Week of Travel in the Capital City of Mongolia

It was shortly after 6 AM when we finally arrived into Ulan Bator,
the capital city of Mongolia with a population of just over one million and home to Genghis Khan. After just ten minutes off the train, I could definitely
tell we were no longer in Russia. Everything was different… the
people, the buildings… and the many smiling faces. We had arranged
pick up at the train station from a hostel we had booked and there were six of us from our train en route to this hostel. But after getting into the van to get there, I quickly realized that even at 6:30 in the morning, the Mongolians drive even crazier than they do in Russia. I really don’t think they’d ever buy a car
without a working horn, even at a 50% discount.

In the main square of Ulan Bator

The place we stayed in was very basic but the staff was extremely
friendly and helpful just like the many Mongolians we met during the
week we were here.

This little Mongolian was tearing it up in the square…

The city itself is fairly fast paced and as mentioned before, the traffic is absolutely crazy. After spending time here amongst the traffic (and narrowly missing some close calls) I really don’t think there is such a thing such as a ‘pedestrian right-of-way’. I guess after a few days, you just get used to dodging oncoming cars while you’re crossing the street even though you patiently waited for your green signal.

Just giving the carpet a good Mongolian mopping in the hostel… no problem. That’s normal right? I felt bad snapping the photo but it was too weird not to, I just couldn’t help myself.

I think the funniest part of our trip in Ulan Bator was the experiences we had with all the restaurants we ‘tried’ to eat in. No matter where it seemed we went, we always had trouble finding food. In some of the restaurants we walked into, it was as early as 8pm but they had told us they were closed after we had sat down at a table while others would tell us that they were out of food even though they remained open. Sometimes, we would try and order three different dishes and they would be out of all three dishes and there was even one time we went in a restaurant and they told us that there was no food with the excuse being that it was a ‘cook holiday’. Oh, OK, that’s a new one we hadn’t heard yet.

 Our first time eating in Mongolia… We weren’t sure what to expect.

So what did I order? The Mongolian Great Energy Vitals soup of course… A traditional Mongolian soup consisting of Mutton heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and stomach. I’m still unsure of why I felt compelled to skip over the noodle dish I was thinking about. Are you still wondering how it was? It was gross. And I still missed out on the ‘Great Energy’. I should have just ordered a Red Bull.

But I think my favorite experience was at the ‘Pink Rose Restaurant’.
There were five of us on the way to what’s known as the ‘Black Market’
and after taking a few wrong turns, we ended up walking into an area where
restaurants were hard to come by… that was of course until we
stumbled onto the Pink Rose restaurant.

This should be interesting…

It looked like a deserted car dealership from the outside and there really didn’t look to be anyone in the restaurant. Walking up I knew this would be an interesting experience. When we walked in (four Swedish blondes and myself), it was like the scene out of a movie where the music stops, everyone looks up and you just stand there as if you just realized you left the house with no
clothes on. Only there was no music playing, it was insanely quiet inside and there were about ten Mongolians just staring at us wondering if we knew where we were. Yes we did know. We were hungry and I think just about any food for us would suffice at the time. The waitress came up to us, brought us a menu and started speaking Mongolian. Things went downhill from there as all the hand
gestures and non-verbal communication seemed to get us nowhere and was
making things more confusing. It was then that we got a phone call…
from the restaurant… and a cordless phone was brought to us. Umm…
“Hello?” And then the voice on the other line replied…”Hello. How – are – you?” in a thick Mongolian accent.

This was definitely the first time I’d ordered something off a restaurant menu by phone…while in the restaurant.

That’s funny, I didn’t realize anybody knew we were coming to the Pink Rose. After my friend’s conversation with the owner went south, I was then handed the phone for the next five minutes.

The conversation went back and forth on the phone and after about ten minutes, we were pretty sure we had  successfully ordered some food. This whole experience might have been the hardest I’d laughed in weeks…

Sorting out the 37,000 bill… equivalent of about $27.

After a long lunch, we made it to the Black Market which is meant to
be the best place to buy knock off products as well as just about
anything else you can imagine at some incredibly cheap prices.

First glimpse into the Black Market. There wasn’t much you couldn’t buy here.

They literally have everything here just short of houses and cars for sale.
Bring your bargaining skills though as nothing is marked, not even a
pad and paper.

A true meat market in the Black Market… and they waste nothing here in Mongolia when it comes to cuts of beef.

It was a magical fit… I just wasn’t so sure about the color…

I don’t think any of us bought anything that day but it was an
experience just to be there. We spent about three hours there then
crammed the five of us into a small cab back to our place. Later that night, we went to the Sky Bar which was just what you think
it would be… a bar in the sky? No. Really expensive drinks? Yes. But
it was worth having just one as the sun was setting over Ulan Bator
and this was probably one of the best views we’d get on a backpacker’s budget.

The ‘Sky Bar’ Sunset over Ulan Bator

After a good bit of sightseeing in this capital city of Mongolia, it was time to get out into wide open spaces… which is truly the main reason to come to Mongolia. After all, my main three goals for my time spent here were to sleep in a Ger
tent, wear a funny hat and ride a horse. I managed to do all three in
just two days time!

Out for drinks in a place called the ‘First Mongolian Irish Pub’…how fitting…