Arrival in Ulan Bator

Trip Start May 02, 2007

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Mongolia Ulan Bator, Mongolia
Sunday, October 21, 2007

After a long night, which included a four and a half hour stop at the Russia/Mongolia border for customs checks (plus another hour and a half later on while Mongolian officials searched our bags and compartments), we arrived in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator at 7:30 AM. Disembarking from the train, we were excited to spot a thin man in a dark trench coat and sunglasses wearing white gloves (later nicknamed "the hitman" by some), holding a sign with our names on it. Or at least it was close enough to our names - Yvonne and "Calro" soon found themselves sitting in a van with other travelers, being driven through the busy streets to the UB Guesthouse, our base for the next week and a half. One of the staff was along for the ride and gave us a running commentary of places of interest as we passed them.

We were happy to find our new friends from Irkutsk (Mark and Natalie) hanging out in the common room. They'd met another Aussie couple, Carl and Emma, on their train into Ulan Bator. Later, all six of us would plan a multi-day excursion leaving the following day. The UB Guesthouse is a popular choice for Trans-Siberian travelers. They organize great tours outside of Ulan Bator, it is very clean, the staff is extremely helpful and friendly, and for the travel weary they have a television with a few English channels and a DVD player with a large selection of movies and TV series (pirated of course). Yvonne and I wasted no time checking in and hitting the streets. We were on the hunt for some warm jackets since the temperatures in Mongolia were dipping well below zero degrees Celsius at night.

01.Sukhbataar Square

Our guesthouse host gave us simple directions for hopping a cab to the black market a few kilometers away. We asked her how we would know which cars were taxis. She replied by saying that ANY car could be a taxi; just stick your hand out (waving, palm down) and anyone stopping is your ride! Since it was our first experience, we watched some locals hail these so-called cabs first before we gave it a go. One quickly pulled over and agreed to our price, so we jumped in. He drove about fifty meters before looking at the time and stopping, explaining to us in Mongolian and with hand gestures that he didn't have time and we would have to find another ride. He promptly gave us the money back and we got out. Strike one! We spotted a real taxi (complete with yellow sign on roof) and hopped in. The traffic in Ulan Bator is the worst we have ever seen in terms of congestion and the general no-holds-barred attitude the drivers take (we've found that as we go east from Europe it gets worse and worse - Beijing will be interesting!). Our driver cut in and out and in front of other cars, swerving and narrowly missing them (and in the process bringing us close to heart-attacks). One driver of a van took some exception and pulled up to the passenger side at a traffic light as we stopped. His face was red with anger and he yelled at our driver with eyes squinted so hard you couldn't see his pupils. He punched the sideview mirror in on the taxi and our driver leaned over, opened the passenger door slightly and yelled back at him.

02.Sukhbataar statue

We figure he told him to fix the mirror back in place, but the other driver continued his assault on the car and punched the mirror again, this time pushing it all the way to the window. Our driver then swung the passenger door open, smashing it into the van's side. The light had turned green by now so they both just sped off and that was the end of it. It was an interesting welcome to Mongolia for us!

When we had gotten close to the market, the traffic was jammed so badly that we were crawling at a snail's pace. We could see the market across the street so we just got out where we stood. It was utter chaos inside. The market was full of people moving stall to stall searching for the best bargains. We were constantly shoved aside from behind by locals trying to get by; it was literally every man (or woman) for him(her)self. We were warned earlier not to bring any valuables with us, which we heeded, so we set off armed with only cash to find our coats. We eventually found some fur-lined Ecko puffy jackets (the labels said Ecko - obviously they were not) and bargained to the best of our abilities to get them down to 30,000 togrogs (about $26) together. We later found some warm gloves for about $1 each. Off we went, now fully equipped to deal with the harsh winter weather for under $30. The traffic outside was now much worse than before. It was at a stand-still and many just turned their engines off. We decided to walk back and made it in just under an hour. By foot we were also able to take the city in more. In other words, we were able to inhale much more pollution and get a closer look at how run-down it looks. Ulan Bator is not a pretty place. The pedestrians are crazy - they risk life and limb by crossing the street amidst heavy traffic flow, stopping briefly in between cars before scooting as far as they get before another car speeds in front of them. They do this at controlled intersections where there are walk signals; they just don't pay them any attention. We've never seen such reckless pedestrians before. Just as in Russia, trash is strewn about everywhere. It is a good thing that we would not be spending too much time in the city, but rather out in the country.

That evening, Yvonne and I and the four Aussies found a great German restaurant that served up homemade authentic dishes. We were leaving for our six day trip the following morning and this would prove to be the last good meal we'd have for almost a week.