Mongolia

October 17^th 1993

We woke up at 07:00 am – jumped up – had a very fast wash – it was terribly cold – the grass outside was full of rime – Got dressed in layers of warm winter clothes & sad down & stared out of the window. We could see yurts (Mongolian round tents) on the soft brown hills & lots of horses. Annemette got up – Rikke & Mona came down to wave goodbye – then the track took a left turn & there it was this strange town – nobody knew about. Ulaan Bator /Ulan Bator /Ulaan Bataar it’s spelled in many ways – I’ll call it Ulan Bator. It sort of look Russian - & still not – we stopped at the train station - & jumped of with all our backpacks – the Chinese conductor tried to push me back up – but no! I felt like an explorer - & I guess I somehow was. An English guy wanted to get on our train & he told us he had stayed at a nice cheap co-op hotel in the embassy area & told us the name of the place was Zaluuchuud & how easy it was to find it. We also met 2 Dutch who was staying here for 4 days – but they booked the tour from home & had a hotel & so…! We didn’t so we waved goodbye to Tina – Sussi – Mona & Rikke & started to walk through this ocean of staring people – I guess Mongolians are not so used to tourists & specially not westerners – but not being Russian is a plus here.

Found Zaluuchuud & got a room – with a view ---- right into a big brick wall. Had a very funny experience when we paid in advance – our $ bills were checked with a machine which looked like a shaver – it was suppose to light up – but the batteries were flat so I took mine out of my walkman & everything worked – Everybody were happy!

Tomorrow we’ll go ticket hunting when that’s over we can take a look at this town. We did a little walking today – Everything here is wide & short. The houses – the people & some of the locals are wearing some kind of national costume - looks woolen with extreme long sleeves. Here are huge squares & wide streets & hardly any cars & those there are got German license plates – wonder how they got here. There are cows in the streets too - they eat grass wherever there’s some to eat. This is a funny town.

Ate dinner at hotel Ulan Bator (from now on called U.B.) – had potato salad & some soup that tasted like they washed a goat in it. It must be the meeting place for all the foreigners – mainly Norwegian & American missionaries. 

October 18^th 1993

Woke up with a sore throat – But we walked down to hotel Bayangol where we’d been told they had a tourist office. Met a guy who told us to go over to the other hotel Bayangol then there would be somebody who could help us – NO way would they – when they realized we wanted to take the train & not fly out. Not so cool – so we walked down to the train station where they couldn’t sell us tickets out of the country – but the nice lady there gave us a note with an address on – then a guy came up to me & asked me if I wanted to buy a silver chain – “no thank you sweetie – but can you tell me where this address is “I asked him & handed him the note & the Lonely Planet book with a city map – up there! He pointed – near Sambuu Street & Big Ring & off we wandered. On the way we met another guy who wanted to sell water color paintings for 1 $ a piece – we bought 2 each & asked if we were on the right track – he walked us all the way up there.

Outside the office where 100’s of people – but I realized that the only thing that mattered in this country is pushing & then it’s cool to be 1½ head taller than anybody else. I left Annemette in a corner & got in to a ticket counter & asked if there were any who spoke English. Finally a nice lady came & asked if she could help me – yes Ma’m I really want 2 one way tickets to Beijing – luckily they had 2 on Thursday. I paid & gave her our passports & she told me to go over to counter no.5 – there I got tickets & passports back & we could jump out into the sunshine again.

Found a bank & cashed some traveler check & went down to eat something at hotel U.B. & there we met the man in our Mongolian life. Philippe Daunis – tres French - Luxury tramp – sponsored by Levis (still don’t understand that deal - but it was good) traveling with his dog Caline. We talked & talked & in the end he invited us home for coffee – he had rented an apartment over near the hotel Shur Yurt. Took the bus – he lived on 9^th floor with a great view over the whole city – we could see the Gandan Monastery & the whole yurt village. (It’s an entire yurt village inside the city – sort of bad side of town) We talked & drank coffee and when we wanted to leave he took us through the yurt village & told us not to walk there alone – we went in & turned the praying wheels at the monastery & paid 20 tugliks – we went to a “supermarket “Philippe needed some washing soap – but there wasn’t any today – then I’ll can do my laundry another day he said.

We went to the post office & send a huge stack of post cards & invited Philippe on a dinner at the hotel U.B. – I tried Mongolian tea with butter & milk – but ended with something that tasted like “Red Door” perfume. 

October 19^th 1993

Didn’t get much sleep – there was a party going on in one of the other rooms - & lots of drunken Mongolians banging into our door through the night. Philippe had warned us to stay away from drunken Mongolians – so I was happy when they finally fell asleep. We had hot water today – not an awful lot of pressure but enough to wash the hair. We wanted to check the museum out – but it was closed – so we walked around & found a department store – one of the emptiest places I had ever seen. 10 rolls of toilet paper on a shelf there & 7 blankets on another shelf here – we found some baby shoes – 28 tugliks (13 cents) a pair. (1$ = 350 tuglik) – just walked up & down & looked at the empty shelves. Then we went to an art shop & bought some watercolor paintings.

Then we walked over to hotel U.B. to eat lunch – we avoid the “goat soup” but had another – it was eatable .Now I’d better describe hotel U.B.

It’s a huge white concrete building on a corner of Peace Avenue & Holarov street – the inside got a lobby & a few $ shops & the entrance to a huge dinning hall. It got a “stage” for theatre or music in one end & a bar in another corner & lots of tables spread out between flower pots & columns – chandeliers are hanging from the ceiling & they also got a jukebox playing old fashion music. Young girls & guys serve the guests & I recon 75% don’t live at the hotel but come here for the atmosphere.

When we were done eating Philippe came by & invited us to dinner up in his place – “Thanks” we said – “we’ll bring the wine”. We can buy it in the $ shop in hotel U.B. Then we’ll walk over to his place – we are getting really good at crossing in between the apartments blocks instead of walking the streets.

 Ulan Bator is an easy town to figure out. The streets are running north to south & east to west – except for 2 ring streets (Small Ring & Big Ring) which runs east/north/west over town. The squares between the apartment buildings are almost empty full of broken bottles & dried grass – it’s easy to cross in & out & save us some time. It’s not an ugly town – but it’s not pretty either – a bit Russian with a touch of something else.

 We walked down & bought a bottle of French red wine – of course. It was still daylight so we ran through the yurt village. While Philippe made dinner we looked through his books (where people he had met had written – he’d been so many places – also in Denmark) – the food was super – veggie stew - & beef – (the last meat I ate on that trip) & spaghetti. Philippe had bought Koumiss (fermented mare milk – it tasted weird – but we tried it) We spend the evening talking & discussing – but around 10 pm – we decided to go home – if we could find a bus it would be the best – if not we had to walk the big detour. Caline needed to get outside so Philippe took her down & tried to find a bus. The last one had left – but he succeeded to stop one on its way to the garage & the drivers agreed to drop us of at hotel U.B. We were not the bravest girls – sitting in the dark bus with 3 bus drivers going through a dark town we hardly knew – but nothing happened – we were dropped of – paid a roll of sweaty tugliks & ran all the way home to Zaluuchuud & our hotel owners who’d been out in the streets looking for us a couple of times. When we came into our room – Annemette saw she still had the metal nail – she had found in the bottom of the bus – in her hand – we cracked laughing! (Completely forgot about it & found the nail in Annemette’s backpack after we got back home in December!)

October 20^th 1993

Slept very well – had tea & got out of bed & had a shower (warm water is a blessing) Today was meant to be Big Culture Day.

First we walked down to Museum of Natural History – it was awesome – like something from a school collection in the 50’s. Stuffed lions – zebras - & a bear (without claws) climbing a tree. The all had the same stupid look on their faces. The guide was very proud of a butterfly collection – We smiled & smiled & nodded & looked at the dusty butterflies they looked like a bunch of moths. The fossil collection was somehow great. Dinosaur eggs & bones. But the best was the room with 3 huge dinosaur skeletons – all build up – so one could see how huge they had been. The guide gave us a sign (telling us we could take photos) & closed the door to the room so we could get it all for our self. (Not that there were any other visitors).

Then we walked down to the Museum of Fine Art. It was in a much better shape - & the Buddhist applications were bright & clear. We took some photos there too.

Then we had enough of culture – for an hour or so – Met Berry & Ilse (the Dutch couple from the train) & Philippe who wanted to know that we were up to. He had a great idea – he wanted to show us the Winter Palace of Bogd Khan – south of town – on the other side of the railroad. The sun was shinning – but it was freezing cold while we all walk down there. When we got to the gate the Palace was closed – but somehow Philippe convinced the guard to open for us so we could go in & take photos & see the whole complex from the outside. It was pretty & ragged.

On the way back to town – we had coffee in a coffee-tea house together with a lot of locals: A wonderful old woman gave us cookies & wanted to chat – sign language & smiles is the best ambassador while traveling to places where language problems are in top. I gave her a Telecom lighter.

We all walked back to hotel U.B. – met Dominic one of Philippe's friend & we all ate dinner – said goodbye & take care of yourself & we might meet again - & then we walked home to Zaluuchuud to pack.

October 21st 1993

Didn’t sleep too well – I knew we had to get up - & we did – left our nice little room – said goodbye to our hotel family & left them some stuff. Waked down Peace Avenue – & into the post office & mailed the last post cards - then we walked down to the railroad station – our backpacks are so heavy – Now we’re sitting in a Mongolian train to Beijing. Goodbye Ulan Bator – you were great! We share compartment with a Mongolian guy & a German girl. Next door are 4 crazy German guys. They’re so funny.

We zigzag up through the Gobi dessert – I just saw a wild camel. It is totally flat landscape with yurts & sheep’s & horses. Just had dinner in the dinning wagon – some omelet pancake with an onion hidden in the dough.

It’s SO cold so all we can do is hide under our woolen blankets & try to sleep.

Woke up when a Mongolian passport police officer demanded my passport – I got a stamp – the 15 min. later a Chinese ditto came & stamped me in to China – after handing us some forms to fill out – very interesting for us they were written in Mongolian & Chinese. Our private Mongolian helped us filling them – a lot of laughing there. Then we rolled east again for some kilometers.

Stopped & each wagons were separated from each other dragged in to a huge hall – separated from the wheels sections & lifted up with chains & dropped down on some other wheels sections – a lot of crashing & banging & the wagons were re-united & got a new engine in front again. ( why I can hear you ask – well the Russian railroad tracks are 9 centimeter wider than the tracks in the rest of the world – it must have been something from a war – so nobody could sneak in by rails & surprise the “Red Army “) Very interesting it was hanging up there in a chain & then crash land on the wheels.

Beijing here we come! 

October 22^nd 1993  

Woke up at quarter to nine - - now Annemette & I are eating chocolate for breakfast while looking at the landscape outside. It looks brown & barren. There are people everywhere – with oxen & on bikes .A brand new country & some brand new adventures.

Welcome to Beijing – found a taxi at the railroad station shared it with 2 French girls & 2 Canadian guys – we paid 1 $ per person. Got down to backpack area & found a guesthouse/hotel & is now living in a room with a light bulb hanging from the ceiling – 3 beds – 2 chairs & 3 hot water thermo jugs. Just met a guy from the first train he said Mette & Frederik stays on this hotel too. I just had a real shower – with pressure on – the first in 10 days. JIIIBIII!