By now you’ve probably noticed that I tend to mention Ulaanbaatar a fair amount. Considering it acted as our hub, this isn’t too surprising. It’s also the largest city and the political center of Mongolia. So, of course I noticed a few things.
1. We flew in to the Ulaanbaatar airport (officially the Chengus Kahn Airport) three times. From the air you can really see the river that runs right through it. We’re still a ways out in this shot, so the gers and buildings just look like spots on the other side of the trees.
2. Here’s the river a bit closer up.
3. We passed an arena on the road from the airport. It’s one of the larger, more modern buildings in town, and primarily for wrestling matches. Dig the curtains on the bus. That is apparently the norm there.
4. Also along the airport road, you can tell there’s a lot of new construction going on in town.
5. Not the least of which are roads. Notice on the left there is a tall monument? Each neighborhood in Ulaanbaatar will have something like that as a general marker for that particular area.
6. The roads don’t hold up well, and have to be replaced constantly.
7. A lot of the buildings are left over from the Soviet era. The roads were not laid out well so that traffic down town is congested and parking nearly impossible.
8. People walk wherever they please.
9. One of the landmarks is nicknamed The Pregnant Building. It’s a regular office building. We never went inside.
10. We walked past their capital building several times. No armed guards, just a construction crew giving it a facelift.
11. We also visited the Gandan Monastery
12. A musical instrument factory
13. and a scenic point on top of a hill that let you look over most of the town along with this very tall Buddhist statue.
A mix of the rough and the sublime, Ulaanbaatar left an impression.
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