Ulaan Baatar and the (ahem) Chinese invaders

Day 7 - After so many days onboard, we nearly kiss the ground when we get off the train. JD is still 'swaying' on the platform. We are met on the platform by Baggi, our tour agent (The Trans Siberian Experience utilises local russian and mongolian travel agencies) who gathers us up and ushers us into a small van. We stop by a hotel to shower (after several days I think fumigation and sandblasting would have been more appropriate). Then it's off to a local cafe called 'Chez Bernard' where feast on a full English breakfast (bacon was excellent).
Chez Bernard

There we meet several other tourists who have been on the similar route but had stopped halfway at Irkutsk for a couple of days by the Lake (Baikal). Their train for most of their journey, apart from the last day from Itkutsk to Ulaan Baatar on ours, was the tourist train (sigh..apparently with wood panelling, food on trolleys and not a smuggler in sight). Needless to say it was a rude shock when they got on ours the night before (snigger). We exchange anecdotes and tell them 'next time' we'll get them tickets (from our friends at the 'russian special price' ofUSD75 -- for 25 passengers, as opposed to our USD 60 per ticket -- Russian Experience pockets the remainder of the GBP1000++, can you imagine??), use several and let our mongolian friends travel 'on the house' wth the remainder.

After lunch, Baggi takes us on a quick tour of UB (Ulaan Baatar). She gives us an account of the history behind the city -- apparently the Mongolians have had about 7 or 8 capitals, mostly around where UB is today before making UB the modern day capital. We're not convinced these nomads have quite got the concept of capitals as they are planning to move the capital (yet again) back to Kharakorum. Work is already underway in order for the new capital to be built in 40 years' time. She also gives us a brief account of the Mongol empire, how they established their capital at Beijing before the "Chinese invaders" drove them out..hmmm.

We also visit Sukhbatar Square and the Gandan monastery (one of the few Buddhist monasteries that were not destroyed by the communists). Our van then takes us out of UB (we will return for a 2 night stay at UB after our stay at the Ger camp). Harsh soviet style building blocks gradually make way to small wooden houses before giving way to a vast open landscape framed by majestic mountains in the distance. A couple of hours later, we reach our camp in the countryside.
Outside Gandan monastery
Turning prayer wheels
Closeup (Tim's pic)
Resident monks
Family wedding outside monastery
Sukkhbaatar square
The camp is rather tastefully done (pretty much the real thing although they could have perhaps not arranged the tents in 2 parallel lines, holiday camp style). Surprisingly, there is a separate brick building housing the restaurant, toilets and even showers. Toilets are flushing although one is not allowed to flush toilet paper down (I gather their sewage system isa basic one), so there is a bin in every cubicle for paper. Takes some getting used to...

We settle into our ger tents. There are 4 beds per tent. There is a central iron stove and a cupboard. The artwork on the furniture and tent itself is simply beautiful. We share our tent with a lovely couple called Antony and Theresa.
Our tent!
Inside the Ger
Theresa updating her diary
View from door of Ger

Dinner is served at 7pm and (surprisingly) with a lot of vegetables. Food was excellent. The chef looks Indian and I smack JD for trying to ask him for a tikka masala.

We stay on after dinner for a show. The show starts off rather badly as the staff put some extra logs on the fire to keep the Siberian cold out only to have to open the windows as the smoke threatens to asphyxiate us. It has the clumsiness of a school play in action. However, when the entertainment started, it completely exceeded our expectations. Although we didn't know it at the time, we were actually quite fortunate as this was apparently a famous group of musicians whose visit coincided with our stay. A lady called Mrs Namdig performs a solo for us. We later find out that she is the same person who sang in Enigma's hit song in the 90's (we were wondering why it sounded familiar). The group also plays some songs with their traditional instruments which sound so beautiful that we sit enraptured and completely silent. We also get to see a performance on throat singing (very disconcerting as the performer's lips don't move and yet you hear his voice and the upper whistling notes simultaneously). Next up is a performance by a contortionist whose movements are excruciating (for us that is) and stragely hypnotic all at once. I personally think this bit was for the men in the audience rather than the women..ahem!
The musicians
Mrs Namdig and Mr Namdig(?)


Contortionist