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Janet had to go to Mongolia on business - and as Ulaanbaatar (as they spell it - UB from now on...) hadn't been graced with a visit so far - 'twas time to saddle up my/our ponies....
12 Feb, 2005
Got to Changi airport early (21:00) into Swensens for dinner (slow service) - then.... 01:20AM early on a Saturday morning (12/2/2005) we left Singapore aboard SQ flight (6 hours) to Beijing (I had 3 seats to myself - Janet was in Club/Business - easy - slept nearly all the way!!
All down the right side of the runway at Beijing - enormous constructions... reckon they're building for the Olympics - we had a 5 hour lay-over (because we'd been told that flights to UB were somewhat erratic - because of weather conditions) - met up with Aussie blokes - some were drillers (working in Mongolia mining Copper & Gold) others were on business trips (Accountants etc..) - but they knew the ropes - basically we couldn't stay "in Transit" - we had to exit out through Immigration (lucky we had Visas), and a few hours later - come back in again - excuse me.............. big early warning!!! The Olympics will be chaos - if the airport doesn't get sorted out!! There are more Immigration Personnel than travelers - and they all get in each other's way!!
Never mind!! We board Mongolian Airways Airbus for the 2 hour trip to UB - full!! and OK service!! Land - no problemos - but they say its Minus 22C!! - into terminal - and chaos - they dish out "landing cards" - small room - 200 people trying to fill-in forms and exit - but good natured... down to baggage claim and out and there is a gentlemen (turns out to be Batbold) holding a DHL sign saying "Janet & Hubby" - apparently Janet had told them her "hubby" was coming with - and they didn't know what that meant - so they assumed it was my name!! Great!! Shame I didn't get a piccie!!
Well done Batbold!! Over the next week or so he was very helpful - always smiling - and trying out the English - doubt whether we helped him learn much - but he was a very nice man!! Into the car (just 50 yards from the terminal - but still very cold!!) for a 20 minute drive into town.... Barren, wide, open, very clear atmosphere (actually we were to find out that it wasn't), lots of people waiting for buses and car pick-ups, then the town started appearing - big Power plants, the "welcome Arch" and round into the Edelweiss Hotel (we get rooms 407 and 408 - joined together - clever arrangement - one is bedroom the other is sitting room).
If you want to contact Edelweiss - Tel (976-11) 312186, Fax (976-11) 325252 - its 3 star - but more about that later.....
Batbold dropped us off - saying dinner is at 18:00 - he'll "be back"!!
We unpack and realise.................. how...... quiet..... it......is..... honestly... as Janet said "the quiet is deafening"!! Think it was because the traffic had to go slow (ice etc..) and there was very little other noise.. Also - there was not much traffic around the hotel...
Each room had a balcony - and as it was a beautifully sunny day - we went out onto a balcony to have a look at our surroundings..
First thing I saw was the hills covered with trees and snow, but as you can see
there were other things to distract the eye - like 2 purple buildings just
across the street. Between the purple buildings and the far distant hills are
"compounds" (you'll see them better later) surrounded by 6 foot high
wooden fences - inside which, will be a ger (the round Mongolian houses/huts) -
it is really a sort of "area under development" - where the families have bought
their plot of land - but have yet to build - consequently - no running water
(probably would have frozen anyway), electricity, heating etc.... so everybody
burns coal or wood - hence the haze. This is looking just about South.
A
bit further to the left.... the dark building at right contained flats and
offices. All the roads are covered in black ice and in front of the block of
flats at far left you can see "the river" - or more correctly - the foot-bridge
over the river - which was entirely dry (not frozen - dry)!! In the left
foreground (where the car is parked) is the "sitting-out" area of our
Hotel - it had a Karaoke Bar which (I guess in summer) could be opened out onto
the grass and deck areas. The road to its right - is the ramp leading up to
Hotel Entrance, fully iced - and an obstacle to 2 wheel-drive cars!!
Further to the left (just about East)... Hotel "sitting-out" area coming more
into view at left - and across the river - old-style flats - with new, smaller,
brighter blocks coming into view.
Further to the left - and old-style flats again..... DHL building is a bit
further to the left on this side of the river - out of pic.
We decided this cold had to be confronted... looked out the window and said "we'll walk up there - along there - and back" - it turned out too cold - we only went up there and back!!
Looking just about North - Hotel is well to the left, DHL building is the white
one just beyond the pink one. Janet's on the walkway alongside the river, well
wrapped up, laughing..... for now!!
And here I am, from Janet's last position, you can see the river - completely
dry, the walkway completely covered in ice - and look at those hills!! Shadow of
Hotel behind me. Every footstep squeaked the air was so dry and cold - but
couldn't make a snow-ball - the snow just fell apart..
We walked up to "THE" main road (Peace Avenue), got well cold - and headed back to the hotel. Suddenly it was 18:00 and the little yellow DHL car arrived with both Batbold and Tsolmon. They raced us into town (really only 400 yards away from the hotel), round the main square (more of that later) and into a very Korean/Mongolian restaurant - food was mostly Korean, whilst the furnishings etc.. were all Mongolian.
Tsolmon at left, Janet and Batbold. Lots of wood (floors, walls, ceiling) - very
warm - buffet-style food - very enjoyable!!
We'd finished eating when "the entertainment" started, so we moved table nearer
to the singers/players - firstly a guy playing the 2 stringed cello-type
instrument - I found their music sort of mellow, melancholic, haunting - both
this "traditional" stuff and the modern "pop" sort of stuff - but pleasant for
all that!!
Here's our boy.... and he was followed by 3 or 4 others playing zither type
instruments and then there came the "throat-singing" guy - he was great!! If
you've never heard of throat-singing - you should search it out - its most
unusual. Basically the guy groans/growls very deeply (a bit reminiscent of the
Buddhist Monks) - but he does it with such power and force that you initially
don't realise the sound is Human or indeed coming from him. When he really gets
going, the low groaning is heard as the sort of "bass" and magically a sort of
reverberating high note becomes audible - high pitched "weeeeeenn, weeeeeeeen,
weeeeooooooouuuuuu" - absolutely amazing!!
Back to the hotel by 20:30 - and asleep!
13 Feb, 2005
Down to breakfast in one of the two dining rooms (as it turned out - the Russian and the European restaurants - both had the same Menu - we never bothered to go to the Russian room) - ordered Omelet and sausage together with tea/toast etc.... the omelet and the sausage arrived - COLD!! We didn't query it - thinking that maybe - this was the way breakfast got served (but it never happened again - so we don't know why it happened this time (although there is a clue towards the end of our stay)).
11:00 AM - Batbold and Sengelmaa arrive to take us to meet "the bosses" at their country houses - the little DHL car will not be big enough for us all - so we wait for Burmaa and her son to arrive in a big SUV - drive 25 miles north of town - fantastic!! Into the hills, up in the trees - blue skies etc.... wonderful area!! Pull up in front of 2 big houses, where a group of people are "playing with" a Skidoo.
Burmaa, Janet and Batbold - we've just walked uphill from the 2 houses, to the
boundary fence of the property - and are about to "go out into the wild"
forest/hills......
The same 3 - looking back to the houses - poor Sengelmaa is trying to climb up
the hill but she's wearing stylish but (non-treaded boots) - she's somewhere
downhill behind them....
Now she's caught up - and Batbold is doing the honours - look at the sun, sky,
snow, trees!! Brilliant!! Also - Sengelmaa's trendy boots.
we
climbed to the top of a little hill and looked back towards the houses/compound
(it's somewhere down there in the trees) - and then took piccies of each
other....
And then we walked back down through the trees (lots of animal tracks in the snow) into Odgerel's house, where his wife Altma served Mongolian dumplings, Meat, Ham together with veggies etc... and at Odgerel's left hand.... all the drink!! Red wine for the ladies... and VODKA FOR THE BOYS!!
We were sitting round the dining table eating and people kept walking in from outside - they explained it was the 5th day after Lunar New Year and traditionally (up to day 30) friends visited and drank...... all very nice - BUT..... we get introduced to each arrival - and then they were all mostly Bankers - but NOT JUST bankers - they were (for example) the Governor of the Mongolian United Bank, or the CEO of some other Bank - and then to cap it all.... a gentleman and his wife come in - he says "I'm Chook" - I could remember that... he turned out to be The Governor of Governors - the man who signs their currency - we actually joked that he doesn't have business cards - he just hands over bank notes!!
I have kept a 5,000 Tugrik banknote (1,200 to 1 US $), with his signature - and hope to scan it in here at some future date.......
Around 16:00 people started making a move - I think Odgerel and Altma wanted to get back into the city, so I assumed we were heading back there too..... Wrong!!
Next door into Bathu and his wife's house - for more food and vodka/etc....
Our host Bathu and his wife... he owns a boxing school - so don't mess with
him!!
Batbold and Bathu's youngest son - cheeky/bright young boy!!
That's him again..... with cuddly toys....
Sengelmaa and Burmaa (are they drinking tea!!..?? - wimps!!)
Views from the dining room, of the evening "creeping in".....
Nice entrance stairway hey??
The dog and the kids are still playing
outside - minus 25C!!
Around this time a very swarthy gentleman came in - had the "outdoor" complexion of a farmer or whatever - he turned out to be a local guy who sort of "looked after" the houses when occupants weren't there - he had an accordian - and there was lots of singing - very enjoyable!!
Bathu (and Odgerel) - many thanks for your hospitality, hope we can repay
sometime.....
Drove back to the city - what a great day!! - into the hotel by 20:15 - just a soup before bedtime - asleep by 21:30.
14 Feb, 2005
Up for breakfast - we had switched to Toast and Tea - so that we didn't get served cold anythings - Janet off into the office by 08:30 - I read books - until Janet returns for lunch at 13:00. I decided to try (over the next few days) all their soups (and - because there were so many - missed I think only 1 or 2). Bought a tourist map at reception (one of those types that are handed out free everywhere-else I've been to - here it cost US $ 4:00 - and the amazing thing - both sides were exactly the same!!
I planned a walk - basically north from the hotel (along the river) to Peace Avenue (the main drag) - then left along it for about 3 Kms - to a road (Ihtoiruu) which crossed Peace Ave (Enkhtaivan) at right angles (to the right it led up to the Gandan Monastery - more of that later), but I turned left down to Teeverchidiin street - left again for 3 Kms (with the railway along my right side (it goes from Beijing through UB to Moscow)), then the railway museum - with about 6 old engines parked out on display (both diesel and steam), past Peace Bridge (over the river) down to where the river makes a 90 degree left turn then cut through all that "development area" I described at picture 1 - quite a few sights through there!! - back to the hotel - absolutely frozen!!
This became a pattern for later walks - me all wrapped up - a scarf draped across my face and mouth - exhaled air forming ice on it - nose running - having to blow it every few minutes - means taking gloves off and groping around in pockets for a handkerchief - everything getting well cold during this procedure, all to be repeated in a few minutes!! Lots of people on the street, lots of cars on "the main drag" - ice everywhere - had to be very careful with footing...... some background....
Ulan Bator was described as "Population 260,000" in the hand-outs etc... but apparently lots of nomads have had a few bad years - lost their herds, and have moved into town - making the pop nearer to 1,000,000.
It was Russian up until about late 1980's - so lots of lovely looking big buildings (Theatres, Universities etc..) and of course the slab sided, drab buildings for civil servants etc... Cyrillic writing is the norm - Mongolian writing is just now making a comeback (banned for 80+ years) - and its up/down stuff, nothing like Chinese - more like Arabic turned 90 degrees to the right. The language sounds to me like Eskimo... lots of tsk, tuck, trut sounds, but the locals said it was very nearly unique (apparently) being somewhat related to Finish, Hungarian and something else - but then (later on) that was all contradicted - so who knows!!
Ice, everywhere... black Ice, lumps that have been there for months... all the roads are covered in ice (but everybody drives slowly - only saw a couple of shunts) - even the pavements have "slides" - where if you want to - instead of walking on the lumpy ice - you can "slide" for 10 to 15 feet - a new form of locomotion!!
Having survived "walk 1" - a lovely hot shower - voddies, Janet arrives back - down for Steak dinner - Altma is in reception meeting 3 French blokes she's in business with - to bed by 21:00
15 Feb, 2005
Usual breakfast start to the day - Janet walks off to the office - where office hours are (would you believe) 09:18 start... there is no "finish time" stated. Other weird arrangements.... in the DHL building is a Duty Free shop! Read books until 13:30 - reckon Janet not coming back for lunch - go down - she arrives at 13:45... and after lunch - its time for Walk 2!! I'd got a bit cautious after yesterday's outing - and decided to go for a shorter distance... up to Peace Ave, left along it to a right turn onto the Inner Ring Road, up there past the Chinese Embassy - bearing left Daschoilin Monastery on the right, heading west then bearing to the left again...
Inner Ring Road - a general view of icy sidewalks and "cold looking city" -
straight down the ring-road to Peace Ave then left along - past embassies of
Turkey and Hungary - then the 24 hours Post Office and into the main square -
Sukhbaatar Square - shades of Tiananemen - very impressive...
the main bit of the square is to the left - the nice pink/orange building is the
Theatre of Classical Arts..
More of the square emerging as I pan left.. - that's my "frozen" shadow!!
A
bit more left - The main bit of the square - that's Parliament in the distance
Further left and a row of Banks starts appearing (that's where the Governors
are!!)
Having got the general layout of the square - here are a few more specific shots....
The Classical Arts building with Mr Sukhbaatar's statue - I understand he was a
bit of a "leader" around 1910's..
This was an insurance shot - because even though I was frozen - I reckoned the
earlier shot hadn't got his head/hand in - working well under all conditions!! I
like the idea of all the "park benches" - who's going to be daft enough to use
them??
A couple of shots where I was trying to portray "how cold a square can be"....
I liked that building - and weird... that lady
striding from left to right - I ended up sort of following her for the next 2+
Kms.
Back home to the Edelweiss - that's the ramp up to reception/entrance at left
our rooms were right in the middle - at the top - nice building at right -
further back - may have been a house or office - don't know!!
Background......UB is at about 5,000 feet - we noticed that in the first few days - out of breath... Hotel was a 3 star (they only have 3 - 4 star hotels and no 5 stars!!) and about 300 yards from the DHL office - however - in just that distance we both got absolutely frozen each day!! Minus 24C plus a wind!! I had on boots, ski-socks, long-johns, jeans, T-shirt, warm/long-sleeve shirt, pullover, fleece-jacket, cashmere jacket, 2 scarves and 2 hats - still - ice on the scarf where it covered my mouth, eyelids getting frozen together and cheeks getting (nearly) frost-bitten - used the ski-suit - which was much warmer!! The ladies are very trendy and mostly lovely!! High cheekbones - lovely fur coats, hats, leather boots etc... really nice to see after "T-shirt and shorts - Singapore".
Just before the shower - decided to snap the purple houses again....
This time - can you see - at the bottom left of the rightmost purple building
there's an "entrance canopy" and beneath that - between two of the "fence-posts"
is a ger - seems they were the "security" - always living in the car park!!
16 Feb, 2005
Usual start - except I was impressed by the sunrise...... minus 25C and getting - a bit warmer...
I
asked for "hot" omelet - and got it!! Janet off to work - I stayed in all day -
didn't fancy walking - Janet phoned to say "be in reception at 19:00 - they'll
pick you up" - off to a Chinese dinner with Eck Seng (from DHL Beijing) and
Calvin (DHL Hong Kong) - and Burmaa and Bathu and the Team... very enjoyable!!
Home by 00:30!!
17 Feb, 2005
Last night - Bathu had said he'd make a car available to me at 10:00Am - for me to go wherever I liked..... As it turned out... the driver was to have been his son (Mongot with his own Land Cruiser) - but he didn't get the message until much later - and after a lunch - I'd gone out for walk #3......
This, I think, was THE coldest!! Just because there was a strong wind blowing...... north up to Peace Ave - turn right along it - to the UK Embassy on the left - then turn left up (Ihtoiruu - the Outer Ring Road) - bear left through the intersection with Khuk Tenger Street - keep going until the river and beyond that - the Laos and USA Embassies - turn left 90 degrees and follow the river back to Edelweiss.
As I'm striding across the entrance to DHL - a Land Cruiser pulls across my path - its Mongot!! I jump in (bursting for a pee) - he says he'll show me Gandan Monastery - brilliant (photos appear later) - it has a standing Buddha about 80 feet high (cannot take photos of it) - and then in another 'building' hundreds of monks chanting - I think - for the Lunar New Year - very warm inside that building... Had to come back to the hotel so I could pee - then off over Peace Bridge to find that Bogda Khaan Museum (well south of the city) is closed on Thursdays.... so we bomb off to the Russian War memorial - a bit further south - Zaysan Tolgoy - drive part way up and park....
Mongot with Power station behind and city to the right......
and again......... Thanks Mongot - for all the driving... hope you enjoyed
reading "Top Gear" magazine!! Panoramic view coming up............ left to
right...
the next 2 should be here - but it doesn't
work..
Looking from the "viewing area" left towards one of the big Power generating stations, then coming right a couple of times - central UB is in the second and third piccies - need I say - it was very cold!!
Looking back from the viewing area - up to the Memorial.
Back into the hotel by 17:00 - clean up - ready for DHL crowd (nearly all
employees) to Karaoke - wasn't looking forward to this - but - no pressure -
people who wanted to sing - did.... lots of Vodka (I blame it on Odgerel (a
couple of the Bankers were there too) - John Stewart attended - dancing until
02:00AM - smashed!!
18 Feb, 2005
No headache - brilliant!! - But I was a bit slow/lethargic... got up for Housekeeping and soupy lunch - dinner - a slow day.
19 Feb, 2005 - Saturday
Batbold had said he'd come by around 13:00 and take us sightseeing and maybe skiing. we were ready - and what arrived.... Batbold * 2 - he and his best friend - who was also called Batbold. We drive out north of the city - to an area called Hunderet...
Its a sort of toboganing hilly area - lots of people have come out from the city
- to play - there are also a couple of people with maybe 6 pairs of ski boots
and perhaps 3 pairs of old skiis laid out on the snow - they are for rental -
but I couldn't get my foot into the biggest set of boots - also - there's no
drag lift - you want to ski?? - Carry everything uphill!!
Trying to show the "pollution" creeping up out of the city - towards us...
Better looking this way.....
those are gers behind Janet - and I liked the cowboy crossing behind (he
actually has a 10 gallon hat on!!)
Lots of "summer houses" behind us.
The boys had asked if we wanted to go inside one of the gers - and we'd thought
that a bit rude - just knock on someone's house and ask if we can come in and
look around.....? But all the while we were getting closer to them... The boys
reckoned that Mongols are very hospitable!!
The inhabitants aren't completely
"grounded" as you can see - they have "mobility".
We'll go into this one!! As it turned out - there were about 20 people inside -
and it was a cafe/snack place!! I took a piccie inside but it didn't come out -
because - it was sooooooo hot and steamy inside - everything was condensated
up!! Wood planks all over the floor, a wood burning stove with a chimney that
goes straight up and out through the roof. Where it exits there's a sort of
circular wooden arrangement which contains glass inserts - to allow light to
come in (but it was incredibly dark on first entering from the brilliance
outside)! I had a couple of cups of Mongolian tea - very milky - with salt - but
I enjoyed it!!
Batbold #1 and the little DHL car.
Time to go..... back to the city....
This was a "developing area" - none of the houses were being worked on during
the winter, but there are all sorts here - just "compounds" fenced off with
nothing on the inside - some with gers in them - others with partially
constructed houses etc...
Batbold #1 with "pollution" getting closer....
And Janet.....
Some fences for you!!
And then we were off again - a piccie through the car window - with holed sundym...
We stopped again (deep into the pollution by now) - and more piccies of
"development areas"
We went back to Sukhbataar Square...
Then I wanted Janet to see the
chanting monks at the Gandan Monastery...
We
saw the big Buddha again (he's inside the building behind us) - but the chanting
monks - had stopped!! However Janet was able to buy some watercolours from an
artist that I'd seen the last time I was there - very happy!!
Then Batbold #1 said he had a surprise to show us.......
We're back at the Russian War Memorial!! Tried to get the smoke from the power
station - but Janet got in the way....
That's what I wanted!!
And here are the boys!! #1 on the left and #2 at right - many thanks for your
driving and time boys!! We drove into the city and had an early dinner at a nice
warm Korean restaurant.
20 Feb, 2005
Waiting for Tsolmon to take us "souvenir hunting" - she arrives with boyfriend in his taxi - and off we go to the State Department Store - Janet buys more pictures (silk) and a carpet - looks good at home already!! Many thanks to Tsolmon and the boys... One thing I noticed.... Outside lots of Malls and shops - you'd see people walking up and down with what looked like business/office phones - you know - handset at the right, loudspeaker to the left, buttons etc beneath that - but of course they weren't quite like that - and they were Satellite phones (I initially thought - they were for people to make contact with friends/relatives way out on the Steppes beyond the reach of Mobile phone networks....) No! Tsolmon used one to call her boyfriend to come and pick us up - she said it was cheaper than a MobyPhone call!!
Back to the hotel - did a bit of packing etc.. then around 20:00 we went down to dinner - everything closed!! Reception and the 2 restaurants - dark!! The security boys said "closed" - and we started thinking about what we could do for dinner.... If we walked into town - we wouldn't immediately recognise a restaurant - you have to either know which door fronts whatever - or you have to go in - to find maybe the establishment is just a taxi/travel organising place - the sign outside might describe it exactly - but we cannot read Russian!! Then the security boys suggested they phone for a delivery pizza for us - great!! Well done boys!!
21 Feb, 2005
Usual start - Batbold came and picked up the carpet for DHL transmission around 12:00 - and I went of for walk #4 - through the back-streets..... from the hotel west past Mika Hotel, Japanese Embassy, Exhibition Hall through onto Seoul Street, (saw a Police Station where they used Land Rover Defenders) all the way west until Ihtoiruu street - then turn north - across Peace Ave towards Gandan - but then bear right onto Hudaldaanii Gudamj heading East until Sukhbaatar Square keep going until level with hotel then turn South - actually sweating!!
18:10 phone goes - its Craigie Sanderson from Hong Kong (just wanting a chat) - well done Craigie!!
More packing - early night...
22 Feb, 2005
Janet into work for the last couple of hours - I go along to say goodbye around 10:00 - Thanks to Burmaa for all her help!! Back to the hotel for final pack - then Sengelmaa and driver come by to take us to the airport for the 12:30 China Airlines flight to Beijing. 2 hours - no problemo - DHL organised hotel courtesy car into the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel - straight out for a snoop round the nearest shopping centre, into Hard Rock Cafe to buy T-shirt for Janet's boys - back to hotel - then back to Hard Rock for dinner.
23 Feb, 2005
Up early for the 08:45 Singapore Airlines flight to S'pore (6 hours) - sleep a bit - Janet in Business Class - me in Cattle!! Arrive around 15:00 - great - its 34C and apparently earlier in the week it had got to 35.5C!! Still bad drought conditions (but that got fixed a couple of days later).
And that was Mongolia!! brilliant!! Excellent!!
Setting sun and icy roads!!