The morning started at a slow pace compared to the day before (I actually felt pretty good amazingly), and the train kept snaking its way towards Ulaanbaatur. We'd reached the Gobi desert and the terrain was barren and flat, endless plains of nothingness broken up by small groups of grazing goats or horses, and the occasional small village. There was increasingly more snow and ice in all the low lying areas, and the first ger tents started to appear. Somehow overnight they had changed the dining cart which was furbished in elaborate wood carvings and decorated in Mongolian artefacts like leather and bronze shields, and archery gear. Its a pity the plastic Santa Clauses and tinsel pasted everywhere detracted from this cultural transformation of our dining area.
We were scheduled to arrive at the Mongolian capital around 1.30pm so the morning was spent lazing about, chit-chatting and packing up the bags. The snow was getting thicker as we headed north and the vodka train group were anxiously preparing for their stay in a ger tent, while I wished I was going with them. Our schedules overlapped down the track so its likely I'll catch up with them again in Irkutsk. Once we arrived in Ulaanbaartur, I was greeted by my pre-arranged transfer, a cute Mongolian girl, Ennie, who spoke eloquent English, and her driver took me to my hotel after I bid farewell, for now, to the others. A lot of people speak Russian here, but the native language is a strange guttural mix of Russian and Chinese - totally impossible to understand, but there's something endearing about it.
Ulaanbaartur is not a huge town really - more like a small version of Beijing complete with maddening traffic, pollution, honking horns, policemen blowing whistles, and a throng of quick walking people trying to avoid the cold. It was -13C at 2pm in the afternoon but my thermal undies kept the important parts warm :). After I settled in I walked down town to get some Mongolian cash, and stumbled upon the famous Sukhbaatar Square resplendent with a huge statue of the national hero in front of the Government administration building, which itself was adorned with massive statues of other famous Khans.
I thought I had seen the epitomy of Asian beauty in China, but there's some stunning people here. There also seems to be more Western influences here, or maybe they're just concentrated in a smaller space and I noticed them more. Its a contrast of dirty, post-revolutionary Russia and modern glam. But maybe like a lot of Asian cities, the beautiful people walk amongst the begging street kids and poor old men who shine your shoes.
Anyway, I've got a few things to go see tomorrow including the famous Gandantegchinlen (Gandan) Khid monastery and some museums. More to come ...
