Exploration of Ulan Bator

As the title of the post suggests, I spent most of today exploring Mongolia's capital (and only real city), Ulan Bator. It houses approximatively half of the country's population, although this is only a ballpark figure, since many citizens of Mongolia are semi-nomadic. This makes for interesting elections (a topic which will be discussed later).

Anyway, I woke up and was served breakfast, which consisted of bread, butter, jam and an egg. Yummy! After that I proceeded to explore the city. Although it was raining 9which is quite rare in Mongolia), I was still in good spirits, because this place was totally unlike any other I have ever been in. The city looks like a mix between a third world country and a communist settlement, but with people dressed to the nine's in D&G, Tommy H and every other (rip-off) brandname clothing. I am just assuming that they are rip-off's due to the fact that China is just so close!

The most notable stop during my exploration was the state department store, which sells goods ranging from souvenirs, jewelry, clothing, groceries and even insurance! Then again, it does stand seven stories high!

The State Department Store.

Once I had returned to the guesthouse from my initial exploration, I met some of the hostel's other guests; a German, an Italian and two Scandinavians (I think that they were Norwegian) who were travelling together. They were actually just leaving for a national park to do some riding and camping.

After that, I continued to explore the city. Upon my return to Oyuna's (again), I met Graham and Emily, two ummm.... Scots? Well, Graham was born in London, but lives in Scotland. However, in town is mainly English, so that I don't have any trouble understanding him (Yay for me!). Emily is a native Calgarian how has spent the last decade of her life in Britain. They are actually on an eight month adventure, and were in the process of playing the visa game for China and India (which is much more complicated than it may seem).

Anyway, they had just returned from a hiking trip 2 days early, as the tent that they rented from Gaan has a leak in it. Actually, that is an understatement. The tent covers didn't actually fit on the tent. Furthermore, neither cover nor tent was waterproof, making for a rude awakening for the couple when it started raining at 6am. So, needless to say, they weren't happy campers...

Well, soon after we headed to bed. A good first day!

Random pictures taken during my exploration.