UB

Keeping with the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols, the capital of Mongolia was moved frequently to various locations along the various rivers until it was finally established in its present location in 1778 and named Ulan Baatar, UB for the insiders, in 1924. Honest opinion, it is time to move the city again. Hardly seen such a messy, chaotic, ugly city...nothing like the Mongolia you see on National Geographic. Good to have escaped the train from hell though and order some snert in Cafe Amsterdam....is this really Mongolia??

The Soviets contributed to the city's beauty by destroying almost all monasteries and temples, replacing them by uniform apartment blocks and cavernous government buildings....pretty...

Lots of Mongols moved into the city recently and there is construction everywhere. Once completed, it seems like the city will double in size.

Had some issues taking a local bus to the palace of Boghd Khan (Mongolia's eight living Buddha and king), one of thr two main, or actually only, sights in UB together with the Gandan Khid monastery. Apparently, a map on the side of the bus with all (its, would make sense right) stops and a picture of the palace next to the last stop does not mean the bus is going there. Instead, it may be a bus to a nature reserve 2.5 hours away which you only figure out once the city has faded away and you are suddenly surrounded by beautiful grasslands, gers (traditional Mongolian tents), horses and nomads....ooops. What to do? Our American fellow passenger went for the panick attack ( are you F*CKING kiddin me....are we gonna be on this bus for 2.5 hours??)...not the best way to go. Instead, hopped off at gasstation in middle of nowhere and fairly quickly stopped a bus that went back to the city....nice little adventure, very welcome in the slightly boring UB.

Time to leave UB and head to the real Mongolia...


























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Location:Ulan Baatar, Mongolia