able to buy much. It is very unfortunate as so many of the clothes here fit me, and I do like them a lot. If I could, I would definitely buy an entire wardrobe. As it is, I only purchased one very fun outfit.

Our mad shopping fiasco took us all the way to the square, so we taxied back, ate at Brauhaus, then went to a few more shops. At the Internet cafe we bumped into two Englishmen from London who had been traveling most of Asia. They just arrived from India and commented that Ulaanbaatar was much cleaner and friendlier. The people here definitely are quite friendly and seem to find humor in everything. The contrast in wealth of personality versus wealth in riches is a good reminder on what is truly important in life-humor, family, and a sense of pride in who you are.