Ulanbaatar - city life

What better place to start a visit of Mongolia in than Ulanbaatar, the Capital? Actually, UB (as we call it here) has not always been the Capital. It was installed there by the Russians (hence the name: the red city). There is even a Lenin statue in the city. Karakhorum used to be the capital, and actually has a better location than Ulanbaatar that is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains which makes it difficult for the city to expand further. In Ulanbaatar, Patrick kindly hosts me in his huge apartment. He is an English teacher and has traveled extensively the last two years. He loves to host people and even lets me cut his hair after having known me 5 minutes, respect!

The building Sky blue, which I think refers to the fact that Mongolia has more than 250 sunny days a year, rises above all buildings, just in front of Place Sukhebataar and the Government building guarded by a giant statue of Genghis Khan. 

I pay a visit to the National museum which traces the history of Mongolia from the very first human settlements and up to today. This museum is very interesting and has extensive explanations in English. In the street, I meet a young Mongolian; he asks me if I speak German. He is a student and wants to practice. His friends tell me that he is very shy so the conversation lasts a while. Germans and German products are very appreciated in Mongolia, they are considered to be the best, for historical reasons I suppose, as the Germans were opposed to the red army, which destroyed a lot in Mongolia, especially temples and other religious places… I was also quite surprised to find a Memorial to all Russian soldiers fallen during all the years, but it was constructed by the Russians themselves.

The view over the city is stunning, but even more from the hill nearby which I climb for pleasure.

Buddhism occupies an important place in Mongolian lives and the largest and most important temple of Mongolia is right here in UB: Gandan Khiid. Admire the huge Buddha feet in front of the temple...

It was one of the only monasteries that was not destroyed by the Soviets. It is also home to some hundreds, maybe thousands of pigeons!

South of the city there is also 16m tall Buddha statue and near the Sky Blue tower is the Choilin Lama temple. The contrast between the temples and the modern buildings surrounding them is interesting to observe.

Also, I like to follow the Buddhist monks from the monastery as they enter the city and melt into the crowd and the traffic.